NFL 🏆s:

MVP: Ravens QB Lamar Jackson
DPOY: Patriots CB Stephon Gilmore
OPOY: Saints WR Michael Thomas
CPOY: Titans QB Ryan Tannehill
OROY: Cardinals QB Kyler Murray
DROY: 49ers DE Nick Bosa
COY: Ravens John Harbaugh
ACOY: Ravens Greg Roman

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 1, 2020

Despite having multiple top candidates, when the NFL gave out their individual awards on Saturday night, the Pittsburgh Steelers got shut out in all categories.

Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore beat out T.J. Watt for Defensive Player of the Year despite Watt having one of the best all-around seasons by an edge defender.

Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill won Comeback Player of the Year. It might be a bit obscure but did any player have a bigger bounceback this season compared to last than kicker Chris Boswell?

For the two Rookie of the Year awards, Pittsburgh had strong candidates in wide receiver Diontae Johnson and linebacker Devin Bush. But these definitely weren’t snubs as Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray and 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa were truly impressive.

Finally we come to Coach of the Year. The NFL gave the award to John Harbaugh of the Ravens who got his team to the playoffs with the league MVP at quarterback only to lose in the first round. Meanwhile, Mike Tomlin took his team to the verge of the playoffs with a guy named Duck playing quarterback.

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Historically, a strength of the Pittsburgh Steelers has always been the linebacker position. Former head coach Bill Cowher came to the Steelers in 1992 and brought the 3-4 defense and those four linebackers to prominence in the NFL. This season’s group of linebackers definitely held up the reputation of a Steelers linebacker.

Let’s look back at the numbers from last season.

Devin Bush-The talented rookie led the team in tackles and really flashed the type of potential Pittsburgh expected when they traded up to draft him. Bush didn’t see a heavy workload which was to be expected in order to help Bush avoid the rookie wall and we hope he sees more opportunities for splash plays in 2020.

2019 stats-109 total tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 2 interceptions, 9 tackles for loss, 4 fumble recoveries

T.J. Watt-Watt is a frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year and the undisputed leader of this group. His play was not only exceptional but he elevated the play of those around him. Watt led the team in sacks and ranked fourth in the NFL.

2019 stats-55 total tackles, 14.5 sacks, 8 forced fumbles, 2 interceptions, 14 tackles for loss, 4 fumble recoveries

Bud Dupree-2019 was the breakout season for Dupree. After four mediocre seasons, Dupree finally put things together and turned in an effort that should get him paid big money in free agency. Dupree’s athleticism was never in doubt but it was great to see him really work on his craft and become a better technician as a pass rusher.

2019 stats-68 total tackles, 11.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, 16 tackles for loss, 2 fumble recoveries

Mark Barron-If there was a weak link in this chain, it was Barron. Despite being third on the team in tackles, his game was more about cleanup than playmaking. The hope was Barron would find his game in new scenery but in the end he really didn’t have the level of impact many had hoped for and now finds himself on the roster bubble with a huge contract.

2019 stats-82 total tackles, 3 sacks, 4 tackles for loss, 1 fumble recovery

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When we ranked the offensive positional units for the Pittsburgh Steelers from last season, it was hard to pick No. 1 because the entire unit struggled so much. The same can be said for the defense but the other direction. There was really no weak link that stood out. Here’s our top five.

5-Inside linebackers

Rookie Devin Bush was great. His only limitation last season was how the coaches handled him in terms of his snap count and situational football. Bush led the team in tackles. Mark Barron, unfortunately, underwhelmed after being signed as a free agent and is the key reason this unit comes in last. Vince Williams played well but was underutilized all season.

Let’s be honest, the Pittsburgh Steelers offense was a mess last season. It was the worst iteration of a Steelers offense in two decades setting several marks for futility in franchise history. Much of the struggles could be attributed to injuries from Ben Roethlisberger to James Conner and JuJu Smith-Schuster.

Why all this setup? Because the reality is a case could be made to shuffle all five of these positions and you’d get little argument. The units as a whole were dreadful and none of them stood out for much of anything positive.

5-Quarterback

The minute Roethsliebrger was lost for the year, so was the season. Yes, the Steelers put up a good fight but all you have to do is watch the elite quarterback play in the playoffs and understand this team had no business being a part of that group. The offense failed to score 30 points last season and failed to produce a 300-yard passer.

Our defense led the league with 5️⃣4️⃣ sacks in the regular season.

👀 all of them ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/V4RD1nnogi

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) January 14, 2020

Last season we saw another season of the Pittsburgh Steelers absolutely terrorizing opposing quarterbacks. After sacking opposing quarterbacks 52 times in 2018, the Steelers bested themselves by leading the league with 54 sacks this season. The defense was the only thing that worked for Pittsburgh last season. This group always came through when the team needed to stall out a drive.

Linebacker T.J. Watt led the team with 14.5 sacks followed by linebacker Bud Dupree with 11.5 sacks and defensive tackle Cam Heyward with 9.0. Overall, 12 different players registered at least 0.5 sacks last season. Thanks to the bigtime upgrades in the secondary, the Steelers had the flexibility to use multiple blitz schemes which kept opposing offenses guessing where the pressure would come from.

Check out the video above if you want to relive every single sack from the 2019 season.

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This one is going to be tough. We’ve been working through each of the positional units, taking a look back at the 2019 season and now we find ourselves at the tight ends. For whatever reason, the Steelers haven’t truly addressed the tight end position with any real effort since Heath Miller retired in 2015.

Every offseason we have this conversation but maybe 2020 will be the offseason where the Steelers finally take a real interest in improving the position.

Vance McDonald

The best tight end on the roster was McDonald. Unfortunately, with a bloated salary cap number for 2020, he’s likely going to end up a cap casualty. I really do think McDonald has the potential to be in the top half of NFL tight ends statistically but the Steelers’ coaches didn’t let that happen.

2019 statistics | 38 receptions | 273 receiving yards | 3 receiving touchdowns

In 2018, most NFL pundits agreed that the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line was among the truly elite in the league. Not only were they the immoveable object in pass protection but the irresistible force in the run game. But in 2019, when the team needed them most, the Steelers offensive line didn’t show up.

Pro Football Focus noticed this when they put out their offensive line rankings for 2019 and dropped the Steelers from No. 1 last season to No. 9 this season with the same players.

Here’s what they had to say about the Steelers offensive line:

Injuries to the quarterback, running back and wide receiver positions quickly turned one of the NFL’s better offenses from a season ago into a unit that averaged more yards per play than only the Redskins, Bears and Jets this season.

What do we attribute the falling off of this group? Some can simply be a case of this group getting a year older. And getting banged up. Injuries were once again an issue but this happens every season.

The biggest reason for the slide might simply be due to coaching. One of the things the Steelers prided them on was discipline and strong fundamentals. There was never a missed assignment or problem with communication. This was not the case this season and I believe some of this was due to the absence of Mike Munchak. His departure in the offseason has shown all year long.

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The Pittsburgh Steelers were able to land multiple Pro Bowls and All-Pros this season. But several players played important roles without garnering as much praise for it. Here are the three unsung heroes from last season.

CB Mike Hilton

Hilton has had his ups and downs over the last two seasons. However, he remains one of the most explosive guys on the team and a real Swiss Army knife at cornerback. Whatever Pittsburgh asked Hilton to do he did if it was to drop into coverage, blitz or stick his nose into the line of scrimmage in the run game.

DL Javon Hargrave

One guy who never lit up the boxscore but always came to play was Hargrave. The Jets game, in particular, stood out to me as a game that really displayed how hard it is for Hargrave to be blocked. Cam Heyward gets all the headlines along the defensive line but Hargrave is a guy the Steelers will miss if they don’t re-sign him this offseason.

OT Zach Banner

To the fans, Banner quickly became a folk hero last season. The cheers from the Heinz Field crowd when they announced No. 72 was eligible were deafening. But more than just the novelty of a guy like Banner, he’s a really good football player too. He earned that sixth lineman spot ahead of Chuks Okorafor and kept Okorafor off the active roster for much of the season.

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The NFL playoffs are in full swing and unfortunately, the Pittsburgh Steelers are home watching. The Steelers ended the season 8-8 and will need to take some time this offseason to sort out how to get back to the playoffs after a now two-season absence.

But we are here to talk about some positives. Namely, our end of the season awards. Here are our winners.

Team MVP-LB T.J. Watt. I can’t imagine how bad this team would have been this season if not for Watt. He’s not only a top candidate for Defensive Player of the Year, but he’s also a first-team All-Pro and made the Pro Bowl.

Offensive Player of the Year-WR Diontae Johnson. Kind of scary the Steelers offense was so underwhelming a rookie wide receiver gets the nod. But honestly, there was no player who produced more consistently than Johnson. Johnson led the team in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.

Defensive Player of the Year-LB T.J. Watt. We have to go back to Watt here. I know it’s clever to give it to another position and if we did safety Minkah Fitzpatrick or linebacker Bud Dupree would both be great candidates. But if we just want the best defensive player over the course of the entire season, it’s Watt.

Special Teams Player of the Year-K Chris Boswell. It was great to have good Boz back in 2019. Boswell hit 29-of-31 field goal tries and didn’t miss a single extra-point try. If the Steelers offense hadn’t been so bad, Boswell might have had an All-Pro caliber season.

Comeback Player of the Year-K Chris Boswell. We are back to Boz for this one. After a season that could have cost him his job in 2018, the Steelers stuck by him and it really paid off.

Rookie of the Year-WR Diontae Johnson. Yep, when you are the best offensive player on the team and a rookie it makes sense you’d be the top rookie as well. I suppose you could make a case for linebacker Devin Bush here but Johnson was so dynamic and vital to the offense, he gets the nod.