Steelers' Pat Freiermuth: Productive in season-ending defeat

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Freiermuth brought in five of eight targets for 76 yards in the Steelers' 31-17 wild-card loss to the Bills on Monday afternoon. He also fumbled once but did not give up possession.

Freiermuth was the surprise leader in receiving yards and also shared the team lead in receptions for the Steelers, with Mason Rudolph frequently turning to the big tight end for quick-hitting passes. Freiermuth also boasted the longest catch of the day for Pittsburgh, a 33-yard first-quarter grab that ended with the third-year pro fumbling the ball and seeing it seemingly recovered by the Bills' Christian Benford (knee), only to have both the on-field and replay officials rule that Benford didn't secure possession inbounds. Freiermuth was significantly less involved as a receiver across his 12 regular-season games in 2023 after recording at least 60 catches in his first two campaigns, posting a 32-308-2 line on 47 targets. However, Freiermuth finished the campaign with a 23-248-0 tally over the final seven regular-season contests, a span that notably began with the first game following offensive coordinator Matt Canada's firing.