Winners and losers from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 13-6 victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday afternoon.

WINNERS

QB Justin Fields

With a full week as the Steelers’ starter, the offense opened up and Fields looked more comfortable. Though the third quarter was sluggish, Fields generally made big plays. His best throw of the day didn’t count, a would-be 51-yard completion to George Pickens that was perfectly placed down the right sideline by CB Patrick Surtain II. It couldn’t have been better from Pickens and will go down as one of the best throws of the 2024 season.

He showed good placement on his lone TD to Darnell Washington, perfectly placed on a back-shoulder throw that was impossible for Denver to stop. Washington made a great hands catch.

Fields’ best quality was his overall accuracy, and his internal clock has sped up, resulting in fewer sacks and overall negativity. Procedurally, he and the offense were also cleaner, although there was still one snap he wasn’t ready for that could have been a disastrous turnover.

EDGE TJ Watt/Alex Highsmith

Pittsburgh’s EDGE rushers were once again impactful. Watt and Highsmith each had a sack, while Watt drew a hold in the run game and Watt had a tackle for loss. They continue to be a strength on a loaded defense and proved their impact once again. They finished their day with colorful box scores and were responsible for a large portion of Denver’s penalties.

SS DeShon Elliott

Simply put. DeShon Elliott was built for AFC North ball. A downhill wrecking ball, he’s a defined strong safety and a great fit for Pittsburgh’s defense. His biggest play was shooting the gap on a 3rd-and-1 stop, and he was also tight in coverage, forcing two incompletions, including a downfield throw on a 7 route. Two really strong games for Elliott as a key offseason addition.

CB Cory Trice Jr.

Trice with a clutch time for his first career interception. Great read and finish on the back of a Nix throw in the back of the end zone, taking points off the board after Denver hit a 49-yard completion on a trick play. Pittsburgh’s defense was so successful despite injuries last season, thanks in large part to their great red zone play and ability to force turnovers. Trice was big again, two plays after replacing a temporarily injured Donte Jackson. That’s the next man-up.

C Zach Frazier

We’ll need the All-22 to confirm, but it looked like a solid game for Frazier. In a tougher road game this week than last, Frazier moved people around in the run game and opened up a few holes for RB Najee Harris and co. Hopefully the coaches are taping games, but Frazier has been steady and impactful up the middle.

WR Ben Skowronek

It’s not sexy, but after WR Scotty Miller did all the little things in last week’s win, Skoronek made an impact on special teams this week. It was all his usual gunner work, but he drew two flags and won his rep on another in the fourth quarter, keeping the returner moving laterally while Payton Wilson and Tyler Matakevich cleaned things up. He finished with a huge tackle on the final punt of the game.

He saw some offensive reps in Pittsburgh’s 12-man lineup that took some chances off of play-action, a sign he could become a regular on the 53-man roster next week. But he appeared to get his reps as a gunner, creating hidden yardage in the form of Denver flags.

LOSERS

OT Broderick Jones

Sometimes I wonder which Steelers players will end up on the losing list. If I have any obvious candidates. That wasn’t a problem today. Jones was supposed to be part of a right tackle rotation with rookie Troy Fautanu, who entered the game on the third series. But he was flagged three times, including a 51-yard completion to Pickens, and was pulled midway through the drive.

Even outside of the penalties, Jones missed a second-level block on a promising gap run and was hit around the rim on a third-and-long. It’s entirely possible that the rotation — a terrible idea anyway — is over with Fautanu at right tackle full-time. Pittsburgh has done little to help Jones’ development, but he’s also not exactly giving them more reasons to play him.

ILB Patrick Queen/CB Beanie Bishop

Queen didn’t have a great week 1 and while it didn’t seem as sloppy this week in terms of missed tackles, he still didn’t seem to be at his best today. Queen seemed to be running plays and struggled with inside-out play. He also dropped an interception on 4th down that was still a decent play and honestly, may have cost Pittsburgh a yard or two, but it would have been nice to finish it off.

Not a terrible game from Queen, but I thought this one would be stronger. I don’t think I’d put the fourth down conversion he allowed on him, but I’ll have to check the All-22 for it.

Bishop could have said the same about his angles against the run and RPO/short pass game. He made a nice open-field stop on QB Bo Nix to force a fourth down, but gave up a long catch-and-run to WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey late in the fourth quarter. An uneven day at best.

CB Joey Porter Jr.

Porter’s day started off well for the Steelers. But his biggest problem remains his biggest problem. Penalties. While his yellow gloves don’t help matters, he really needs to coordinate his colors, no matter what he has on his hands when he’s pulling WR Courtland Sutton’s jersey so hard it nearly rips in half. He was tagged three times in the game, including two offsetting penalties in the fourth quarter.

Overall, it was a sloppy game for the Steelers. They simply had too many penalties, allowing Denver to hang in there. Pittsburgh doesn’t know how to put teams away.

Second half attack

Going back to the point above, the positive plays the Steelers made on offense in the first half were nowhere to be found. The run game wasn’t as sharp, penalties continued to be an issue, Fields and the offense were more erratic, and the results just weren’t there.

Only three points and minimal yards for this unit. It’s been good enough to win so far, but 13-18 points is not a long-term formula for success. That much is clear.