The Pittsburgh Steelers took their home opener with an impressive 24-16 victory against the division rival Cincinnati Bengals. With that said it is time for our weekly stock report. Whose stock went up in the win and whose stock is now trending down?

Stock Up

Robert Golden

Golden was everywhere in this game. In dime, and in some nickel situations he stepped into the box as a linebacker of sorts and was able to defend the slot and the run in multiple wide receiver formations. Golden finished the game with eight tackles, including the first two of the game and one pass deflection, which helped save a touchdown. He was near the ball on seemingly every play and almost ended up with a recovered fumble. Many questioned how Golden would perform as a full-time starter but through two weeks it has been the furthest thing from a problem.

Sammie Coates

The Steelers went back to back weeks playing without Markus Wheaton due to a shoulder injury. The big question through two weeks has been whether or not the loss of Wheaton even hurts them. Coates has had ups and downs through the pre-season as well as the first two weeks. However, in this game, he came up with two huge catches that helped in changing the game. He only caught two passes but did for 97 yards, a 53-yard reception, and a 44-yard reception. He helped flip the field and is going to keep safety help away from Antonio Brown if he can continue to prove to be a deep-field threat.

Jesse James

James’ stock was up after week one and it only continues to rise. James only caught three passes, but two went for a first down, and the other went for a touchdown. He had two impressive catches in traffic where he used his size and solid hands to bring down passes. It will take years to bring up any sort of Heath Miller comparison, but through two games it feels like the Steelers have not missed a beat from their tight end production.

Stock down

Lawrence Timmons

Timmons, who trended down after last week continues his ascension down the list of Steelers relied on defensive players. The Steelers played a lot of dime in this game, and in that, it was Artie Burns taking his spot, with Robert Golden jumping into the box to assume the role Timmons would have. Timmons showed to be a liability in coverage in week one and the Steelers were not going down that road again in week two. It is almost a certainty that 2016 will be the lowest number of snaps and the lowest percentage of snaps played in the career of Lawrence Timmons.

Sean Davis

The play of Davis in the slot and as a safety when Golden comes down into the slot has been what gives the Steelers the ability to sub Timmons out. However, the Steelers did sub in Davis for Timmons at times, and in some nickel situations, the team chose to play William Gay in the slot instead of Davis. Davis missed a couple of tackles early, and on the Bengals only touchdown it was the rookies Artie Burns and Sean Davis missing tackles on Giovani Bernard. It is tough to be hard on a second-round draft pick in his rookie season but he is a starter and has to be judged as a starter. The Steelers will be looking for his stock to rise as he gets his NFL legs under hi in the next few weeks.

The Rest of the NFL

The only team in the NFL that can even be argued to have performed as impressively as the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first two weeks was the New England Patriots. Both teams won road primetime games against former playoff teams, and both teams won home divisional games. However, in the Steelers situation, the Bengals are not just a division rival. This is a team that many have considered as legitimate Super Bowl contenders. The Bengals had revenge on their minds from the 2015 playoffs and it just did not matter against the Steelers.

The offense, in the rain, gained 374 yards and had nine different players catch a pass. It is unreal to think what this team can be with Markus Wheaton, Le’Veon Bell and potentially Ladarius Green all coming in the next couple of weeks. Be on alert, NFL, the Steelers are here and they are not slowing down.