Good JuJu With Ben Back

Jordan DeFigio, @fidgenewton

SteelerNation.com

The Pittsburgh Steelers came to play on Monday Night Football, locking down the win in their 2020 season opener with a 26-16 victory over the New York Giants. The defense held running back Saquon Barkley to just 6 yards on 15 carries, along with two interceptions coming from TJ Watt and Cameron Heyward. On the other side of the ball, Ben Roethlisberger went 21/32 for 229 yards and 3 touchdowns in his return. Two of those touchdown passes were to JuJu Smith-Schuster, immediately addressing two of the biggest questions plaguing Pittsburgh coming into this season - whether Roethlisberger would return to form and whether Smith-Schuster has what it takes to be a number one receiver.

Based on the stats and the eye test, we know the answer to both.

And that answer is yes.

Roethlisberger and Smith-Schuster received endless amounts of scrutiny throughout the off-season, so each went into the game with something to prove. Not only did they produce more in the way of points (scoring more in game one than the lackluster offense did all last season), but they also came up big in critical points of the game to make plays that extended drives instead of giving the ball back to the Giants for an opportunity to shift the momentum.

Most specifically, these plays right here:

Roethlisberger keeps his cool and continues to march the ball down the field on 3rd and 6, trailing the Giants by a touchdown.

Or how about this one?

The awareness shown by Smith-Schuster to keep tracking with Benny Snell, Jr., then to sacrifice his body under a pile of Giants' defenders to jump on the loose ball was nothing short of top notch play. He is a guy who wants to do whatever it takes to help his team win.

"When I see something like that, I don't second guess or think about not jumping in there and getting the ball," said Smith-Schuster. "It's more I want to win any possible way. I want my team to win. I want to win a World Championship," Smith-Schuster said.

"How many guys that are 'looking for a contract' and trying to get paid would dive into a pile and risk their body and injury to recover a fumble that he didn't fumble? To me, that just shows what kind of a team guy he is," said Roethlisberger. He added, "I think everyone's motivated. Everyone wants to win every football game. We want to win a Lombardi. That's our No. 1 goal."

No one knows what the future holds for these guys. But what we DO know is that they're healthy, they're hungry, and they have something to prove.

All we can do is hope they keep piling it on.

What were your thoughts on the game one performances by Big Ben and JuJu? Let us know in the comments below.

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