It’s a good day to wake up a Steelers fan! Once again, the black and gold was victorious this week and improve to 6-2 coming into their bye. There were splash plays throughout the game, making this a fun one to watch in primetime. Here are some gut reactions after sleeping on another Steelers win.

The Rust Continues to Knock Off of Russ

During his first start as a Steelers against the Jets last week, Russell Wilson started the game quite slow but got stronger as the game went on. He started to look more comfortable the more passes he threw. With that being said, there were several balls thrown that were either slightly underthrown or slightly overthrown. This week, there was a little bit less of that, and he was subjectively more precise with some of his passes. One play that comes to mind is the beautiful sideline throw and catch to George Pickens when Wilson squeezed the ball in between two defenders. The ball had to be in one exact spot; otherwise, that is an incompletion or an interception. Perhaps part of this is the chemistry Wilson continues to develop with his teammates, but nevertheless spot-on passes are a work of art to watch and only provide more hope and excitement regarding this team going forward.

Penalties Cost a Premium

There were many flags thrown in this game on both teams that negated a lot of yards and plays. Two touchdown passes were negated in the first half due to penalties with Broderick Jones committing the foul on the Steelers negated TD. False starts, illegal shifts, holds…you name it, it was called last night. The fact that both sides were flagged so many times leads me to believe it may have been that the officiating crew was being extra particular, but this needs to be cleaned up regardless. It might be something to emphasize during the bye week; committing silly penalties and holding one’s self back is not going to go over well against a team on a hot streak like the Washington Commanders.

Red Zone Offense Needs to Be Better

Pittsburgh was able to move the ball well offensively from the first drive, which was encouraging given the history of slow starts to games this season. Unfortunately, many drives stalled in the red zone. The result was chip-shot field goals. I love seeing Chris Boswell have success, and some points are better than no points, but the way the Steelers moved the ball in the first half, the score should not have been as close as it was. Overall, the offensive performance in the first half was improved in my opinion, but this is something else that needs to be addressed and improved.

Najee. Looks. Awesome.

Where has this guy come from? Over the past three games, Najee Harris looks like he has never looked in his professional career before. He is dragging guys 5 to 10 yards downfield, breaking tackles, and hurdling people like a track and field star. This week, he carried the ball 19 times for 114 yards and a 6.0 yards per carry average. He has averaged 5.4 yards per carry through the month of October. I’m not sure what has changed or what he is doing differently, but he can keep it coming. Kudos to Arthur Smith for getting so much production out of the running game.

Daniel Jones Ate Some Turf

4 sacks on the day? I’ll take that! With Watt and Highsmith both back in the lineup, the Giants had to try to choose which one they should pay more attention to. The fact of the matter is that when they are both healthy, if one is being double-teamed, the other has a favorable matchup. What a fun duo to watch when they are having success.

Rush Defense Needs to Be Better

Prior to this game, I talked about Tyrone Tracy, Jr. as being an x-factor in this game. In terms of shutting down Malik Nabers and company, I felt like the defense performed well enough. The Giants receivers tallied up some receiving yards, but none of them found the endzone. The damage done by that talented group could have been much worse. However, Tracy had a DAY with 145 rushing yards and a touchdown. That is 7.1 yards per carry. He is a talented back, but the Steelers are a talented defense who are capable of holding a rushing attack in check. The defense’s performance was good enough to come away with a win, but this is something that can and should be focused on prior to meeting Derrick Henry and the Baltimore Ravens later this season.