It’s Alumni Weekend, a time when past Steelers players are brought back to town for a celebration that includes a lavish dinner and speeches to a packed banquet hall on Saturday night, and during the next day’s game.
A halftime ceremony will be held. All participants are introduced to the crowd.
This Alumni Weekend, not only did the Steelers pay homage to their past players, but the current team also played with the style that their former players were familiar with, especially on offense.
The Steelers wrapped up the 2023 Alumni Weekend with a 23-19 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday at Acresure Stadium.
Of all the reasons for that result, none was more important than his 205 yards rushing on 36 attempts (5.7 yards average). ). And the offense produced two touchdowns.
Leading the parade vs. The Packers, second-year pro Jalen Warren had his first 100-yard game of the NFL regular season with 101 yards on 15 carries (6.7 average) and one touchdown, followed by Najee Harris with 16 carries.
He had 82 yards per carry (5.1 average). And one touchdown. The Steelers gained over 200 yards in a game for the first time since Nov. 13, 2022 against New Orleans, totaling 217 yards on 43 attempts (5.7 average) and scoring two touchdowns. They beat the Saints 20-10.
“I think it comes from having some continuity with the guys up front and being able to do more reps together,” Kenny Pickett said.
“You know, we had a positive game and had a chance to have a positive game, and they did that,
Nagy and Jaylen had great runs, the line and the defense got into a good rhythm. It was like a fusion of things.”
The offense gained 166 yards on 30 attempts (5.5 yards average) against Tennessee on Nov. 2, and in Sunday’s win, the Steelers added No. 1 pick Broderick Jones to the starting group at right tackle.
It’s probably no coincidence that he gained 205 yards after that. Over Green Bay. Jones is far from a finished product, lacking experience, and right tackle may not even be his best position, but things have changed since he became the starter. Better.
“Young with great energy, man,” said Pickett about Jones. “He approaches the game the right way. He brings a fire into the huddle, which you love to see as a quarterback. I think he’s nasty in the run game.”
Jones is 311 pounds of agility and mobility spiked with a healthy dose of hostility, and since he’s been starting it hasn’t taken long to see a snapshot of him pulling around to the left side, or firing off the line of scrimmage, or getting in front of a receiver on a quick pass and taking off in search of a defender to engage.
Jones isn’t the only offensive lineman mixing it up in a positive way over the last couple of games, but his energetic aggressiveness has been contagious.
And Harris and Warren have been taking advantage of the creases the unit has created, their success has led to more opportunities, it’s been lather, rinse, repeat, and the Steelers discovered a two-pronged rushing attack that has been a winning edge.
But even though they rushed for 100 yards in the first half and ended their first three possessions in the game with two rushing touchdowns and a Chris Boswell field goal, the game was another nail-biter that again came down to the final play as time expired.
The reason for the suspense this time was the defense’s inability to take advantage of a Green Bay offense that to this point in the season had been middle of the pack in third-down efficiency.
Green Bay answered the Steelers offensive output with two touchdowns in its first three possessions, with quarterback Jordan Love converting a couple of third downs in scoring territory to turn what could have been 3 points into 6 both times.
On a third-and-7 from the Steelers 8-yard line, Love found wide receiver Romeo Doubs for a touchdown in a situation where the defense making a play would’ve persuaded Coach Matt LaFleur to opt for a field goal.
The second time was even worse. The Packers faced a third-and-16 from the Steelers’ 35-yard line when Love scored a touchdown to wide receiver Jaden Reed.
“Let me tell you why it was a close game,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “We lost some key possessions early in the game.
They not only got some third downs, but they converted two touchdowns in the first half into scores. We won on downs and went for the four points. You have to be able to compete and get people to make field goals. They were unable to do so, and the match became a close one. They capitalized on those two touchdown opportunities and picked things up from there. ”
Through the first nine games of this regular season, the Steelers emerged as a team with an offense that lacked power and speed and a defense that was slow to attack despite periods of dynamic play.
However, once the game started, the team performed well enough to win, making key plays in each of the six wins.
“They showed right away that they’re not afraid of big moments,” Tomlin said of the team a few days before the game against the Packers.
“And to be honest, not every team has had great success. This group seems to be filled with people who want to make a splash at a critical moment.
We’ve had some exciting ballgames and I’m not afraid. The players feel like they are playing to win in the key moments and in the closing moments of the game. Plus, it’s fun to be here. ”
That process began a few months ago on the campus of St. Vincent’s University, when Tomlin set up “seven shots,” set up games with backs-on-backers, and worked with the first-team offense and first-team players in lively two-minute sessions.
He made the team’s defense fight. Let me. There were winners and losers even then, and even though the stakes were minor compared to what they’d face when the games began to count in the standings, there were stakes, nonetheless.
“I’ve worked my tail off to nurture it in terms of the situations that I put him in, and how transparent we are about competition and so forth,” said Tomlin.
“But you know, that’s a God-given thing from an individual perspective – that desire to compete, that strong will we look for in the acquisition of players because we just realize how important it is.”
As has happened in each of their two most recent games, a defense playing without free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick for the second game and without inside linebacker Cole Holcomb for the first of many games was presented with the opportunity to secure victory, and it delivered both times.
Possession downs were a problem for the Steelers defense throughout the afternoon, with those early failures turning the game into a nip-and-tuck affair, and then in the second half the Packers converted a fourth-and-4, a third-and-3, a third-and-7, a third-and-10, and a fourth-and-2 to end the game 10-for-18 (55.6 percent) on possession downs.
But in the midst of that came two takeaways in the final four minutes that took touchdowns away from Green Bay with the Steelers protecting a 23-19 lead.
First, Keanu Neal intercepts a pass intended for wide receiver Christian Watson in the end zone, but the play is made by Patrick Peterson, who throws the ball away from Watson and places it where Neal can hold it. threw the ball to. he. The second was a game-winning interception by Damonte Kazee at the goal line with three seconds left on another pass intended for Watson.
“So as a defenseman, you always want to be in front when the game is on the line,” T.J. said. Watt. “Obviously we don’t like close games, but if we have to, we want to be able to decide what happens at the end of the game. And throughout the process, we have a lot of adversity built in.
” Coach Tomlin is all about that. So it’s just a matter of him not turning a blind eye to that moment. ”
The inside linebacker group, already struggling with missing Holcomb for the remainder of the season with a knee injury, now appears to be facing the absence of Kwon Alexander for the foreseeable future, and there are concerns he will be struggling.
Their resolve will be tested once again as Knee and lower leg injuries could end their season.
“There’s a huge chance we can turn things around with a win, and I know it would suck for the players to lose,” Watt said.
Everyone participates in the same meeting. ”Everyone knows the criteria. In times like these, it is important to improve.
There’s no time to sit and sulk while a football game is on. We just have to stay calm and I feel like we did that well today. ”