Claypool shows that he can be 'the guy' taken at Acrisure Stadium (Steelers)

SHELLEY LIPTON / ICON SPORTSWIRE VIA GETTY

Chase Claypool celebrates with fans after his touchdown vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Acrisure Stadium.

"Gunner come here real quick … he gave me my first celebratory dip."

Chase Claypool greeted reporters at his stall with a ‘dip’ in his lip and a cup in his hand, courtesy of Gunner Olszewski, in the back corner of the Steelers' locker room Sunday at Acrisure Stadium, minutes after he and his team knocked off Tom Brady and the Buccaneers, 20-18.

There was a lot of reason to celebrate for a group of Steelers team that has largely underperformed, been banged up with injuries and has faced more adversity than maybe any other Mike Tomlin team has. And no one player has faced more of that adversity than Claypool himself.

Chase has seen blame thrown his way for a Kenny Pickett interception against the Jets that, if you ask any fan on the street, should have been caught, and he’s constantly under fire for not utilizing his size when it comes to contested catches.

This week was different for the 6-4, 238-pound receiver.

Claypool put on display everything that this franchise and this fan base thought he could be. Quick slants? Yep. Contested balls down the middle of the field? No problem. Red zone touchdown late in the game against man to man coverage? Forget about it.

Simply put, when the Steelers needed Claypool the most, the second round pick out of Notre Dame stepped up and that’s exactly what he wanted for himself.

"I want to be the guy that can be counted on in those situations," Claypool said. "Any time I get an opportunity, it’s an honor to make those plays."

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Kenny Pickett was knocked out of the game with a concussion in the third quarter, bringing back much maligned quarterback, Mitch Trubisky to finish off a game that was 13-12 at the time of the injury. When things were at their most volatile, when his teammates and his quarterback needed him to step up most, Claypool did just that, hauling in two third down receptions in the final drive to keep the ball out of Tom Brady's hands.

Coming into Sunday, Claypool had 16 receptions on 29 targets for just 129 yards receiving through five games. Not the best stat line for even a middle of the road NFL receiver, but for someone that called himself a top three receiver in the league during the off-season, it’s unacceptable. Then Sunday vs. Tampa Bay happened. Claypool’s stat line was seven receptions on seven targets for 96 yards and a touchdown, the first touchdown by a wide receiver this season. That’s more like it.

This is one game and, to be sure, we’ve seen this type of performance by Claypool in the past. Against the Denver Broncos last season he caught five balls on six targets for 130 yards and a touchdown. He started his rookie season off with six touchdowns in his first five games (including a three touchdown game vs. Philadelphia). The potential is there and when he finds ‘it’ it’s undeniable, but it can’t just be today. 

"It was a good day today," Tomlin said about Claypool's day. "We're talking about what transpired today. He made some critical plays today. We're not trying to paint with a broad brush and show some trajectory. He made some plays today and I'm appreciative of it."

Claypool's big game might have meant more to Trubisky than any other teammate. As Trubisky took the field in the third quarter after Pickett's injury, the atmosphere in the stadium immediately went from one of excitement and hope to one of high anxiety waiting for the worst to inevitably happen. That wasn't written into the script for this game though, no, this script contained clutch third down catches during the game's biggest moments. This script was a redemption arch.

"To step up like that, especially on third downs, that's what it's all about" Trubisky said of his wide receiver. "That’s like football, and that’s like life. You’re going to have ups and downs and you’re going to have weeks where it’s not really going your way. But you’ve got to stick with it and just continue to buy into the process and to have those big catches and to have a moment like this and get a win after the game, it kind of makes it all worth it.”

To take a line from Najee Harris, it’s about stacking bricks. For the Steelers sake, especially the offense, here’s hoping that Sunday afternoon at Acrisure Stadium was the foundation for a lot more bricks to be placed for the rest of the 2022 season.

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