LAS VEGAS — To tell the story of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 32-13 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, you have to start a decade ago and several states away in Madison, Wis.
When T.J. Watt switched from tight end to the defensive side of the ball, he was united with Badgers outside linebackers coach Tim Tibesar, who earlier in his career just so happened to coach Charles “Peanut” Tillman. The former All-Pro Chicago Bears defensive back forced fumbles so frequently that his tactic became known as the Peanut Punch.
“(Tibesar) used to always tell me Peanut used to always get a ball out in practice,” Watt said. “I carried that with me, and it’s been something I try to do, especially when you get in those situations.”
With the Steelers down three outside linebackers — Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig and DeMarvin Leal — the Raiders made a concerted effort to take Watt out of the game, sliding protections in his direction, getting the ball out quickly and consistently chipping him with running backs and tight ends. Yet, Watt still found a way to wreck the game by punching out a pair of footballs.
“Can’t say enough about T.J. that hasn’t already been said in terms of his ability to impact the game in a variety of ways,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “It is special. We’re not surprised by it, but it’s still special.”
In both situations, the turnover came at a critical moment.
The Steelers trailed 7-6 with under three minutes remaining in the second quarter when Watt first balled his hand into a fist and jarred the ball free from Raiders running back Dylan Laube. Keeanu Benton jumped on the loose ball, handing the offense prime field position just 30 yards from the end zone.
T.J. Watt doing T.J. Watt things pic.twitter.com/rQLmVT7Y90
— NFL (@NFL) October 13, 2024
Six plays later, on fourth-and-1, quarterback Justin Fields rolled to his left off of play-action, didn’t like his options and took off for the go-ahead touchdown. The score gave the Steelers their first lead of the game, 12-7. They never trailed again.
Watt’s second forced fumble was in many ways the Steelers’ knockout punch. The Raiders drove 69 yards to the 1-yard line with an opportunity to cut the Steelers’ 22-7 lead to one score early in the fourth quarter. Linebacker Patrick Queen said after the game he hyperextended his knee on the previous play and was hoping the Raiders would take a timeout. Instead, Las Vegas rushed to the line.
“I just had to man up and say f— the injury,” Queen said.
The inside linebacker blew up the play on a well-timed run blitz, and Watt came in behind him to dislodge the football. When DeShon Elliott scooped the ball, the Steelers could breathe a little easier as they coasted the rest of the way to the win.
T.J. Watt with ANOTHER punch out. 💪 pic.twitter.com/SQI34q1xtv
— NFL (@NFL) October 13, 2024
In doing so, the Steelers snapped their two-game losing skid and improved to 4-2 on the season. It was an important win that required contributions from all three phases.
However, the lopsided final score didn’t entirely reflect the tone of the game.
In some sense, Sunday’s game was a blueprint for how the Steelers want to win games: Tough running, turnover-inducing defense and impact plays from special teams.
Running back Najee Harris played one of his best games as a Steeler. From his first touch, he had a noticeable burst. He ripped off a 26-yard run that was, at the time, his longest of the season. Later, he one-upped himself with a 36-yard scamper along the left sideline, punctuated by a diving effort from the 5-yard line to reach the goal line by inches for his first touchdown of the season.
A Steelers team that wants to win football games by running the football and playing great defense racked up 183 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Harris accounted for 106 of those yards, while Fields rushed for 59 yards and two touchdowns.
“I told him after the game. I said, ‘That’s the Najee Harris I saw at Alabama,’” Elliott said.
NAJEE HARRIS ARE YOU SERIOUS!?
📺: #PITvsLV on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/6uP3rKdzdD— NFL (@NFL) October 13, 2024
Defensively, after allowing the Raiders to march 70 yards in 10 plays for an opening drive touchdown, Watt and company settled into the flow of the game. They shut down the Las Vegas rushing attack and forced backup quarterback Aidan O’Connell to try to beat them himself. They forced three turnovers, with cornerback Donte Jackson reeling in his third interception of the season, and limited the Raiders to 275 total yards.
“I think we can all be so focused in on starting fast that we’re all trying to go out there and make a play instead of just doing our job,” Queen said of the slow defensive start. “Just settle down and go play football.”
On special teams, Chris Boswell connected on all four of his field goals, including one from 49 yards and one from 52, and outside linebacker Jeremiah Moon — thrust into a greater role due to the numerous injuries to the other edge rushers — blocked a punt that helped turn the tide just before halftime.
“Special teams either creates it or breaks it when it comes to momentum,” Cameron Heyward said about the blocked punt. “And so after that, it felt like it was a little bit of an avalanche.”
If the Steelers can run the ball efficiently, get big turnovers from the defense in critical moments and create splash on special teams, they’ll win a lot of games.
But at the same time, for most of the first half, the offense was touch-and-go. Self-inflicted wounds that have plagued the Steelers in losses again resurfaced, as they committed five offensive penalties in the first 30 minutes. Many put the offense behind the chains, which was part of why the Steelers converted just 3 of 8 third downs in the first half. A botched trick-play attempt also resulted in a 13-yard loss that was compounded by a delay of game penalty.
It would hardly surprise if the Steelers were to lose their identity Sunday night against the Jets, just as quickly as they found it in Las Vegas.
Assessing this game through an objective lens, not via the final score, is especially important when it comes to the quarterback.
This was a game full of splash plays and momentum-turning moments but also inconsistencies and miscues, and Fields is perhaps the best example. His day is hard to evaluate at a time when doing so is critical, with Russell Wilson finally active Sunday for the first time this season.
Tomlin said this week that health and rust are two different things. But you have to figure that as soon as this week or possibly next week, Wilson will knock off the rust from his absence due to a calf injury, forcing Tomlin into the long-awaited decision behind center. Fields’ play is obviously a major part of that decision.
In the first half, Fields’ accuracy was an issue in a couple of instances. During one sequence, he threw three consecutive errant passes on plays where receivers appeared to be open. First, he overthrew George Pickens along the left sideline, then his pass to the sticks for Pat Freiermuth missed its mark, and then on third down, he again missed Pickens.
“Nobody is perfect,” said Fields. “It’s not about to get in my head or anything. … Everybody missed throws, whether you’re Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers or whoever.”
Later in the second half, after the blocked punt gave the Steelers prime field position, the offense was unable to capitalize. Fields’ backward swing pass to Jaylen Warren was high, leading to a fumble and a loss of 9 yards. Then on third-and-goal from the 15, Fields rolled right, crossed the line of scrimmage and threw across his body into heavy traffic. Although Freiermuth reeled in the pass (which was negated because Fields was across the line of scrimmage), Fields acknowledged it wasn’t the best decision.
“When I threw the ball, I got a flashback to training camp of (offensive coordinator Arthur Smith) saying not to throw the ball across the field,” Fields said. “When I let it go, that’s all I could think about.”
Fields, who completed 14 of 24 passes for 145 yards, finished the game with his second-lowest completion percentage as a Steeler (58.3) and his lowest passer rating in black and gold (75.9).
Yet, at the very same time, you could also argue he was one of the key catalysts on offense.
The quarterback’s mobility allowed Smith to open up the playbook with a surprise option pitch to Warren. Later, when the Steelers went into an empty formation, they showcased Fields’ athleticism with a quarterback draw up the middle. Playing behind an offensive line that lost rookie center Zach Frazier to an ankle injury during the game, Fields turned several potential sacks into positive plays.
When Fields’ legs got going, so too did the offense, especially in the red zone, where his mobility is almost a cheat code.
So now where do the Steelers go at QB?
From the moment they created this unique dynamic in the quarterback room, everyone has been wondering how it would all shake out. Before too long, the Steelers will need to decide whether Fields has done enough to hang onto the starting job long-term, or if the time has come to give Wilson his shot.
Has Wilson knocked off enough rust for Tomlin to let him make his Steelers debut in prime time Sunday night?
The coach said last season that he and then-QB1 Kenny Pickett were judged by wins. He also showed he was willing to ride the hot hand, sticking with Mason Rudolph amid a Pittsburgh winning streak even after Pickett returned from an injury absence. Now, would he pivot from Fields after a less-than-perfect game ended in the most resounding victory of the season?
(Photo of Justin Fields, right, and Najee Harris, left: Chris Unger / Getty Images)
Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox.
Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox.
Sign Up
