3 Takeaways from Steelers' Week 15 Win vs. Panthers

The Pittsburgh Steelers haven't had their best season in 2022. However, they've been playing much better of late. And on Sunday afternoon, they went on the road and had one of their most complete performances of the year.

With a strong all-around showing, the Steelers handled the Carolina Panthers with relative ease, rolling to a 24-16 win at Bank of America Stadium. Pittsburgh never trailed, and they took the lead for good on Jaylen Warren's 2-yard touchdown run with 8 minutes and 20 seconds to go in the second quarter.

Since their Week 9 bye, the Steelers have won four of six games to improve to 6-8. Neither of those losses was by more than seven points, either.

Here are three takeaways from Pittsburgh's Week 15 win.

As Kenny Pickett was out due to a concussion, Mitchell Trubisky and Mason Rudolph split practice reps at quarterback throughout the week. However, the Steelers opted to stick with Trubisky, who came in following Pickett's exit in a Week 14 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

The decision worked out well, as Pittsburgh played a clean, efficient game on offense. It racked up 325 total yards and 22 first downs while committing no turnovers. And Trubisky led the unit effectively, completing 17 of his 22 pass attempts for 179 yards and scoring a 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

"He managed [the game] well," Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said, per Steve Reed of the Associated Press. "I thought he kept the ball off the ground. He played clean and had a high completion percentage. But it's easier to do those things when you're playing behind an effective run game."

That's true, and Pittsburgh ran the ball a lot, finishing with 45 carries for 156 yards and three TDs on the ground. Najee Harris (86 yards and a score) led the way, but Warren added 38 yards and a touchdown.

By relying on the run game, holding onto the ball and not asking Trubisky to do too much, the Steelers followed an ideal formula for offensive success, given their current unit. And they should try to keep doing that for as long as Trubisky is under center.

T.J. Watt has been one of the best defensive players in the NFL throughout his six-year career. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that the 28-year-old linebacker made some history during Sunday's game against Carolina.

Watt recorded 1.5 sacks vs. the Panthers, boosting his career total to 76 in 84 games. He became the third-fastest player in NFL history to reach the 75-sack mark, behind only Reggie White (65 games) and his brother J.J. Watt (82), according to Reed.

After playing at least 15 games in each of his first five seasons, Watt has been limited to seven this year due to injury. But the Steelers' defense is much better when he's on the field (as you'd expect), and that was again proven this week.

The Panthers had only 209 total yards and 12 first downs, and they got into the end zone only once. Watt led a pass rush that sacked quarterback Sam Darnold four times. Pittsburgh also completely shut down Carolina's ground game, as it had only 21 yards on 16 carries.

Watt may have only four sacks this year, but it's possible he'll start racking up quite a few over the final few weeks of the regular season.

Tomlin never had a losing season during his first 15 seasons as Pittsburgh's head coach. The Steelers finished 8-8 three times during that stretch, but they never ended up with more losses than wins. And it's still possible that streak could extend to 16.

However, Pittsburgh will need to win each of its final three games and finish 9-8 in order for that to happen. Even that may not be enough to get the Steelers into the playoffs (as they'd need help from other teams losing), but they could at least end up with a winning record.

The final three games on Pittsburgh's schedule are against the Las Vegas Raiders (6-8), the Baltimore Ravens (9-5) and the Cleveland Browns (6-8). The Ravens pose the biggest challenge, but they won't be as daunting if quarterback Lamar Jackson still hasn't returned from a knee injury by that Week 17 matchup.

At one point this year, the Steelers were 2-7. So even if they end up just below .500, it's still impressive that they've played well enough in the second half to put themselves in a position to potentially keep Tomlin's streak alive.