Steelers vs. Chiefs: Three Winners and a ridiculously long list of Losers

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs took part in the home opener at Heinz Field Womens Jordan Berry Jersey , and the Steelers presented their loyal fan base with a big, fat, ugly loss. The 42-37 defensive stink-fest was nothing to write home about, yet there were some good performances at least worthy of recognition.During the game, some perform well while others fall short of the standard. This is where the Winners and Losers column comes in. After the game, when the dust settles, we decipher who falls into which category. As always, feel free to comment on the list in the comment section below. Be part of the conversation!WinnersJuJu Smith-SchusterStat Line: 13 receptions, 121-yards, 1 TD, 19 targetsDon’t look now, but Smith-Schuster is becoming a star before our very eyes. Maybe he’s a beneficiary of the extra attention going to Antonio Brown but, whatever the reason Authentic Cameron Heyward Jersey , he’s taking advantage of his opportunities. He may not be the fastest receiver in the league, but he looks every bit the part as he has now gone over 100-yards receiving in back-to-back games.Jesse JamesStat Line: 5 catches, 138-yards, 1 TD, 5 targetsSteelers need a tight end, you say? Jesse James just showed what he was capable of by catching every pass thrown his way and cashing in on his opportunities. Like Smith-Schuster, he may not be the best or most athletic at his position, but that doesn’t make him less valuable. Great game by ‘The Outlaw’.Ben RoethlisbergerStat Line: 39/60, 455-yards, 3 TDs, 2 rushes, 9 yards, 1 TDRoethlisberger chucked the ball around the yard 60 times and only completed 39 of those. He looked a bit off at times Authentic James Conner Jersey , missing some open receivers, but Roethlisberger kept the Steelers in this game — not to mention helping to bring them back from 21 points down in the first half. The Steelers lost, but not because of Ben.LosersMike TomlinStat Line: This team is a hot messI’m a staunch Tomlin supporter, but this is getting ridiculous. This team might be one of the most undisciplined in recent memory, and the defense — which should be Tomlin’s forte — is anything but good. Time for the team and Tomlin to put-up or shut-up — and you can feel a seat getting warm.Keith Butler & Randy FichtnerStat Line: This team is a hot messTomlin deserves a lot of blame, but so do the coordinators. The plan for both sides of the ball coming into this game was as bland and ill-advised as any I can recall. When the offense scraps its game plan in the first quarter, that tells you the defense has collapsed and the offensive plan is failing in every sense of the word. Unacceptable.The entire defenseStat Line: Patrick Mahomes threw more TDs than incomplete passesThere isn’t enough space on this platform to write about how poor the entire defense played on Sunday. One sack and the lone turnover — a Cam Heyward-forced fumble — happened after three missed tackles by the Steelers. Just read the stat line over and over again — this defense was awful from top to bottom. No exceptions.Jordan BerryStat Line: 5 punts, 46.4 average, 59-yard long, saved by the 59-yard puntSure, Berry had a great 59-yard punt which led to a Chiefs’ safety, but Berry’s performance this season hasn’t been good. Wouldn’t be shocked to see the Steelers bring in a few punters to make a change, or kick-start Berry.Chris BoswellStat Line: Hasn’t made a field goal yet this seasonWhat is the deal with Boswell? Last year he missed three field goals all season Womens David DeCastro Jersey , this season he is 0/2 on field goals, and he’s already missed an extra point as well. Like a golfer struggling off the tee, it looks like Boswell doesn’t know where the ball is going when he kicks it. Boswell is in a bad place right now. Antonio BrownStat Line: 9 receptions, 67 yards, 17 targets — stormed off like a little baby after the gameBrown’s stat line isn’t horrible, but if you witnessed his demeanor and early exit out of the locker room, you’d assume he hadn’t caught any passes vs. the Chiefs. I don’t care about sideline antics. Tom Brady yells at his coordinator and is dubbed a “fiery competitor,” but when others do it they’re “divas” or “pouting.” What bothers me, though, is Brown not facing the music after the game. You think anyone connected to the Steelers actually wanted to talk about this game after the fact? Nope, but they did anyway. Brown still has a lot to learn. Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Bud Dupree just smiled earlier this month when asked what would happen if the "Hard Knocks" cameras decided to spend a month embedded with the team during training camp."We're too real for TV," Dupree said with a grin.Dupree meant it as a joke. Two weeks later, nobody is laughing.The Steelers (0-1-1) are winless heading into next Monday's visit to Tampa Bay and the distractions they stressed the importance of avoiding in 2018 only seem to be multiplying.The latest arrived in the aftermath of a loss to Kansas City when All-Pro wide receiver Antonio Brown opted to skip work on Monday Womens Ramon Foster Jersey , though he did find the time to hop on Twitter and respond to criticism by a former team employee who believes Brown should be thankful that he plays alongside quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.No one took Brown's suggestion of "trade me let's find out " seriously. Coach Mike Tomlin's bigger concern was Brown's absence from a mandatory day of meetings, a misstep that led to an extended sit-down between the two on Tuesday."I'll leave the nature of that conversation between us," Tomlin said Wednesday. "There was discipline involved for his missed meeting for Monday. Some of the other things we talked about extensively, he'll speak for himself in some of those things. Really our focus is preparing to win this game on Monday night."Tomlin did not outline Brown's punishment. The only player in NFL history with five consecutive seasons of at least 100 receptions practiced alongside his teammates on Wednesday and there appears to be no plans to have him sit when the Steelers play the Buccaneers (2-0).Asked if he expects Brown to face Tampa Bay, center Maurkice Pouncey responded "100 percent" and insisted there would be no blowback against Brown in the locker room for another in an increasing line of highly visible missteps."People don't know the things he has going on in his life, he's totally fine," Pouncey said. "He talked to the people he needed to talk to and confirmed why he wasn't here and we move on as a team and that's totally fine."Pouncey's remarks came two weeks after he and the rest of the offensive line vented about running back Le'Veon Bell's decision to stay away from the team rather than sign his one-year franchise tender and two months after Pouncey opened training camp by saying "I know it's all fun and games for everybody at the beginning but man it's time to win."And yet here the Steelers are, tied with Cleveland for last place in the AFC North while Bell jet skis in Florida and Brown flouts team rules . Roethlisberger did his best to downplay any sense of the off-the-field issues swallowing the team whole."I mean any team, any sport is going to have some kind of distractions throughout the year," Roethlisberger said. "I think that's what makes you professional. How can you respond and recover from it."The best chance Pittsburgh has at crawling out of its self-created funk must come with Brown in the fold. Cameras caught him shouting at offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner in the second half, hardly the first time Brown has let his anger bubble to the surface when things aren't going well."I think that he's the best in the world and when you're the best in the world you want to participate, you want to win football games," Roethlisberger said. "We're all a little frustrated because we're not winning right now."It's not as if Brown has been frozen out of the offense. He's been targeted a league-high 33 times and his 18 receptions are tied for the team lead with JuJu Smith-Schuster. Brown Authentic Ben Roethlisberger Jersey , however, is averaging just 8.9 yards per catch, a byproduct of defenses determined to take away his breakaway ability."AB is a very passionate football player," Roethlisberger said. "We know that. The fans know that. That's what makes him special is his passion for this game and the passion to be great. We're not going to want to take that away from him."If anything, at least Roethlisberger and company have become accustomed to talking about the latest off-the-field dustup. They won 13 games in a 2017 that often felt chaotic and why they shrugged when asked if there's a cumulative toll of spending so much time answering questions that have little to do with their play."It can if you let it control you," cornerback Artie Burns said. "I think we do a good job of trying to keep the camaraderie together as a team and just focus on week to week. You never know what may come up on the headlines or whatever, so you've got to prepare for it."The Steelers are certainly getting plenty of practice.AP NFL website: pro32.ap.org and ://AP_NFL Custom Washington Redskins Jerseys