Pittsburgh Steelers @ Houston Texans
Final Score: Texans 30, Steelers 6
Writer: Chuck Twohig (@Chuck2E on Twitter)
With CJ Stroud coming off a stellar performance last week and the Pittsburgh Steelers riding high after a win over the Las Vegas Raiders, it was fair to wonder what we’d see in this one. Were the Steelers back on track? Could the lightning strike Kenny Pickett twice in two weeks and bring the Steelers another win, or would the Houston Texans defense be able to shut him down? Would T. J. Watt be able to pressure Stroud enough to cause the required chaos in the backfield to tilt the scales in Pittsburgh’s favor, or would he be handled (well, as much as anyone can handle someone of his ability at least)? Would players like Robert Woods and John Metchie III live up to the hype that has been set for them or would we see another lackluster day? These questions were all answered, and pretty quickly at that.
Four Up
- Similar to last week, CJ Stroud showed that he was able to lead his troops to victory in a convincing fashion. Stroud was comfortable in the pocket and was successful when rolling out, as well. This kid is quickly developing into a very solid NFL quarterback.
- Dameon Pierce managed to rack up over 100 all-purpose yards and what the stat sheet cannot tell you is that he worked really hard for a lot of them. Pierce was running hard North to South and followed some good blocks as well, as he barreled through some players on his way to a strong showing.
- If you’re looking for the gamebreaker in this one, look no further than Nico Collins, who managed to haul in two scores with 168 yards receiving and even recovered a fumble.
Two Down
- The one player that the Steelers needed to perform the most today was Kenny Pickett and he simply did not do enough. Pickett finished this one with a QBR of 18.7 and was not able to produce any scores for his team. He also left the game late with a leg injury that the Steelers have not disclosed the severity of yet.
- T. J. Watt is expected to be a monster every week, but he was not scaring anyone today. Watt came up with only 2 tackles (1 solo) and no sacks. That Steeler defense relies largely on Watt’s play up front but it was missing today, as he was largely neutralized by a Texans offensive line that was missing at least two starters.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Quarterback
Kenny Pickett: 15/23, 114 Yards, 0 TD, 1 INT | 2 Carries, 9 Yards
Just when he appeared to be turning the corner, Pickett took a step back. He simply was not good enough to hang in a game with nearly any NFL team today. His 5.0 yards per attempt ranked 30th out of 34 NFL quarterbacks who took a snap in Week 4 through Sunday night (Mitchell Trubisky, who came on in relief, posted a 3.6 YPA mark that was even worse). He was sacked three times and ended a streak of six games with at least one touchdown pass. Hopefully, the knee injury that prematurely ended his day is nothing serious.
Missed Opportunities
- Early on, Pickett tried to force a ball into double coverage that ended up as an easy interception for the Texans, ending what had been a quality drive by the Steelers.
Running Back
Najee Harris: 14 Carries, 71 Yards | 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 32 Yards
Najee Harris turned in over 100 all-purpose yards on the day, but it was not enough to overcome the Steelers’ mistakes elsewhere on the field. Harris earned 63.6 percent of the running back carries on the day, clearly retaining his title of “lead back” in a backfield that was rumored to be more of a split than it was, even in a negative game script.
Jaylen Warren: 8 Carries, 29 Yards | 6 Targets, 6 Receptions, 26 Yards | 1 Fumble (Recovered)
Jaylen Warren had a respectable day with 14 opportunities and clearly established himself as a go-to option on passing downs in negative game scripts. While it may not be the role that Warren’s fantasy managers hoped he’d emerge from this game with, he did outscore Harris on the day on the strength of six receptions that accounted for more than half of his fantasy points.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
George Pickens: 7 Targets, 3 Receptions, 25 Yards | 1 Fumble (recovered)
Pickett’s struggles resulted in a very quiet day from one of Pittsburgh’s biggest weapons. Pickens had a ball knocked away from him in the end zone early in the 3rd quarter that could have been a touchdown.
Pat Freiermuth: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 7 Yards
Freiermuth’s contributions were underwhelming in this one; he then left this game with a hamstring injury and did not return. Definitely something for fantasy leaguers to keep an eye on.
Calvin Austin III: 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 24 Yards | 1 carry, 5 yards
Darnell Washington: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 10 Yards
Allen Robinson II: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 8 Yards
Houston Texans
Quarterback
CJ Stroud: 16/30, 306 Yards, 2 TD, 0 INT | 4 Carries, 16 Yards
Stroud looked poised and in control all day long. He was getting some solid blocking from a patchwork offensive line against a strong pass rush, and his receivers were getting nice separation. He played with a poise that belied his lack of NFL experience. Looking forward to seeing how he develops further over the next few weeks.
Running Back
Dameon Pierce: 24 Carries, 81 Yards | 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 27 Yards
Pierce did not have a stat line that screams “monster day,” but those who watched the game know that he was an integral part of this team’s win. His strong and calculated running resulted in several important first downs, and it was impressive how he battled and pulled his weight behind a banged-up offensive line.
Devin Singletary: 7 Carries, 25 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 11 Yards | (1 TD pass)
A pretty average day for the backup running back, whose biggest highlight of the day was peppering in a nice little touchdown pass to Schultz on a trick play.
Mike Boone: 1 Carry, 4 Yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Nico Collins: 9 Targets, 7 Receptions, 168 Yards, 2 TD
Collins absolutely shredded the Pittsburgh secondary today for a huge day and made it known that he is a fully capable safety net for Stroud. This wasn’t his first statement game of the season, so Collins is making a strong argument that he should be in consideration as an every-week starter going forward.
Dalton Schultz: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 42Yards, TD
Tight end Dalton Schultz caught everything that came his way including a nice touchdown grab thrown by Singletary.
Tank Dell: 2 Carries, 13 Yards | 3 Targets, 1 Reception, 16 Yards
A very disappointing outing for Tank Dell, a recent waiver wire darling. Most expected the diminutive Dell to see at least twice as many targets and three times as many fantasy points.
Robert Woods: 6 Targets, 3 Receptions, 26Yards
Fantasy owners have got to be hoping for a better showing than this from Woods and with the weapons at Stroud’s disposal suddenly widening, who knows if they will get one.
John Metchie III: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 22 Yards
Similarly to Woods, Metchie has a lot of hype around him, and you have got to think his production needs to be better than this to be a viable option.