Taken from the grade book of a teacher who isn’t giving points for progress here is the Pittsburgh Steelers Report Card for the 2024 loss to the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.
Patrick Queen tries in vain to close in on Jalen Hurts. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review
Quarterbacks
Russell Wilson 14 of 22 for 128 yards and 1 touchdown presents a half-full/half empty situation. On the one hand, the started the game throwing at a lot of air. On the other, he was extremely a crafty in leading the first touchdown drive and he looked to be setting up to do another before the fumble. Justin Fields converted his lone rushing attempt. The Steelers lost this game for many reasons. Quarterback play was not one of them. Grade: B
Running Backs
Take in these numbers: 14, 12, and 9. Almost looks like a halftime junior high school basketball stat sheet. But those were actually the rushing totals of Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren and Cordarrelle Patterson. Russell Wilson actually had a better rushing average than 2 of the 3 running backs. True, the Steelers were behind the gun much of the game limiting opportunities. And the line’s blocking was subpar. But the Steelers needed more from their running backs and the fumble was fatal. Grade: F
Tight Ends
Pat Freiermuth led the unit with 3 catches for 22 yards – but don’t be deceived, his touchdown was one of the best “combat catches” you’ll ever see. He was the only other tight end to get a target or a carry. Snap counts indicate that Darnell Washington and Mycole Pruitt were on the field a lot and that being the case, the team needed more from a blocking perspective. Grade: C-
Wide Receivers
Calvin Austin led the unit with 5 catches for 65 yards, making an incredible catch on the flea-flicker. Ben Skowronek was next with 1 catch for 17 yards, Mike Williams had 1 catch for 15 yards. Scotty Miller had one failed target (thanks replay assist) and Van Jefferson had 1 catch for zero yards. These guys try hard, but grades some from results, not effort. Grade: F
Offensive Line
After turning in a number of strong performances, the Steelers offensive line slipped. Russell Wilson was only sacked twice, and hit a total of four times, but he had several passes bad at the line of scrimmage, and the running game struggled. Grade: D
Defensive Line
Cam Heyward led the unit in tackles with five, Keeanu Benton followed with four while Montravius Adams and Isaiahh Loudermilk each had 2. The Steelers contained Saquon Barkley and the line had a huge role in making that happen. Still, the defense lost containment on Jalen Hurts too many times, and those took a their toll. Grade: C-
Linebackers
T.J. Watt almost single-handedly got the Steelers into the game, with his forced fumble and multiple sacks in the second half. Alex Highsmith also got in the act with a sack. If the Steelers linebackers deserve credit for containing the Eagles ground attack, they also deserve blame for losing containment on Hurts and allowing the Eagles’ short-medium passing game to work so well. Grade: C-
Secondary
The good news is that A.J. Brown did not burn the Steelers secondary the way he had 2 years ago. The bad news is that he and DeVonta Smith subjected them to a case of death by 100 cuts as both men topped 100 yards. Joey Porter Jr., James Pierre and Minkah Fitzpatrick all had good individual plays. But the Eagles had a 20-minute time of possession advantage on a night when their All Pro running back looked mortal. They also converted 10 of 17 third downs. Grade: F
Special Teams
Mark Robinson’s fumble was a heads up play that should have sparked the offense. Cordarrelle Patterson did well on his kick returns. The Steelers kick and punt coverage was solid, but not spectacular. Chris Boswell was perfect, bounced extra point notwithstanding, and Corliss Waitman had a good night punting. The penalty on the field goal could have been catastrophic. Thanks to defense it wasn’t, but that brings the group grade down. Grade: B-
Mark Robinson forces a Cooper DeJan Fumble. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review
Coaching
A few weeks ago, after the Cleveland loss we said that the whole of the Steelers offense was less than the sum. Arthur Smith, in subsequent games rectified that.
- But his running game was still a sore spot.
- And it was glaring weakness against the Eagles.
How many third and 7 or more did the Steelers face. Throughout the season we’ve seen Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren and even Cordarrelle Patterson have their moments. But no back has achieved any level of consistency.
This is a contrast from this point in 2023 and even 2022 when you could make a strong case that either Harris and Warren should start. But platooning them was the smart move.
- Is platooning them part of the problem today?
I don’t know but Smith had better figure it out quickly, because this offense cannot compete without George Pickens
Let’s credit Teryl Austin for containing the man who is having the most dominating season for a running back that the NFL has seen in a generation. Let’s also credit Austin for keeping a lid on the Eagles offense and limiting their longest catch to 22 yards.
- But it is fair to ask if that came at the cost giving up too many short and medium passes.
The Steelers were actually in this game until the very end even though the Eagles out-executed them by a mile. Credit and blame Mike Tomlin for both. NFL games don’t award partial credit for “showing your work.” Grade: F
Unsung Hero Award
Everyone know Philadelphia was going to try to feed the ball to Barkley. Containing him was a team effort, but there was one players whose number kept showing up throughout the night, and for that Patrick Queen wins the Unsung Hero Award for the Steelers loss to the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.
