Four Winners, Three Losers From Steelers Victory Over Panthers

The Pittsburgh Steelers walked away with one of the more convincing one-score wins you'll ever see.

The Pittsburgh Steelers defense - particularly its front seven - led the way in a 24-16 victory over the Carolina Panthers. Meanwhile, the offense, led by two maligned players in Pittsburgh - did just enough to keep the Panthers off their backs. The Steelers played from ahead all afternoon and were in control. 

This wasn't necessarily an easy victory, but the Steelers made it hard on themselves. The win over Carolina was as dominant a one-score win as they come, and while the Steelers have a lot to clean up, the steady improvements they've shown over the course of this season shone through. 

Winners

Alex Highsmith

The Charlotte native and former Charlotte 49ers had roughly 60 friends and family in attendance at Bank of America, and they were treated to a dominant performance by their hometown hero. With each week, the price of an impending new contract rises for Highsmith, who played another outstanding game. 

He bookended the game with essential stops in key moments. His third down stop on the first drive of the game set the tone for a dominant day by the Steelers' defense and his hit and forced fumble on Donta Foreman in the fourth quarter stole momentum back after a pass interference call against Cam Sutton set the Panthers up on the doorstep of a touchdown. He was solid all game rushing the passer but it was the clutch playmaking that stood out the most. 

Mitch Trubisky

Make no mistake, Kenny Pickett is the guy in Pittsburgh for the foreseeable future, but while he's dealing with a concussion, the Steelers can rest easy knowing they have a capable backup that can keep things steady. 

His performance against Carolina - a talented defense, mind you - wasn't particularly spectacular, but it was clean and efficient. He completed 17 of 22 passes for 179 yards. He leaned on a strong running game and made plays with his arm when needed. The strikes he threw to Diontae Johnson on the team's final drive to maintain possession and kill clock when the Panthers applied some pressure showed he's capable of being more than just a game manager. 

Mason Cole

This was a statement game for the Steelers' offensive line. One week removed from an ugly showing against the Ravens, one in which they were physically overpowered, the front line of the Steelers' offense dominated a physical Panthers front. 

Cole was the leader of that effort. He and the rest of the unit kept penalties to a minimum and paved the way for 142 yards of rushing offense and three rushing touchdowns. Pittsburgh watched the film from that poor performance against the Ravens and pulled off a complete 180, dealing out punishment instead of taking it. 

Diontae Johnson 

His biggest mistake proved inconsequential and his biggest successes were essential to the Steelers pulling out a victory. Johnson's most significant flaw this season has been his inability to make the plays in front of him on what head coach Mike Tomlin would call "weighty downs". When the game is on the line, the Steelers haven't been able to count on Johnson until this week. 

Johnson led the team in receiving again with 10 catches for 98 yards, but the counting numbers don't matter as much as the timing of certain catches. What made him a "winner" this week was his contribution to the Steelers' final drive of the game. Johnson's two catches on that drive, which ate 5:11 of the 6:15 on the clock and ended in a field goal that put his team up two scores - both came on third and longs and kept the ball out of the threatening Panthers' hands. 

Losers

James Pierre

Pierre's 2022 season has been strong to this point, but the Carolina game was not his finest hour. Pierre was not as reliable in coverage as he had been over the course of this season and it allowed the Panthers to stay in the game despite the running game - their bread and butter - being completely swallowed by the Steelers front. 

He'll be fine - Pierre has proven he is invaluable as a depth piece for a team that has needed depth sorely this year - so I don't expect this to be the end of the line for him. But he can't afford many more games like that if he hopes to remain a Steeler or NFL player. 

Marcus Allen

As an everyday special teamer, Allen doesn't get many chances to make an impact on the game - for better or worse. This week, Allen did leave a mark on the game but not in a positive way. His third quarter unsportsmanlike conduct penalty gave the Panthers new life when they were set to punt following consecutive sacks. 

The Steelers had a chance to snuff out any attempt at a comeback and instead, the Panthers got another shot at keeping their own season alive. It was a boneheaded move, easily avoidable and of no value whatsoever to the Steelers. It puts his already limited snaps in jeopardy and no one could blame the Steelers for wanting to move on after a demonstration of such obviously poor judgment. 

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