By Adam McCoy
SteelerNation.com
For every game played, you have players that stand out, both for good and bad things. We're going to look at those players, both winners and losers each week, and highlight or throw them under the bus.
Winners
James Washington
I'll be honest, after putting James Washington in the losers column last week, I then went back through highlights and saw the two monster blocks he made that game, and I felt a little bad about putting him there. This week though, he absolutely earned himself a spot in the winners column. Four catches, 69 yards, including a monster 40-yard bomb, and an amazing one-handed catch. This young receiver corp will only get better as the year goes on, and as it does, look out.
Minkah Fitzpatrick
I just want to make sure there still aren't any people out there that think Minkah wasn't worth that first round pick, right? Minkah Fitzpatrick secured his 4th interception (2nd in the league behind Devin McCourty - 5) on a beautiful 96-yard pick six. If he keeps this up, he could easily find himself as a dark horse contender for Defensive Player of the Year.
Trey Edmunds
Man, what a week for Trey Edmunds. From practice squad, to a 45-yard scamper for your first NFL touch of the season. I loved seeing his brother Terrell Edmunds right there on the sidelines at the end of the run hyping his brother up -- that's a cool thing you don't get to see often in the NFL. Edmunds finished the day with 73 yards on 12 carries. His running style reminds me of LeGarrette Blount, which I like, but I wonder where he fits on the roster once both James Conner and Benny Snell Jr. are back and healthy.
Bud Dupree
I've said it here and here how Bud Dupree could finally have that year and be that guy opposite of TJ Watt the Steelers need. Well, so far so good. He now has 6 sacks (tying a career high) to go along with Watt's 7.5 sacks. His two forced fumbles this year doubled his career total in forced fumbles. He has constantly been a terror coming at quarterback's blindsides this year and it is really starting to pay off. It's going to pay off for Dupree too if he keeps this up.
Other Winners: Jaylen Samuels (and his PPR-league fantasy owners), Terrell Edmunds, and Mike Hilton.
Losers
Us, The Viewers
Another week, another game ruined by "refball". This has been a constant theme, week in, week out, Sunday, Monday, and Thursday, games being effected due to refs abusing their power and influence in a game with flaky calls, phantom interference calls, and anything stronger than a light breeze making contact with a quarterback roughing the passer. Gone are the days of memorable plays, remembering a game for a highlight play or a standout performance. Now, every week we're left with a bad taste in our mouth, feeling dissatisfied and left feeling robbed. There's seemingly only one team immune to it, but we'll not get into it. I used to love watching football. I'd spend my entire Sunday watching football, multiple streams up, just kicking back and enjoying the NFL experience. Now, with me traveling for work, I struggle to find myself watching any football at all. Now Adam you may say, the Steelers won the game, shouldn't you be happy? Well yes, I am happy the Steelers won, but that doesn't diffuse the point here. The refs continue to have an enormous impact on almost every single game. I feel like we may start to see a decline in viewership if this continues.
Let us know who you thought might've been a "winner" or "loser" in the comment section below!
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