Steelers power rankings: 4 best performers in 3-0 start

Every year, Mike Tomlin comes armed with various welding tools, an electric saw, and good old know-how. The Pittsburgh Steelers have won three the hard way through a butt-ugly brand of football that’s the mirror image of the Dallas Cowboys. The names atop the marquee have rarely been household ones.

TJ Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick are the most accomplished Steelers, but their name ID is probably in the low teens among casual fans. However, the coaching staff has maximized the overachievers in their orbit. Here are the top four players who have contributed most to their 3-0 start. 

4. Chris Boswell

Tied with Cowboys nuclear-legged Brandon Aubrey for most field goals made through the opening three weeks, Boswell is also 4-for-5 beyond 50 yards and made both of his attempts between 40-49 yards. Given their inability to convert touchdowns, Boswell has been instrumental in all three victories thus far. Scoff at a kicker, all you want, but it illustrates how unlikely their 3-0 start is. Be glad punter Corliss Waitman didn't make this list.

3. Najee Harris

Operating behind a suboptimal offensive line dampened Najee Harris‘ raw numbers and productivity. Harris runs hard if he can locate a lane to slip through. If being the operative word. Injuries to rookie tackle Troy Fautanu and Isaac Seumalo have hindered Arthur Smith’s efforts to establish the ground game his previous offenses have been predicated on. In recent years. defenses have been able to stack the box because of Pittsburgh’s impotent passing attack. During the second half of the season, Wilson or Fields’ legs could add a dynamic that allows Harris to flourish against lighter boxes.

Najee Harris is in a contract year, and at times he runs like every carry is his last. You get hints of an angry juggernaut runner who could do more damage behind a Grade-A run-blocking offensive line. However, he grinds water from the stone on occasion such as when his physical running also clinched the win in Week 3. 

Harris has only gained 3.8 yards per carry for 209 yards, but he gets a pair of favorable matchups the next two weeks, which should give him an opportunity to pad his stats.

2. Justin Fields

It’s one thing to ponder whether Fields’ promising start is a small sample aberration that can endure for 18 weeks and another to give Fields props where it is due. In three games, he has taken on a progressively more significant role with each passing week he receives practice reps with the starters.

His stint as the starter began inauspiciously enough when he fumbled his opening snap of the season, which would have been his league-leading 41st in fumble since 2021. From that point forward, Fields has been as risk-averse as they come. Sunday’s win over the Chargers was a resume-builder for the current starting job he’s temping for. Now they need him to begin creating explosive plays without accidentally self-immolating.

1. TJ Watt

The human cannonball on the Steelers defense gets fired into backfields and overloads passing or rushing downs from the point of attack. Numbers don’t tell the whole story so far this year for Watt. He’s only generated three sacks, but he’s so psychologically detrimental to the nervous system of opposing quarterbacks, that he can make them see ghosts.

Against the Broncos, he pressured Bo Nix into collapsing into a heap by shouting boo aggressively in his ear. In Week 1, he recorded three sacks and forced two fumbles, both of which were negated by penalties. Against the  Falcons, he hacked the offensive line’s cadence, read the center’s head bob prior to the snap, and was off the starter’s block before the offensive line even processed his movement. Watt then strip-sacked Kirk Cousins before the dropback was even finished, unfortunately, that turnover was called back by a dubious offside ruling.

What do you even do about a pass rusher physically superior to his opposition and yet has the processing speed to hack the center’s cadence? On the final play of regulation, it was Watt who fittingly wrapped up Cousins and delivered the Steelers their first victory of the season. Watt remains the Steelers most valuable player.