Tim Benz: 'Feats of Strength' after Steelers stack wins for 1st time this season

The Pittsburgh Steelers are getting into the holiday spirit with an early gift to all of their fans: an actual winning streak!

Back-to-back wins for the first time all year. Mike Tomlin’s team managed to scrape out a 19-16 victory in Atlanta on Sunday afternoon, just six days after the Monday night “W” in Indianapolis.

Time to get the black and gold Festivus Pole out of the crawl space and celebrate with our “Feats of Strength” while also adding our “Airing of Grievances.”

But no tinsel on that pole. It’s distracting.

Feats of Strength

First-half fun: For the third straight week, the Steelers outplayed their opponent in the first half. During the first 30 minutes, the Steelers:

• Had 19 minutes, 4 seconds of possession time.

• Outrushed the Falcons, 94-28. Atlanta came into the game averaging 160 yards per game on the ground, fourth best in the NFL.

• Converted 5 of 8 third downs. Atlanta whiffed on all four of their attempts.

• Committed no turnovers.

• Had no punts.

Give the offensive line some credit. Quarterback Kenny Pickett wasn’t sacked. He was hit just four times. The Steelers also ended up outrushing the Falcons, 154-146.

But, as coach Mike Tomlin pointed out, some drives ran out of steam in the first half and allowed the game to stay close.

“We settled for field goals. That’s always concerning,” Tomlin said. “There’s always going to be things to work on after games. I prefer to do that with a ‘W’ as opposed to an ‘L.’ ”

The Steelers were only 1 of 3 on red-zone chances.

Nasty Najee: After being knocked out with an abdominal injury last week, Najee Harris ran hard.

The second-year running back put up 86 yards rushing, a lot coming after first contact. And he threw some fierce stiff-arms along the way.

@ohthatsNajee22

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— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) December 4, 2022

In all, seven Steelers carried the ball in a diverse running attack. In the four games since the bye, the Steelers are averaging 161.2 yards per game on the ground.

Keeping it tight: The Steelers tight ends were stars. Pat Freiermuth ended the day with 76 receiving yards to lead the team. He also had the club’s longest play from scrimmage, a 57-yard catch-and-run on a third down.

Playmaker Pat Freiermuth

: #PITvsATL on CBS
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— NFL (@NFL) December 4, 2022

All three of Freiermuth’s catches were on third-down conversions. That one set up a touchdown pass to rookie tight end Connor Heyward.

First career touchdown for @ConnorHeyward1! ????

????: #PITvsATL on CBS
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— NFL (@NFL) December 4, 2022

That was Heyward’s first touchdown of his career. He went to Peachtree Ridge High School, 40 minutes away from Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

After the game, Heyward’s older brother, defensive captain Cameron Heyward, conducted his postgame news conference in a No. 34 Falcons jersey. That was to honor his late father, Craig “Ironhead” Heyward. The former Pitt Panther played part of his career in Atlanta. According to Cameron Heyward, he and his brother visited their father’s grave before the game.

Kenny catching on: Pickett is showing signs of development.

He was turnover-free and didn’t take any sacks. He also made some important throws, including the one to Heyward. The quarterback also made a few smart decisions running the ball.

It has been four games since Pickett has been picked. His passer rating has gone up every week since the 16-10 loss in Miami six weeks ago. His number was 90.9 against the Falcons.

Living up to their name: After some bad kickoff coverage last week in Indianapolis, the Steelers special teams were quite special in Atlanta.

Kicker Matthew Wright hit four field goals on four attempts. He also kept all six of his kickoffs away from Falcons star kick returner Cordarrelle Patterson. On the three returns that did happen, the Falcons only averaged 18.3 yards.

And, up by a field goal with 53 seconds left from the Atlanta 40-yard line, Pressley Harvin dropped a 38-yard punt just outside the Falcons’ goal line. Miles Boykin downed it at the 2-yard line.

Minkah Fitzpatrick followed with a game-sealing interception.

Airing of Grievances

Another second-half swoon: For the third straight game, the Steelers let a game they were controlling get tense after halftime.

Trailing 16-6 at the half, the Falcons outscored the Steelers, 10-3, in the second half. But they had a touchdown nullified on a penalty. That drive eventually stalled on the Steelers’ 10-yard line. It would’ve put the Falcons up 20-19 with seven minutes to go. Instead, Atlanta walked away still trailing 19-16.

What had been a stout Steelers defense allowed a 75-yard touchdown drive and a 16-play field-goal drive.

“They controlled the line of scrimmage with their front in the second half,” Tomlin said. “Thus, the time of possession. And it got tight.”

The Steelers only had four second-half possessions. One was a field-goal drive that died on Atlanta’s 15-yard line. The others ended with two punts and a one-play kneeldown.

Tough day: The wide receivers didn’t help the cause very much.

Diontae Johnson had five catches for 60 yards, including a crucial fourth-quarter catch right after the two-minute warning that extended the Steelers’ last drive. However, he also had a false start and two drops. Frankly, one of the drops was a break. I think it should’ve been a fumble.

George Pickens had just one catch for 2 yards. He was seen mouthing off and pouting on the sidelines during the game.

Steven Sims also had an adventure of a day. He ran the ball three times for 19 times and was targeted twice. One of those targets looked like a diving catch, but it was ruled that he didn’t secure it going to the ground. The other time, he ran out of bounds and came back in to catch the pass, so that drew a flag. Plus, he muffed a punt that could’ve been a disaster. But he recovered it.

What else?: The Steelers had four pre-snap penalties (not counting an intentional delay of game before Harvin’s punt). Johnson had that false start. Kevin Dotson and Dan Moore Jr. had one each as well. Plus, Pickett took a delay of game.

Pickett was 16 of 28 and, overall, pretty good. But he also had a few bad misses with open receivers.

T.J. Watt was quiet again. Dealing with a rib injury, Watt had no sacks or tackles for a loss. He had three total tackles on the day. He only has half a sack since coming off injured reserve four weeks ago. In all, Cameron Heyward was the only Steeler to sack Marcus Mariota in 24 pass attempts.