KWON ALEXANDER
Inside Linebacker
Sometimes it's not about the cumulative. Sometimes the outcome of the game comes down to a single snap of the ball, which makes the result of that specific play the difference between winning and losing.
With 11 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Steelers were protecting a 20-16 lead, but Tennessee had the ball at the Pittsburgh 19-yard line. It was third-and-5, and a touchdown there would have sent the Steelers home with a loss and silenced the 65,969 paying customers at Acrisure Stadium.
Titans quarterback Will Levis attempted his 39th pass of the night, and he tried to get it to tight end Josh Whyle down the middle of the field. But before the ball arrived at Levis' target, Kwon Alexander stepped in front and intercepted the ball just inside the end zone. The touchback gave the Steelers the ball, and one take-a-knee later they had a victory that raised their record to 5-3. For that huge play on the weightiest down of the game, Alexander is the Steelers Digest Player of the Week.
Also considered were Jaylen Warren, who had 113 yards from scrimmage on 14 touches – 88 yards rushing and 25 yards receiving; Diontae Johnson, who caught 7 passes for 90 yards (12.9 average) and a 3-yard touchdown that provided the Steelers with the decisive points in this victory and was his first touchdown since the 2021 Wild Card Round loss in Kansas City; and Alex Highsmith, who had 4 tackles, including 2 for loss, plus 2 sacks, and 5 hits on the quarterback.
