Taken from the gradebook of a teacher who is pleased to see consistent improvement from his students, here is the Pittsburgh Steelers Report Card for the win over Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium.

Bud Dupree & Stephon Tuitt converge on Joe Flacco. Photo Credit: Sean Simmers via PennLive.com

Quarterback
Ben Roethlisberger might not have had his flashiest day of the season and he certainly did miss on a couple of key throws. But Ben Roethlisberger was hot in the Red Zone and the Steelers converted 10 of 16 third downs paving Pittsburgh’s way to a 36:29 edge in time of possession. One critique, Roethlisberger’s-almost injury on the run was a little reckless. Grade: A-

Running Backs
Historically, the Baltimore Ravens have been a very tough team to run on, but James Conner had 70 yards in the first half alone and added 56 through the air before it was done. Jaylen Samuels had one run for two yards. Grade: A+

Tight Ends
Jesse James 51 yard catch in the 4th quarter very well may have been the play of the game. James had one other catch for 13 yards and Vance McDonald had 3 catches for 25 yards, although ball security is becoming an issue with McDonald. The Steelers played a lot of two tight end sets, and James Conner had a lot of room to run. Grade: A-

Wide Receivers
Antonio Brown only had 5 catches for 42 yards, but he made them count as one went for a touchdown, and several others extended drives. JuJu Smith-Schuster led the team with 7 catches for 78 yards, although he did drop what could have been a long one. James Washington returned to the offense and had two catches with one drop, while Ryan Switzer had 3 catches for 41 yards. Grade: B+

Offensive Line
The Ravens pressured Ben Roethlisberger but didn’t sack him until the Steelers final series, and that was after Roethlisberger had burned off ample clock time. Even more impressively, James Conner had room to run, and he exploited it, which was a huge difference from the last outing against Baltimore. Grade: A+

Defensive Line
The Ravens had some early success running the ball, and it looked like their line might win the battle upfront. However, that never came to fruition and, while Steelers only registered two sacks of Joe Flacco, they did pressure him all afternoon. Stephon Tuitt had an off sides penalty negate a sack, but he dropped Joe Flacco on Baltimore’s final drive, essentially sealing the game. Cam Heyward had a key stop on the previous drive and blew up the Ravens line to set up Tuitt’s sack. Grade: B

Linebackers
Bud Dupree’s stat line might not look like much, but he got pressure on Joe Flacco all day, splitting a sack with fellow linebacker Vince Williams. Jon Bostic and T.J. Watt tied for number 2 on the team in tackles. Anthony Chickillo saw ample playing time and helped drop a rusher behind the line of scrimmage. Grade: B+

Secondary
Mike Hilton led secondary with three critical plays in the Red Zone, two of which came against runs and another was a pass defensed in the end zone that a “little guy” like him isn’t supposed to make. Sean Davis led the team with 9 tackles is blossoming as a free safety. Morgan Burnett saw his most extensive action, and while he got beaten on a few plays, he stabilized as the game continue. Coty Sensabaugh had another quiet afternoon which is good for a corner.

The Baltimore Ravens were 4-12 on third down and many times Joe Flacco simply had nowhere to throw. Grade: A

Mike Hilton had several key stops in Steelers win over Ravens. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, via Steelers.com

Special Teams
Chris Boswell missed another extra point, which is becoming worrisome. Ryan Switzer had some good punt returns as well as a good kick return. The Ravens return game didn’t break a big one, but they had more success than you’d like to see. Grade: C

Coaching
When the Baltimore beat Pittsburgh just 35 days ago at Heinz Field, the Steelers looked like a team doomed to be mired in mediocrity for the entire season. In the four games since then, the Steelers have established themselves as the sole leader of the AFC North.

• Keith Butler has brought the defense along since that ugly night.

The Steelers defense still has issues and remains a long way from the shutdown form it was flashing just one year ago, but Butler’s boys have managed to reduce the long plays while playing the pass more consistently, even when they can’t constantly harass the quarterback.

• Randy Fichtner’s offense has also improved.

5 weeks ago the Steelers offense only seemed capable of producing in the 2nd and 3rd quarters and couldn’t convert third downs. Since then Steelers offense has consistently done both, while improving in the Red Zone.

Finally, we focus on Mike Tomlin. The Steelers had a rough September, and the last loss to the Ravens seemed punctuate every troublesome trend from the first 3 games. But both Tomlin and his team filtered out the naysayers and have played with poise and maturity since then. Grade: A

Unsung Hero Award
12:39 remained in the fourth quarter. A holding penalty on Alejandro Villanueva had just sent the Steelers back to their own 5 yard line, bringing up 2nd and 20. And trainers had just helped Ben Roethlisberger from the field. If ever there was a moment for the Ravens to tip the momentum in their favor it was this.

• Those were the conditions that under which Joshua Dobbs made his NFL debut.

And the rocket scientist not only didn’t flinch, he executed a picture perfect pass that secured a first down and set up the next long play that set up the next score. For his poise under pressure, Joshua Dobbs wins the Unsung Hero Award for the Steelers 2018 win over the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium.

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