Who gets the BTSC game ball in the Steelers win over the Falcons?

Dec 5, 2022 - 12:30 AM

<a href= — Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

The Pittsburgh Steelers got their fifth win of the 2022 season with back-to-back road victories, this time in Atlanta against the Falcons. The Steelers offense once again got things going with the ground game while the defense finished the game off with a takeaway.

But who gets the game ball?

Each win for the Steelers this season, I will set forth nominations to receive the BTSC game ball. It does not necessarily have to be the best player on the field, but who really stepped up their game this particular week. After the case has been made, you all decide which player takes home the honor.

There have now been three game balls given out this season with the most recent being in Week 12. The winner for that game was Kenny Pickett. Commanding the Steelers offense, Kenny Pickett continued to make strides in his rookie season. Not only did he get his first road victory of his NFL career, it was his first win in prime time. In the game, Pickett completed 20 passes on 28 attempts for 174 passing yards as well as throwing a two-point conversion. Most importantly, he had no interceptions as this is the third-straight game the Steelers offense has not turned the ball over. Pickett also added 32 yards on the ground on six carries.

I will remind everyone of the rules that it is individual players who will be in the running. Although it could be applicable, it will not be either position groups or coaches who are eligible for this designation (but this week I am going to break my own rules) as they are more in line for Jeff Hartman’s Winners and Losers article.

So here are the nominations in no particular order:

Najee Harris

After only practicing once this past week and in a limited capacity, Najee Harris returned after missing the second half of last weeks game and rushed for 86 yards on 17 carries. With a 5.1 yards per attempt average, Harris also had a long of a 14-yard run and added one reception on one target for 6 yards.

The Offensive Line

I know, I broke my own rule. It’s very rare that I will include an entire position group, but these guys need some notoriety and it can’t just be one player over the others. But for this week, not only did the Steelers rush for 154 yards in the game, they also did not surrender any sacks.

Minkah Fitzpatrick

It wasn’t enough that Minkah Fitzpatrick led the defense with seven tackles, he had the game-sealing interception with under a minute to go on the Falcons very first play of their last drive. Even more, Fitzpatrick unselfishly kept from running into the end zone to allow the offense to simply take a knee rather than allow Atlanta to try to do something by possessing the ball for the last 35 seconds.

Connor Heyward

Although he was only targeted one time in the game, rookie tight end Connor Heyward had his first NFL touchdown with a 17-yard reception from Kenny Pickett. Making it a little extra special, big brother Cam stated after the game that he and Connor went to visit their father‘s grave in the Atlanta area earlier that morning before reporting to the stadium.

Matthew Wright

Going four-for-four in field goal attempts in the game, Matthew Wright had three kicks over 40 yards with two coming from 46 and one from 48. Adding on the extra point on the Steelers touchdown, another significant contribution from Wright was what he did on kickoffs. Avoiding the dangerous Cordarrelle Patterson, Wright used both direction and depth in order to keep Patterson from getting his hands on the ball for a return.

So what do you think? Who deserves the game ball for the Steelers this week? Make sure you vote in the poll as this is how the winner will be determined. And of course, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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