The Steelers picked up their third win of the season on Sunday as Pittsburgh upended the Colts 34-22. Here's who overperformed and underperformed in the victory.
Overperformer: RB Jaylen Warren
Tallying 101 yards on the ground and another 87 through the air, Jaylen Warren had one of his best games ever as a Steeler. The former Oklahoma State back continues to prove that there is no reason to have any sort of leash on his game. As an RB1, Warren is checking all the boxes with Rico Dowdle sidelined.
Overperformer: TE Pat Freiermuth
Two touchdown catches for Pat Freiermuth were great to see. Much like Warren, it feels like Muth has been a bit underutilized in Pittsburgh in his career, but it was nice to see him make a true impact on Sunday.
Overperformer: WR Germie Bernard
Germie Bernard still has to clean up some drop issues, but with injuries ravaging through the wideout room, the rookie got his opportunity and made the most of it. Bernard just looks like he belongs, and he’ll only get better as time goes on. His 80 receiving yards were encouraging.
Overperformer: QB Aaron Rodgers
Take a quick glance at the stat sheet, and that pretty much tells the story. 22 completions on 31 attempts for 235 yards and three touchdowns isn’t too shabby for someone Aaron Rodgers’ age. There were also very few mistakes from Rodgers. Putting up a season-high 34 points, QB1 did a tremendous job of simply commanding the offense against the Colts.
Overperformer: OL Max Iheanachor
Did you really notice Max Iheanachor out there? Unless you’re an absolute offensive line junkie, the answer is no — which is a good thing. No news is good news. After some flaws were exposed in the previous game against the Browns, Max did his job and, much like Bernard, looked like he belonged as a rookie.
Overperformer: DB Jalen Ramsey
Jalen Ramsey had a couple of plays that you just expect out of a Pittsburgh Steeler. You know, a hard hit that jars a ball out of a pass catcher's hand. It was a solid day for the 31-year-old.
Overperformer: DL Gabe Rubio
Not to beat a dead horse here, but in his NFL debut, Gabe Rubio passed the eye test as a run stopper. Was he (or Bernard or Iheanachor) an all-pro on Sunday? No, but they didn’t do anything that put their team in jeopardy. Sometimes for a rookie, that goes a long way. Keep your head above water.
Underperformer: Everyone on kick coverage
Overall, the Steelers played a pretty solid game. So, rather than single anyone out as an underperformer, let’s just call the kick coverage team like it is — it’s awful. It’d be easy to overlook this in a vacuum, but it’s been a problem all year. Allowing 33 yards per kick return can eat away at you throughout the course of a game/season in terms of field position.