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Winners and Losers from Steelers loss to Tennessee Titans

It was a poor offensive game, although there were some bright spots along the Steelers' defense in their 16-9 loss to Tennessee in Week 1.

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sport
Winners

Brett Keisel - A total of six tackles, but it looked early like Keisel would own the game by himself. While fans are no doubt furious over the loss, the Steelers defense played fairly well overall.

Jarvis Jones - Two tackles, both for losses, it's curious why he wasn't in the game more often. It's not the only curious aspect of this game. He continues to make plays in each situation he's in, with his hit on Titans running back Chris Johnson being one of the few highlights of an otherwise dreary game.

Emmanuel Sanders - With a career-high 12 targets, Sanders made some nice grabs in an otherwise deplorable offensive performance.

Losers

Isaac Redman - Two fumbles, and just a shade over one yard per carry. It was his worst game as a professional, and right in time to justify the Steelers keeping him on the roster over Jonathan Dwyer.

David DeCastro - Outside of rolling over Maurkice Pouncey's knee - an injury that likely will cost the All-Pro the season - DeCastro was part of an interior offensive line that was completely dominated through four quarters. The Steelers ran for 32 yards on 15 carries, and allowed five sacks and what seemed like pressure allowed every other drop back.

Kelvin Beachum - It's hard to single him out considering he's a tackle who took reps at guard this preseason, then started at tight end in Week 1 and ended up playing center, but the fact is he was overwhelmed at the point of attack, and the Titans brought pressure over him the entire game. Perhaps what was more glaring, though, was the lack of and poor level of communication along the line. That's the center's responsibility, and clearly (perhaps understandably), Beachum was not prepared.

Marcus Gilbert - He was slow to react to the large amount of stunting the Titans defense did, and didn't seem mentally in-tune to what was going on around him. Maybe the overall performance speaks to the mental value of having Pouncey on the field, but the offensive line was simply not prepared to face this defense.

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