Taken from the grade book of a teacher who is so late he almost had to call in a substitute, here is the Steelers Report Card for the Wednesday win over the Ravens.
Minkah Fitzpatrick denies Luke Wilson a touchdown. Photo Credit: Shawn Hubbard, Ravens.com
Quarterback
Ben Roethlisberger completed 70% of his passes going 36-51 for 266 with a touchdown and a pick. Had he not suffered so many drops, Roethlisberger easily could have gone for 80%. On paper his lone interception doesn’t look bad, but it came in the end zone, again, and foreshadowed missed opportunities to come. That brings his grade down. Grade: B-
Running Backs
Steelers running backs rushed for 68 yards on 20 carries with a long run of 13 yards. They also made 4 catches for 40, and one of those came from Anthony McFarland’s catch for 17 yards. That looks pretty pathetic on paper. But the running backs had no room to run, and moved the chains when they had to. Grade: B
Tight Ends
Eric Ebron led the Steelers in receptions with 7 and appeared to be in rhythm with Ben Roethlisberger early. Yet he had several drops, including one in the Red Zone. The tight ends did not help much in the running game either. Grade: C
Wide Receivers
Looking at the stat sheet, one might concluded the Steelers wide outs had a respectable, if economical day. Chase Claypool had 6 catches on 9 targets for 52 yards. Diontae Johnson had 8 grabs for 13 targets for 46 yards. Yet both men dropped or failed to make multiple combat catches in the Red Zone and/or the end zone. James Washington also missed a combat catch in the end zone, but came up with a critical grab late in the game. JuJu Smith-Schuster made 8 catches in 9 targets for 37 yards including a touchdown bringing the group’s grade up. Grade: D
JuJu Smith-Schuster lays down the law. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review
Offensive Line
The story here remains the same for almost the entire season. Ben Roethlisberger wasn’t sacked and was hit 6 times which is low for a Ravens game. So the pass protection was good. The running game was a different story. Mike Tomlin openly called out his line for “unblocked men at the point of attack.” The failure to create daylight is leading to 1 and 2 yard runs on first down that complicate everything else that follows. Grade: D
Defensive Line
Cam Heyward led the unit with two tackles and a sack. Overall, the Steelers did a reasonable job against a Ravens team that rushed at will against them the first time, although RGIII’s 39 yard scamper went right through the heart of the Steelers defense and the line takes some heat for that. Grade: C
Linebackers
T.J. Watt had 7 tackles 2 sacks and another tackle and a half behind the line of scrimmage in addition to 3 more QB hits. The Steelers will need every bit of that production with Bud Dupree down who made two tackles for losses. Robert Spillane and Avery Williamson combined for 8 tackles. Vince Williams 2 tackles look pretty pedestrian on paper, but he recovered a fumble and his slow stand up from the pile late in the first half might have saved a touchdown. Grade: C+
Secondary
The Baltimore Ravens completed 9 passes while giving up 3 sacks. And went 3-13 on 3rd down conversions. Moreover, Minkah Fitzpatrick broke up a pass in the end zone, as he seems to do almost every week. And Joe Haden’s pick six should have sparked a Steelers romp. That’s a 14 point swing. However, Terrell Edmunds missed tackle allowed Trace McSorley (who?) to burn them for a 70 touchdown that put Baltimore right in the game, which brings the mark down. Grade: B
Special Teams
Chris Boswell went 2 for 2 on field goals, yet missed another extra point. Jordan Berry‘s punting was respectable. Kick and punt coverage was strong. Ray-Ray McCloud had a sub par day on both kick and punt returns, and his fumble put Baltimore into the game. Grade: D
T.J. Watt sacks RGIII. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review
Coaching
Eleven months ago essentially the same Steelers defense played an RGIII led Ravens squad who had less at stake and the Steelers did demonstrably better (OK, that Baltimore team wasn’t fighting a COVID-19 outbreak.) Still, Keith Butler’s defense does seem to have an identifiable flaw:
- Almost once again, they give up a long run.
At this point in the season one has to wonder if this can be corrected or if the only remedy is to compensate for it in one way or another.
It is hard to fault Randy Ficthner’s game planning given that execution was at issue. However, the Steelers running game is severely lagging and one wonders if improvement is possible on this front. One thing to keep in mind, the jet sweeps and other creativity seen earlier in the year wasn’t on display this week.
The Steelers started expected to play the Ravens on a short week and instead played them on a very long one. Whether that was the reason or not, the blunt fact is the Steelers suffered critical breakdowns in all three phases of the game. Mike Tomlin quickly accepted responsibility for this, and we will happily hand it to him. Grade: C-
Unsung Hero Award
16 rushes for 68 yards and no touchdowns will not make any Fantasy Football owner happy. But when the Steelers needed to move the chains and then later needed to make yards to kill the clock, Benny Snell delivered by running with authority, and for that he wins the Unsung Hero Award for the win over the Ravens.
