DENVER– The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Denver Broncos 13-6 on Sunday. There were many ups and downs throughout the team, with significantly more highs on defense and many negatives on offense.

Who were the winners and who were the losers after this victory?

Winner: George Pickens

George Pickens consistently passes the WR1 test. Although his stats show two catches for 29 yards, Pickens has consistently out-performed the best cornerback in football, Pat Surtain II. If Pickens’ performance hadn’t been undone by penalties throughout the game, Pickens would have had four catches for 86 yards and a touchdown.

He separated himself from Surtain several times and drew two defensive pass interference penalties during the game. All in all, it was an impressive night for Pickens, who continued his rise to true WR1 status with a strong performance against Surtain.

Loser: Broderick Jones

The Steelers had a strange rotation at the right tackle position and Broderick Jones was the one who lost out. He only played one drive and on that drive he was assessed three penalties totaling 25 yards. His penalties negated a great pass from Pickens that would have put the Steelers in the red zone, a false start that took them back to a 3rd-and-11, and another holding penalty that negated a positive run.

It’s been a rough few weeks for Jones, but today was his lowest point. Even if the Steelers don’t fully appreciate his development, he is by far the third-best tackle on the team, and there’s no doubt about that.

Winner: Ben Skowronek

Ben Skowronek is an underrated but clear winner. He came off the practice squad but a special teams effort forced two penalties and made two tackles. That was the best punt coverage this team has had all season. Skowronek is a huge blessing for that. He deserves a mention for what he did.

Loser: Whatever the offense was in the second half

There are many losers to lump into that bucket. The offensive line, the wide receivers, Arthur Smith and others deserve the blame. Yet the Steelers had just 62 yards of offense and an average of 2.3 yards per play. They had six punts in the second half, with the only successful drive coming on a field goal off Chris Boswell’s foot.

The Broncos started the second half with a blitz-heavy approach and the Steelers had no answer in execution or play calling. That’s on everyone. Zach Frazier and Justin Fields also had another bad snap, this time from the shotgun when Frazier misheard the snap count.

So overall it was a mess and the Steelers had failed after an encouraging first half.

Winner: Cory Trice

Trice deserves to be recognized as the winner for taking the initiative under difficult circumstances. The Steelers lost Donte Jackson for several games when he started cramping in Denver’s high altitude. He said he also lost his breath more than once. As someone who is not used to the air, I know breathing can be very difficult.

However, Trice made the plays he needed to make throughout the game. He was the starter throughout the game and blocked everyone who came his way. Then, in zone coverage as a backup to Jackson, he made a great save against quarterback Bo Nix and intercepted a ball. Overall, it was a strong day for the Purdue product, which should be appreciated even without a pass reception.

Loser: Penalty shootout

This might be the biggest loss of all, and it was a team-wide problem, although the Steelers offense felt it more. On defense, Joey Porter Jr. was penalized three times in six games, something that can’t happen to a single defensive back. They were penalized for holding on one of their punt returns, which has become a problem.

However, the offense was destroyed by these penalties. Overall, the team finished with 78 penalty yards on ten penalties, but 17 penalties were called. The Steelers and Mike Tomlin need to change that if they want to win more games against better opponents, but it’s not going to work.

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