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Steelers Report Card for TNF Loss to the Browns: Losing Control of the Classroom Edition

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From the gradebook of a preoccupied principal worrying his teacher may be losing control of the classroom, here is the Pittsburgh Steelers Report Card for the 2026 TNF loss to the Browns.

Maliek Collins sacks Aaron Rodgers in the Steelers 2026 TNF loss to the Browns

Maliek Collins sacks Aaron Rodgers in the Steelers 2026 TNF loss to the Browns. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review

Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers went 22-40-299-2-2. Credit Rodgers for leading 3 touchdown drives, 2 of which came in the 4th quarter. He looked smart on all three. But he struggled for much of the rest of the night, throwing two picks and missing open receivers on multiple occasions. Grade: DSteelers, Report Card, grades,

Running Backs
Jaylen Warren ran for 95 yards on 17 carries and caught 3 passes for 33 yards. Travis Homer had 2 carries for minus 1 yards. Grade: B

Tight Ends
Darnell Washington caught 3 passes for 27 yards and Pat Freiermuth 3 for 17. Each man caught a touchdown and both men continued to block well. Grade: B

Wide Receivers
D.K. Metcalf had 5 catches for 115 yards on 9 targets. You’d like to say he looked like a true WR No. 1, except he gave up a taunting penalty. Roman Wilson had 3 catches for 74 yards but broke off his route to the middle of the field trying to get out of bounds. Michael Pittman Jr. had 2 catches for 15 yards. Germie Bernard had 2 grabs for 11 yards while Ben Skowronek had 1 for 7 yards. Individually each wide out had his moments, but they struggled to gain separation during the middle of the game on a night when the team needed more. Grade: C-

Offensive Line
Aaron Rodgers was sacked 5 times, but to be fair to the offensive line, the last 2 of those can likely be chalked up as “coverage sacks.” And the run blocking was better. This performance doesn’t negate the positive signs the line showed against Cincinnati, but it does confirm more progress is needed. Grade: D

Defensive Line
The Browns rushing attack didn’t make any noise until early in the 2nd quarter. Derrick Harmon left injured in the 2nd quarter after his 5th defensive snap? Coincidence? Doubtful. An excuse? No way. IF you take out Jaleel McLaughlin’s 28-yard touchdown run, the Steelers defense had a lot of success against the Browns. But that’s the problem, tackling appeared to be optional at times. Cam Heyward did force a fumble, but that can only pull the grade up so much. Grade: D

Linebackers
The inside linebackers were also complicit in the poor tackling/run containment, while T.J. Watt did register a strip sack which should have been a momentum-changer, but pressure from the linebackers was not consistent. Grade: D

Robert Spears-Jennings intercepts Deshaun Watson during the Steelers 2026 TNF loss to the Browns

Robert Spears-Jennings picks off Deshaun Watson to start the 4th quarter. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review

Secondary
Deshaun Watson did his best Doug Williams Super Bowl XXII impersonation throwing more touchdown passes, two, than incompletions in the second quarter. To their credit, the unit tightened up and kept Cleveland out of the end zone in the 2nd half. And Robert Spears-Jennings heads-up interception got the Steelers back in the game. But the Browns got the yards they needed to get into field goal range. Grade: D

Special Teams
Cameron Johnston boomed off 5 punts pinning the Browns at the one once. And the Steelers punt return was solid, while Kaden Wetjen had one solid return. However, Wetjen was average on kick returns, and the Steelers gave up a 33-yard return helping set up a Browns field goal drive. Chris Boswell missed a 48-yarder in what would be a 3-point game. The Steelers needed their special teams to be special. Instead they were barely average: Grade: C-

Coaching
Mike McCarthy did an excellent job with his opening script of plays. And they looked to be building on another drive until an interception short-circuited the Steelers’ performance in all three phases for an entire quarter.

  • To his credit, McCarthy made adjustments.

The same can be said for defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. His defense started strong, put in an atrocious 2nd quarter, but rebounded in the second half.

  • Objectively, the issue is consistency.

Just about every area on the depth chart put some quality sequences of plays on tape, but they also put some horrid sequences on tape. If one of them could have just managed to attain a little more consistency, the outcome could easily have been different.

Subjectively, we saw a number of players get animated either on the field or the sidelines. That’s not necessarily a bad thing – we all likely remember the NFL Films clip of rookie Jack Lambert yelling at veteran Jack Ham – but McCarthy must harness this passion and energy constructively. Grade: D

Jack Sawyer tips a Deshaun Watson pass during the Steelers 2026 TNF loss to the Cleveland Browns

Leaping Jack Sawyer tips Deshaun Watson’s pass. Photo Credit: X.com

Unsung Hero Award
Tides in football games are altered by players give everything they’ve got, who play to the whistle and who, when they can’t quite achieve their objective find other ways to make an impact. Second year man Jack Sawyer was a step to slow too reach the quarterback, but by leaping he just nicked the ball, transforming a pass interference penalty into a momentum-shifting interception. For that, Sawyer wins the Unsung Hero Award for the Steelers 2026 Thursday Night loss to the Browns.

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Steelers Report Card for Win Over Bengals: Old Offense Learns New Tricks Edition

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Taken from the notebook of a teacher who is pleased to see his old offense learn new tricks, here is the Pittsburgh Steelers Report Card for the 2026 win over the Bengals at Acrisure.

Derrick Harmon seals the Steelers win with a strip-sack of Joe Burrow.

Derrick Harmon seals the win by strip-sacking Joe Burrow. Photo Credit: Jarden Wickerham, Steelers.com

Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers went 19 of 34 for 3 touchdowns and 1 interception on a pass his receiver should have caught. Rodgers impressed far more with his command at the line of scrimmage. A few throws missed their mark, and red zone performance late in the game could have been better. But a very good day for the veteran. Grade: B+Steelers, Report Card, grades,

Running Backs
Jaylen Warren finally got his shot at being the Pittsburgh Steelers feature back. And he excelled running for 127 yards on 17 carries (minus  an 85-yard run nullified by a penalty), while catching 3 passes for 49 yards. And, while you don’t see it on the stat sheet, Warren delivered several critical pass blocks. Travis Homer and Lew Nichols both had a carry for naught. Grade: A

Tight Ends
Pat Freiermuth only caught 2 passes for 30 yards, but his opening pancake block set the tone for the entire day. He also had a Tush-Push 3rd down conversion. Darnell Washington led the team in receiving yards, with 3 catches for 67; one converted a 3rd down where it took 4 players to stop him. Robert Tonyan caught 1 pass for 2 yards. Grade: B+

Wide Receivers
Roman Wilson started strong catching the first touchdown and converting a key third down. Then he bobbled a pass that led to an interception, setting up a Cincinnati score. He also had another drop. D.K. Metcalf only caught 3 passes for 31 yards and a touchdown, but for the first time this season he was a reliable receiver. Germie Bernard converted a third down with his lone 14 yard catch and made a key block in Washington’s 47-yard reception. Ben Skowronek caught a 23 yard touchdown that broke Steelers 1st-quarter, 2-touchdown drought that had been running for 98 games. Grade: B

Offensive Line
This is the level of play that everyone expected when Omar Khan and Andy Weidl committed to rebuilding in the trenches in the 2023 NFL Draft. The Bengals defensive line has been wrecking games thus far, yet starting two new players, the Steelers offensive line more than held their own. Yes, there were breakdowns late in the game that led to field goals instead of touchdowns, but this was a good performance by any measure. Grade: B

Defensive Line
The Steelers defensive line kept the Bengals rushing attack in check. The unit didn’t have much luck in pressuring Joe Burrow – until it counted. First, Cam Heyward forced an incompletion that set up a punt, and then Derrick Harmon strip-sacked Burrow with the game on the line, as Sebastian Joseph-Day recovered. Grade: B+

Linebackers
The Bengals knew they had to get the ball out of Joe Burrow’s hands quickly, and they did, limiting the ability of the Steelers elite pass rushers to do their damage. But the linebackers contributed in other ways, with Patrick Queen coming up with a key pass deflection while leading the team in tackles. And Payton Wilson had a key tipped pass two plays before Heyward forced his incompletion. Grade: B

Secondary
Let’s acknowledge the obvious – the Bengals offense moved through the air early and often. But their longest pass play went for 28 yards – three Steelers had receptions longer than that – yeah, we all saw that coming, didn’t we? Jalen Ramsey was excellent in run support and Jamel Dean had a key pass deflection. Grade: B-

Ben Skowronek recovers a muffed punt to set up the go-ahead score.

Ben Skowronek streams in to recover a muffed punt. Photo Credit: Jordan Perez, Steelers.com

Special Teams
Kaden Wetjen had an average day as a kick returner while the Steelers coverage units were a little leaky. But Chris Boswell was perfect and Cameron Johnston only had one punt, but it went for 51 yards and he planted it inside the 20. The real star here was Ben Skowronek who recovered a muffed punt, setting up the go ahead score. Grade: B+

Coaching
A week ago after the loss to the Patriots, Mike McCarthy manned up and took responsibility for the offense’s poor performance.

What we saw this week was McCarthy’s ability to transform accountability into action. McCarthy made the bold decision to make two changes on his offensive line. The result was the best Steelers offensive line performance since Mike Munchak moved out west.

But McCarthy did more than change personnel; he devised a game plan that systematically picked apart the Bengals defense and ensured that his players executed it.

Aaron Rodgers burning 5 timeouts to get play calls right shows that this offense remains a work in progress; the fact that the first one of those time outs converted a 3rd and 5 into a 38-yard touchdown provides evidence that progress will be made.

We know that Patrick Graham instructed his players to keep Cincinnati’s pass catchers in front of them. This “Bend but don’t break” strategy succeeded in allowing the Steelers to keep pace, until Pittsburgh’s pass rush could get to Burrow just when they needed to. Grade: B

Max Iheanachor keeps Aaron Rodgers clean.

Max Iheanachor keeps Aaron Rodgers clean. Photo Credit: Trai Essex, X.com

Unsung Hero Award
Will this game mark some kind of milestone when the history of the McCarthy era is written? Today we don’t know. But when future football historians research this game’s box score on ESPN or Pro Football Reference, there’s one name they won’t see even though his play had an immediate impact. And for that, Max Iheanachor wins the Unsung Hero Award for the Steelers 2026 win over the Bengals at Acrisure Stadium.

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Pittsburgh Steelers Report Card for Win Over Falcons: New Era Edition

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Taken from the grade book of a teacher excited to welcome both new students and a new era, here is the Report Card for the 2026 Steelers season-opening win over the Falcons at Acrisure Stadium.

Darnell Washington stiff arms Xavier Watts.

Darnell Washington lets Xavier Watts know who is boss. Photo Credit: Jordan Perez, Steelers.com

Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers went 24 of 40 for 221 yards and one touchdown. Rodgers looked comfortable and in command of the offense, made good decisions and suffered too many drops. Grade: BSteelers, Report Card, grades,

Running Backs
Jaylen Warren carried 10 times for 46 yards but coughed up the ball setting up Atlanta’s only touchdown. Warren also caught 5 passes for 27 yards. Rico Dowdle carried 8 times for 15 yards and caught 2 passes for 6 yards. The Steelers running backs didn’t keep any Fantasy Football owners happy but Warren did move the chains late in the game. Grade: C-

Tight Ends
Pat Freiermuth had a solid afternoon catching 5 passes for 46 yards for the team’s only touchdown. He also blocked well. Darnell Washington only caught 2 passes for 18 yards and it is tempting to give the group an “A” just for his 15 yard catch (see the lead photo.) We won’t go that far, but the tight ends were easily the strongest unit on the offense. Grade: B+

Wide Receivers
D.K. Metcalf caught 4 passes on 10 targets. He was robbed of a long gain by a non-pass interference call, but dropped a highly catchable ball that he could have taken to the house. Roman Wilson caught 3 passes on 6 targets but gave up a combat catch in the end zone. Michael Pittman Jr. had the best day of the trio, catching 3 for 58, and brings the group grade up. Grade: D

Offensive Line
This was an area of worry going into the game, but the line was OK. Aaron Rodgers only gave up two sacks and had more time to pass than he did a year ago. Dylan Cook still looks uneasy a right tackle and Spencer Anderson also had some difficult moments, but the center and the left of the line had a solid afternoon. Grade: C

Defensive Line
Is there anything that Cam Heyward can’t do? He stuffed  Bijan Robinson on a number of occasions and batted down 3 passes. The Steelers defensive line didn’t put up gaudy statistics, but they contained Robinson, which was critical to the success of the rest of the defense. Grade: B+

Linebackers
Payton Wilson led the group with 13 tackles including 2 for losses and was all over the field. Patrick Queen was next with 7. Nick Herbig was on the field for 60% of the snaps making 2 tackles and one QB hit. Alex Highsmith ended the Falcons opening and closing drives with sacks. The real star was T.J. Watt who was in Hall of Fame form with 2 tackles, 2 for losses, 1 pass batted down, 2 sacks and 1 pick six. Grade: A

Secondary
A brand new secondary started for the Steelers compared to what was on the field the last time they opened a season vs the Falcons in 2024. And the new unit played well. Neither Jamel Dean’s nor Asante Samuel Jr.’s name was heard much and for both cornerbacks that was a good thing. Jalen Ramsey was likely out of position on one of Robinson’s long gains, but he did step up with a critical pass defense. And Pittsburgh native Jaquan Brisker hauled in an interception that set up the first TD. Grade: A-

Special Teams
Jim Wexell quoted the legendary Bill Nunn as saying that Danny Smith was the most well-organized special teams coach he’d ever seen. After watching the Steelers special teams’ first game without Smith since 2013, that’s easy to believe.

Eli Heidenreich and Kaden Wetjen had solid though not spectacular debuts as return men. But the Steelers coverage units gave up more than you’d like to see, and had a long gain against them reversed by a penalty. Chris Boswell went 2-3 missing a makeable field goal, and the entire unit lost another with a “what was that?” moment. Clearly, Danny Crossman has work to do. Grade: D

Coaching
The last time someone other than Mike Tomlin coached the Steelers, MySpace dominated social media, Twitter was in its infancy and if you wanted to rent a movie, you drove to Blockbuster.

Outside of a handful of exceptions, this was an end-to-end overhaul of the Steelers coaching staff, and by and large new head coach Mike McCarthy and his coaches did well in their first game with Pittsburgh.

For all of the criticism of the new Steelers offense looking the same as the old offense, Mike McCarthy and Brian Angelichio’s play design and play calling choices differed greatly from what Pittsburgh has seen. And with just a little better execution, the score would have been very different.

Patrick Graham has no shortage of weapons to use on defense, and he deployed them wisely. This allowed several key players to step up at critical moments and this was the difference in the game.

September football is synonymous with sloppy football. The Steelers were no exception. But Pittsburgh was better prepared than Atlanta as the final score indicates. Grade: B

Derrick Harmon, Jack Sawyer and Payton Wilson gang tackle Brian Robinson during the Steelers win over the Falcons.

Jack Sawyer helps gang tackle Brian Robinson. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.com

Unsung Hero Award
Sometimes less is more. T.J. Watt played well all day, but he exploded in the last 18 minutes. We’ve seen that before but not for a while. Over the past 3 seasons, Watt has played over 80% of the defensive snaps. Against the Falcons it was in the low 60s. And he was able to do that because a young, second-year defender was able to come in and spell him, and for that Jack Sawyer wins the Unsung Hero Award for the Steelers 2026 opening-day win over the Atlanta Falcons.

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Steelers Report Card for Win over Dolphins – Delivering in December Edition

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Taken from the grade book of a teacher happy to see his students delivering for December football, here is the Pittsburgh Steelers Report Card for the MNF win over the Dolphins at Acrisure.

Jalen Ramsey, Tua Tagovailoa, Steelers vs Dolphins, Steelers vs Dolphins MNF

Jalen Ramsey sacks Tua Tagovailoa. Photo Credit: Alysia Rubin, Steelers.come

Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers completed 22 of 27 for 224 yards and 2 touchdowns. Rodgers commanded the field with the authority of a Civil War General leading a counter-attack at Little Round top. He hit 8 different receivers, engineered a penalty to covert a third down, and threw a pure laser for his second touchdown pass. Grade: ASteelers, Report Card, grades,

Running Backs
Kenneth Gainwell led the unit with 126 all-purpose yards, including 80 on the ground and 46 on 7 passes through the air. At this point, everyone should understand why the coaches have made a concerted effort to work him into the game plan. Jaylen Warren ran for 33 yards on 12 carries and caught 3 passes for 15 yards. Kaleb Johnson had 2 carries for 4 yards. Grade: B+

Tight Ends
Pat Freiermuth led the unit with 3 catches for 45 yards. Darnell Washington had 3 of his own for 25. Jonnu Smith had 2 catches for 12 yards, but also scored the final touchdown on a 1 14 yard run. Grade: B+

Wide Receivers
If you ever question the value of having a “big” wide receiver, look no further that D.K. Metcalf’s touchdown run. HE caught a bullet from Rodgers, and then bullied his way through 3 Dolphin defenders to find the end zone from about 10 yards out.  Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Adam Thielen only caught 2 passes, with Valdes-Scantling going for a score, but clearly the wide outs playing better with him in the lineup. Grade: B+

Offensive Line
The line was playing its 4th string tackle. It lost its starting guard during the middle of the game. Yet the Steelers dominated time of possession, ran effectively, and Rodgers – 2 sacks notwithstanding, had time to throw. A very welcome performance from a unit under duress. Grade: B+

Defensive Line
No Derrick Harmon? No problem. The Steelers contained De’Von Achane. He had some good runs, but nothing like what we saw against the Bills. Cam Heyward continues to lead the unit. He set the tone early with a tackle for no gain and punctuated it with a sack late. Grade: B+

Linebackers
Did you realize that T.J. Watt was out? And that Nick Herbig had to leave? Patrick Queen made a phenomenal tackle for a loss to force a field goal, and Payton Wilson recorded a sack to obliterate any semblance of a comeback. A very good night for the linebackers. Grade: A-

Secondary
Before garbage time kicked in, Tug Tagovailoa completed 6 of 10 passes for 65 yards with an interception and took two sacks. Asante Samuel Jr. got his first interception snuffing out a Miami attempt to get into scoring position. And Jalen Ramsey’s sack forced the Dolphins to punt away their first possession. Not bad for a secondary where Joey Porter Jr. is the only starter who was both on the roster and playing in the same position on opening day. Grade: A-

Special Teams
Chris Boswell was perfect with place kicks, although he did land one outside of the landing zone. Corliss Waitman and a strong night and both the return game and the return coverage was solid. Ben Skowronek was a monster. Grade: B

Coaching
Let’s get this straight. No one would have compared the Miami Dolphins’ defenes to the 85 Bears going into the game. But the unit had been allowing less than 2 touchdowns per game during the resurgence that began at mid season.

Yet Arthur Smith’s unit had its best night of the season and patched together its first game with four consecutive touchdown drives since 2018. Smith needs to find a way to sustain this, but the unit is coming together nicely as the Steelers reach mid-December.

Its also time to give Teryl Austin credit. He went into this game missing two of his best strong-side defenders. And just two weeks ago a James Cook had humiliated the his defense on this same ground.

  • But Austin’s defense owned this night.

Sure, Miami had some nice runs and moved the ball a little to open the game, but Austin adjusted and dominated the Dolphins, effectively shutting them out of the game in the 3rd quarter.

  • Mike Tomlin has taken a lot of heat this season.

While some of the barbs have been unjustified, when the Steelers have swooned low, they’ve looked as bad as any variety of numbers could suggest. But every NFL season has its ups and downs, and December is the time to bring it together. Two games into the month finds Mike Tomlin’s team doing just that. Grade: A

Connor Heyward, Steel City Shove, Steelers vs Dolphins, Steelers vs Dolpins MNF

Connor Heyward scores with the Steel City Shove. Photo Credit: Jared Wickerman, Steelers.com

Unsung Hero Award
4 Carries for 4 yards doe not impress on the stat sheet. But when 3 of those converted 3rd or 4th downs and one of those was a touchdown it shows you how stats alone seldom tell the full story. Because of that, a because he caught an on-sides kick that had bounced past the first man, Connor Heyward wins the Unsung Hero Award for the Steelers 2025 MNF win over the Dolphins at Acrisure.

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Steelers Report Card for Win Over Ravens – End of Semester Sprint Edition

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Taken from the grade book of a teacher crossing his fingers in hopes that the end of the semester sprint has started, here is the Pittsburgh Steelers Report Card for the win over the 2025 Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium.

Alex Highsmith, Derrick Harmon, Steelers vs Ravens

Alex Highsmith shut down Derrick Harmon. Photo Credit: Jared Wickerham, via Steelers.com

Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers grabbed the “no long passes for a month” bull by the horns and tossed a 52 yarder to open the day. He launched several more long and intermediate passes throughout the afternoon, finishing 23 of 34 for 284 yards and one touchdown. Things trailed off in the 4th quarter, and that brings his grade down, but Rodgers’ performance was the difference in the game. Grade: A-Steelers, Report Card, grades,

Running Backs
It was rough sledding on the ground for the Steelers. Jaylen Warren had 8 carries and only 13 yards. Kenneth Gainwell did “better” getting 15 yards and a touchdown on his 4 carries. Kaleb Johnson 4 yards on 2 carries. However, Gainwell had 6 catches for 27 yards, while Warren had 3 catches for 49 yards including a 38 yarder that he took to the house. Connor Heyward had 2 yards. Grade: C

Tight Ends
Darnell Washington had 1 catch for 12 yards and then left the game with a concussion. Pat Freiermuth had 2 catches for 9 yards. Jonnu Smith had zero catches on one target. Grade: C-

Wide Receiver
D.K. Metcalf exploded for 7 catches for 148 yards – this is exactly why the Steelers brought him to Pittsburgh. Calvin Austin turned a Go Ball on 3rd and 5 into a 31-yard gain on the final TD drive. Ben caught one pass for 13 yards that jump-started a drive. New comers Adam Thielen and Marquez Valdes-Scantling only had 2 targets, but in Tony Romo’s estimate, they commanded the attention of the defense in ways that Roman Wilson had been unable to do. Grade: A-

Offensive Line
It was a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde effort for the Steelers offensive line. The line’s inability to create any sort of space to support a running game is simply appalling. It may have been the unit’s worst run blocking effort all year. On the flip side, have we ever seen a Steelers quarterback have that much time to throw against a Ravens’ defense – on the road no less. Grade: C

Defensive Line
The sample size is large enough. Keeanu Benton looks like he has it in him to be a decent to good defensive lineman, but he’s not a true nose tackle. He was moved too early and too often against the Ravens. Yahya Black continues to look good in the absence of Derrick Harmon. Cam Heyward led the group in tackles and made all sorts of contributions that don’t show up on the stat sheet. Grade: D

Linebackers
The Steelers defense, lost on the stat sheet. The linebackers had a role in giving up so much rushing yardage. But they also had a role in the defense’s ability to contain Derrick Henry without stopping him. Look no further than Cole Holcomb leading the team in tackles despite entering the game as an injury replacement. Beyond that, T.J. Watt and Nick Herbig both helped pressure Lamar Jackson into critical third down incompletions. The real star was Alex Highsmith. He had 3 tackles for a loss, including a critical goal line stop of Henry that forced a field goal, hit Lamar Jackson twice and ended the game with a sack. Grade: B-

Secondary
The Baltimore Ravens third down efficiency was 38% which is just a tick above average for them. That’s also about two ticks above average for the Steelers defense. The secondary accounted for one interception by James Pierre and two end zone pass breakups. More importantly, they helped force field goals on multiple occasions when no one was open on third down. That’s a little discussed difference. Grade: B+

Special Teams
Chris Boswell was perfect on his kicks. The Steelers return coverage was solid, never allowing Baltimore to gain an extra advantage. Corliss Waitman boomed off punts averaging close to 50 yards. Pittsburgh’s return game was sound. Grade: B

Cam Heyward, Mike Tomlin, Aaron Rodgers, Steelers vs Ravens

Cam Heyward, Mike Tomlin & Aaron Rodgers walk off in triumph. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review

Coaching
Arthur Smith did not shy away from changing, incorporating two new receivers into his offense – clearly something had to change. He also decided to be aggressive early and often, throwing several deep strikes. Truth be told, he’d tried to do that in the last two games, without success.

  • They were successful against the Ravens, and that was the difference.

Ditto the solid pass protection from a line playing his 4th string right tackle – the Ravens may not have much of a pass rush, but the Steelers line won the battle it was supposed to win.

Commentators are already jumping on Teryl Austin for allowing the Ravens to pad their stats.

Those gaudy number might make Fantasy Football owners happy, and the Steelers clearly cannot allow that to continue, but judge performance by Reality Football metrics and you’ll that the Steelers defense forced field goals in 3 critical situations and made several other crucial third down stops.

To quote the late, great Craig Wolfley, losses like the last one against the Bills have the potential to be “Chess Grater” games.

  • Mike Tomlin did not allow that to happen.

Pittsburgh was far from perfect against Baltimore. But the Steelers were aggressive, focused, hungry while playing with the intensity you’d expect with the division title on the line. Credit Mike Tomlin for that. Grade: B+

Brandin Echols, Zay Flowers, Steelers vs Ravens

Brandin Echols knocks a touchdown pass away from Zay Flowers. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review

Unsung Hero Award
He batted away a pass to Zay Flowers in the end zone on Baltimore’s first trip to the Red Zone to force a field goal. After the Steelers scored a touchdown, he sacked Lamar Jackson on third down to force a punt. For those plays and for an afternoon of end-to-end solid play, Brandin Echols wins the Unsung Hero Award for the Steelers 2025 win over the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium.

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Steelers Report Card for Loss to Bills – “Free Falling” Edition

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Taken from the gradebook of a teacher humming Tom Petty’s “Free Falling” as he fills out his grade sheet, here is the Pittsburgh Steelers Report Card for the loss to the Bills at Acrisure.

Joey Bosa, Aaron Rodgers, Steelers vs Bills

Joey Bosa strip sacks Aaron Rodgers. Photo Credit: Bills.com

Quarterbacks
Aaron Rodgers went 10 of 21 for 117 yards – which includes garbage time and was strip-sacked to open the second half. Mason Rudolph again got picked off deep in relief of Rodgers. He returned during garbage time but still did not complete a pass. Grade: FSteelers, Report Card, grades,

Running Backs
Jaylen Warren ran for 35 yards on 10 carries and scored a touchdown. He also had 2 catches for 9 yards. Kenneth Gainwell had 5 carries for 20 yards and his stat line of 2 catches for 25 yards might look ho-hum, his 17 yarder was an All Pro grab of a low ball. Kaleb Johnson ran twice for 3 yards in garbage time. The Steelers lost for lots of reasons. The running backs weren’t one of those. Grade: C+

Tight Ends
Darnell Washington led the team in receiving with 2 catches for 45 yards, both of which came in garbage time. Jonnu Smith had one catch for 6 yards and ran the wrong route on another catch. Grade: F

Wide Receivers
In his quest to seemingly become a modern-day Charles Lockett, D.K. Metcalf led the Steelers wide receivers with 3 catches for 32 yards. Calvin Austin, Roman Wilson and Ben Skowronek combined for a grand total of ZERO catches on 5 targets. Grade: F

Offensive Line
Before looking at any numbers, put yourself through a quick eye test: Which offensive line looked like it was playing without its two starting tackles? For the record, the Bills only sacked Aaron Rodgers once and hit him two other times. The Steelers rushing average was respectable. But the Steelers offensive line never dictated tempo, and never dominated. Not only did the line fail to get sufficient push to get 2 yards on 4th and 2 in garbage time – the play lost yards. Grade: F

Defensive Line
Derrick Harmon may not have put up a lot of pretty stats so far in his rookie year, but the Steelers clearly missed him. No one should scapegoat the defensive line for a historically poor performance against the Bills. But they are the first line of defense. Grade: F

Linebackers
Let’s get this straight – the Buffalo Bills entered the game missing both starting tackles, yet the only player to touch Josh Allen was Patrick Queen? Where were T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig? What about Malik Harrison who was supposed to be an elite run stuffer? Grade: F

Secondary
Brandin Echols opened the game with an interception that, in an alternate reality, should have set the tone. Fun fact: Josh Allen only threw for 6 more yards than Aaron Rodgers. Fair enough. He didn’t need to. Grade: D

Special Teams
Corliss Waitman had a strong day punting, pinning the Bills deep twice and booming off a 51 yarder. Calvin Austin had a punt nice return of 12 yards. Steelers solid kick return coverage and average returns. Chris Boswell made his one field goal. Grade: C

Coaching
OK…. Where to start?

How about here: Question for Arthur Smith. Why did Pat Freiermuth get 13% fewer snaps than Jonnu Smith?

To be fair, there’s no obvious correlation between respective workloads for both players and won/loss results. But Pat Freiermuth has an 81% catch rate this year vs 69% for Jonnu Smith, and for those meta state folks, Freiermuth’s “success rate” is 59.4% vs 46.5%.

Let’s be honest here – this Steelers offense has talent issues that Joe Gibbs, an man who wrote the book of “Doing More on Offense with Less,” couldn’t fix in his prime. This offense’s ills are not getting cured by a home remedy of “Feed Freiermuth more” and call me in the morning.

But that’s the point – because he’s got such a dearth of talent, Smith needs to maximize every advantage that he has, and giving Smith priority over Freiermuth provides a perfect example of how Smith fails to do that.

As for the running game, the Bills displayed the type of rushing offense the Steelers want and are very, very far from getting.

As for the Bills rushing offense….

Wow. The Steelers run defense has some high profile struggles this year (see the first  Bengals game). It suffered some hiccups that largely flew under the radar. But successes against the Colts, Chargers and Bears suggested that Teryl Austin’s team had turned a corner.

The Steelers run defense did turn a corner against the Bills – it turned a corner and went the wrong way. Its hard to evaluate the passing defense, because Buffalo barely needed to pass.

Whether you use the “eye test” or choose to base your analysis on hard statistics, the Steelers arrive at December 1st as a team that has regressed in every meaningful way from where they stood on October 1st.

And that’s firmly on Mike Tomlin’s shoulders. Grade: F

Joey Porter Jr., Keon Coleman, Steelers vs Bills.

Joey Porter Jr. tackles Keon Coleman. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review

Unsung Hero Award
There’s one player who quietly had a good game. You didn’t hear his name much or even see him much – save for the touchdown-saving open field tackles he made, and for that Joey Porter Jr. wins the Unsung Hero Award for the Steelers 2025 loss to the Bills at Acrisure.

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Steeler Report Card for Win over Bengals: Substitute Students Edition

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From the gradebook of a teacher pleased to see his substitute students shine here is the Pittsburgh Steelers Report Card for the win over the Bengals at Acrisure.

Jalen Ramsey, Steelers vs Bengals

Jalen Ramsey lays in the wood. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review

Quarterbacks
Aaron Rodgers was 3-3 on the opening drive including his touchdown pass. On the afternoon he finished 9-15-116 yards and no picks. He also had an impressive 8 yard sprint that extended a drive that ended with a field goal. Mason Rudolph entered the game in the 2nd half and looked sharp, going 12 of 16 for 127 yards an a touchdown. Both quarterbacks managed to lead drives that point 10 points on the board. Grade: ASteelers, Report Card, grades,

Running Backs
Jaylen Warren started out looking like a back who might take over the game. And it seemed like the coaches might let him try, as he ran 62 yards on 10 carries before leaving with an injury. Kenneth Gainwell only managed 24 yards on nine carries in relief of Warren, but did catch 7 passes for 81 yards, including 2 touchdowns. Kaleb Johnson 5 carries for 15 yards which doesn’t include and impressive run that was called back by a penalty. Connor Heyward converted 2 first downs via the tush push. Grade: B

Tight Ends
Darnell Washington’s 4 catches for 67 yards might not impress on paper, but he was a force, barreling through reluctant defenders. Pat Freiermuth had one catch for 19 yards. Washington was also a force in the blocking game. Grade: B+

Wide Receivers
D.K. Metcalf had 5 catches for 49 yards several of which were drive extenders. Roman Wilson caught 1 pass for 17 yards converting a third down on the Steelers opening drive in the second half. Calvin Austin caught one pass for 5 yards and drew another pass interference penalty. Grade: B-

Offensive Line
The Steelers only gave up one sack and 3 other quarterback hits. The line also opened excellent holes for Jaylen Warren although Gainwell did not fair as well. Grade: B

Defensive Line
Cam Heyward led the unit in tackles, and overall performance of the unit was strong. If you take the one long run the Bengals had, the Steelers limited them to a respectable average. Grade: B

Linebackers
Patrick Queen led the team in tackles, Malik Harrison helped shore up the run defense, and Nick Herbig had a sack that not only cost the Bengals 7 yards but rattled Joe Flacco enough to cause a delay of game penalty helping force a field goal when it was still an 11 point game. Grade: B+

Secondary
Kyle Dugger’s pick six came at the end of the third quarter and transformed a 5 point lead into a 11 point lead. James Pierre’s fumble return for a touchdown slammed the door shut on even a theoretical Bengals comeback. But those are not the two most impressive stats from this game.
Kenneth Gainwell had more catches and only 12 yards less than Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Combined. It looked like a completely different Steelers secondary in this match up. Grade: A

Special Teams
Chris Boswell was 2-2 on field goals and 4-4 on extra points. Corliss Waitman had a strong afternoon punting, pinning the Bengals down inside the 20 on two of his three punts. Kick coverage was good and the returns were respectable. Grade: B

Coaching
Arthur Smith clearly has a knack for game planning going into contests, as the Steelers improved success in scoring on their first drives demonstrates. However, in the first half his unit struggled to sustain that, with their final scoring drive in that period should be characterized as “heavily penalty-aided.”

Still, it was a solid outing for the Steelers offense. Not only did they finally manage to win the time of possession battle, the offense executed a 12-play, 6-minute drive in the fourth quarter to turn an 11 point lead into an 18 point lead. This was a welcome sight.

This didn’t just look like a different Steelers secondary against potent Bengals offense, it looked like an entirely different defense. Since Joe Flacco’s arrival, Cincinnati’s offense has been a Fantasy Football owner’s dream.

By leaning into Reality Football — hard hitting and smart playing — Teryl Austin’s defense made it a nightmare afternoon for he Bengals.

Pittsburgh Steelers have been run hot and cold during the 2025 season, but after a rough outing on national TV, Mike Tomlin has his team ready, willing and able to play winning football. Grade: A-

T.J. Watt, Joe Flacco, Steelers vs Bengals

T.J. Watt hits Joe Flacco. Photo Credit: T.O. Steelers.com

Unsung Hero Award
The stat sheet says he only had one tackle, albeit for a loss, 2 tipped passes and one quarterback hit. But that hit was hard. His tipped pass helped set up a third down and on that third down his pressure helped force a pick six, and for that T.J. Watt wins the Unsung Hero Award for the Steelers win over the Bengals at Acrisure.

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Steelers Report Card for Loss to Packers: Gonna Be a Long Semester Edition

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Taken from the gradebook of a teacher who fears loong semester ahead of him, here is the Pittsburgh Steelers Report Card for the SNF loss to the Packers at Acrisure.

Savon Williams, Payton Williams, Steelers vs Packers

Savon Williams burns Payton Williams. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review

Quarterbacks
Like a true Hall of Famer, Aaron Rodgers took the blame for the loss. Really, he shouldn’t have. Rodgers went 24-36-2-0 for 219 yards. He didn’t break the 200-yard mark until garbage time, but Rodgers was under pressure throughout the game. Rodgers is one of the few players who we can say played well enough to win. Grade: BSteelers, Report Card, grades,

Running Backs
Jaylen Warren looked good, carrying 13 times for 68 yards. Kenneth Gainwell gained 31 yards on 5 carries. But Gainwell fumbled 2 plays into the Steelers penultimate drive of the game ending any chance, however remote, of a comeback. Grade: C-

Tight Ends
The tight ends took a back seat to the wideouts in the passing game for a change, with Pat Freiermuth leading the group with 3 catches, Jonnu Smith following with 2, and Spencer Anderson getting one. The penalty on Freiermuth helped set a drive back that ultimately resulted in a field goal. That seemed trivial at the time, but the Steelers could have used the four points. Grade: B-

Wide Receivers
In a surprise Roman Wilson led Steelers receivers with 4 catches for 74 yards and a garbage time touchdown. Calvin Austin returned to make 4 catches for 28 yards. Ben Skowronek had one catch for 13 yards. D.K. Metcalf had 5 catches for 55 yards and a touchdown.

Yet, for the second week he had a defender steal a pass from his hands – yes, both were exceptional plays by the DB, but Metcalf is paid to bring those balls in. More concerning, D.K. Metcalf was flagged twice. First for offensive pass interference, which led to the Steelers settling for a field goal, and second for a personal foul that gave the Steelers a 2nd and 17 instead of 3rd and 2 – in the 4th quarter when it was still a 10 point game. Grade: D

Offensive Line
On the positive side, the offensive line gave the running backs room to run. Pass protection was something else. Officially, Aaron Rodgers took 3 sacks and was hit 5 times. But those numbers really don’t convey just how under duress he was the entire night. Had he been slightly less mobile, he’d have been sacked twice as many times. Easily. As it was, the Packer pass rush forced him out of rhythm whenever they needed or wanted to. Grade: D

Defensive Line
Jordan Love had ample time to throw and the defensive line never seemed to get near him. That may have been part of the plan. To that end, the Packers only put up 94 yards on the ground, but don’t be fooled. The Packers actually ran well. There’s little doubt they could have been more dominant, had they needed to. Grade: F

Linebackers
T.J. Watt had a tackle for a loss and a QB hit, and that was almost the extent of the linebacker highlights on the night. For a second straight week, the Steelers linebackers failed pressure the opposing quarterbacks, couldn’t contribute to coverage efforts in mid-yard situations and remained unable to disrupt the running game at the line of scrimmage. Grade: F

Secondary
Jordan Love completed 20 consecutive passes against the Steelers. And that number doesn’t include a successful 2-point conversion. Clearly, Love was in a place where he could bring his A Plus game, but the Steelers secondary didn’t look like it remotely belonged on the same field. Grade: F

Special Teams
Both the kick return game and the kick coverage was solid. Ke’Shawn Williams had a nice punt return and Corliss Waitman punted well and the left-footed kicker might have forced his first muffed punt. Grade: B

Coaching
Arthur Smith’s unit seems to be stuck in a pattern of one step forward followed by at least a half step back. IN the past two losses, the Steelers offense has shown itself to be capable of executing at a high level in a variety of game situations.

  • What he can’t seem to get the Steelers offense to execute consistently.

Take for example the heat Smith has taken elsewhere for abandoning the run in the second half. That’s fair criticism – to a point. It is hard to “commit to the run” when sacks, penalties or incomplete passes thrown by a 41-year-old QB running for his life fall incomplete. The pieces appear to be there, but they remain jumbled only working in harmony occasionally.

  • In contrast, Teryl Austin’s defense has simply shattered into a million pieces.

That fact that his defense was able to force 3 Packer punts and two field goals in the first half (while allowing one touchdown) means nothing if that same unit turns around and then allows 20 consecutive completions and 5 scores on 5 possessions in the last 30:34 seconds of the game.

The Steelers defense is doing nothing right. It can’t stop the run, can’t pressure the passer, can’t cover receiver’s.

  • Mike Tomlin spent the summer talking about this being a “historic defense.”

Judging by a number of metrics this defense is already trending to be historically bad. Just going by the “Eye Test” it looks even worse. That’s not the kind of history Mike Tomlin had in mind. Grade: F

Chris Boswell, Corliss Waitman, Steelers vs Packers

Chris Boswell kicking 1 of 4 field goals. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.com

Unsung Hero Award
If there is one player whose performance level was unequivocally above the line, it was the man who kicked field goals of 42, 50, 48 and 56 yards. And for that Chris Boswell win the Unsung Hero Award for the Steelers Sunday Night Football loss to the Green Bay Packers at Acrisure.

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Steelers Report Card for Loss to Bengals: Secondary is NOT a Synonym Edition

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Taken from the gradebook of a teacher admonishing his students that “sieve” and “secondary” should NEVER be a synonyms, here is the Pittsburgh Steelers Report Card for the 2025 Thursday Night Football loss to the Bengals at Paycor.

Aaron Rodgers, Steelers vs Bengals, Steelers vs Bengals TNF

Aaron Rodgers on the move. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.com

Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers went 23-34-249 throwing 4 touchdown passes on 5 scoring drives. However, he did throw two interceptions. Chalk the second one up to a good play by the DB and a gift from the officials. But the first was a poorly placed ball thrown into double coverage, and the play energized the Bengals. Grade: C+Steelers, Report Card, grades,

Running Backs
Steelers running backs ran for a cumulative 141 yards for a 7.4 average, with Kenneth Gainwell again proving he’s a viable number 2 back in this offense. The running backs also caught 6 passes for 32 yards. The Steelers lost for many reasons, but the running backs were not one of those. Grade: A

Tight Ends
Wow! The Steelers showed that they can not only survive but thrive with a tight-end centric offense, for one night at least. Pat Freiermuth led the group with 5 catches for 111 yards in two touchdowns. Jonnu Smith had 3 grabs for 28 yards and a touchdown. Darnell Washington joined the party 3 catches for 2 yards, but one of those was for a touchdown. Grade: A-

Wide Receivers
D.K. Metcalf had 3 catches for 50 yards including a field flipper that set up the first touchdown. He did lose control of the second interception. Scott Miller had one catch for 9 yards while Roman Wilson had 2 for 17 one of which was a certifiable Kodak moment. Their overall performance was good, but you do expect more than 6 total catches from an NFL receiving corps. Grade: B-

Roman Wilson, Dax Hill, Steelers vs Bengals, Steelers vs Bengals TNF

One giant leap for Roman Wilson. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review

Offensive Line
Aaron Rodgers was not sacked and only hit twice, per ESPN’s stats. Steelers running backs had ample room to run. Still, two penalties in the Red Zone conspired to force the Steelers to settle for 3 when an additional four would have been a difference maker. And Broderick Jones’ holding call on the penultimate drive forced the Steelers into a throwing situation when it would have been wiser to run. That brings the grade down. Grade: B

Defensive Line
Keeanu Benton opening sack was excellent. As was Cameron Heyward’s late half sack. Unfortunately, those plays were aberrations instead of tone setters. Yet the Bengals, who going into this game couldn’t so much as run a photocopy, averaged 6.2 yards on the ground, with Chase Brown clocking in at 9.8. Heyward described the Steelers run defense as unacceptable. We agree. Grade: F

Linebackers
OK. T.J. Watt had a half sack an arguably should have had a share of Benton’s. Jack Sawyer got a hand on a pass. Outside of that, the linebackers were complicit in the inability to stop the run when it counted and got no pressure on Flacco. Grade: F

Secondary
Looking at his stats down in Miami, one would be hard pressed to argue that he’d be a difference maker, but this is not what anyone had in mind when they traded for Minkah Fitzpatrick. Joe Flacco, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins looked like they were professionals playing against an intramural college flag football secondary. The Steelers secondary was a total sieve. Grade: F

Special Teams
Chris Boswell was perfect on his kicks. Kick coverage was excellent and the return game respectable. Grade: B

Coaching
Let’s start with a positive by crediting Arthur Smith for executing a tight end focused passing game that left the Steelers with the lead with just over 2 minutes to play. That may not work against a good defense, but it did against the Bengals.

It is fair to question Smith’s play calling at the end. With the Steelers needing a touchdown and with over 2 minutes left, Smith went right to the empty set. There’s nothing wrong with passing in those situations, and Rodgers was certainly right to hit Freiermuth when he did, his first two play calls lead one to question whether he even consider a run on a night when the Steelers had proven they could run.

Teryl Austin doesn’t really have any positives to hang his hat on.

Sure, his defense forced a few punts. And he did adjust to stop the run game after the damage had been done, but by outward appearances, that came at the expense of neutering the pass rush.

The Steelers inability to stop the pass was such that I suspect that no one in the stadium, including the coaches, had any faith that Pittsburgh’s defense could stop Flacco’s Nintendo-like arm.

  • Ultimately, that comes to Mike Tomlin.

Judging by his own words, he re-built this secondary to stop the Bengals passing attack. They’ll get at least one more chance later this season. But their first test was an utter failure. Grade: F

Jaylen Warren, Steelers vs Bengals, Steelers vs Bengals TNF

Jaylen Warren, running like a back begging to take over a game. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.com

Unsung Hero Award
Thursday Night road divisional games have been disastrous for the Steelers. But there is one player whose star shown with brilliance. He only ran the ball 16 times but that was good enough for 127 yards and he had the look of a back begging to take over the game, and for that Jaylen Warren wins the Unsung Hero Award for the Steelers 2025 loss to the Bengals on Thursday Night Football at Paycor.

 

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Steelers Report Card for Win over Vikings – 4 Leaf Clover Edition

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Taken from the grade book of a teacher who extended his summer vacation deep into September, here is the Steelers Report Card for the win over the Vikings in Dublin, Ireland.

D.K. Metcalf, Steelers vs Vikings, Steelers vs Vikings Dublin, Ireland,

D.K. Metcalf explodes for an 80 yard touchdown. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.com

Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers was 18 of 22 for 200 yards and a touchdown. Rodgers protected the ball and was generally on target, although a miss to Ben Skowronek could have put the game away for good. Grade: A-Steelers, Report Card, grades,

Running Backs
Kenneith Gainwell made his surprise start for the Steelers and delivered a cool 99 yards on 19 carries with 2 touchdowns. He also had 6 grabs for 35 yards. Kaleb Johnson had 22 yards on 6 carries and seemed to gain confidence as he ran. Connor Heyward had 2 yards on a Tush Push carry. Grade: A-

Tight Ends
Darnell Washington led the unit with 3 catches for 20 yards and provided excellent run blocking support. Jonnu Smith had 2 catches for 6 yards. Grade: C+

Wide Receivers
D.K. Metcalf delivered a dominating first half performance. His four non-scoring catches were impactful. After watching his 80 touchdown no one would blame Brian Flores for quadruple covering him. After that it was a quiet day for the wide outs, with Calvin Austin getting two grabs for 13 yards and Scotty Miller and Skowronek coming up for naught on their lone targets. Austin deserves more credit for the block on Metcalf’s touchdown than he’s getting. Grade: B

Offensive Line
It is tempting to look at Aaron Rodgers relatively clean day and Gainwell 5.2 yards per-carry average and proclaim that the offensive line has arrived. But as the good book assures us, we must resist temptation. Yes, the offensive line had its best outing of the season. But the 4th and goal failure as well as the inability to run out the clock bring the grade down. Grade: B-

Defensive Line
Keeanu Benton had a sack and a half, Cameron Heyward and Derrick Harmon both got their hands on passes that were intercepted. The Vikings could not run and were forced to pass. Grade: B+

Linebackers
If anyone had any doubt about how who the leading ass kickers are on this team, the Vikings will assure them that it’s the Steelers linebacking Corps. Patrick Queen set the tone with a sack on third and nine that forced a field goal. T.J. Watt had a sack, set up another Nick Herbig sack and an interception. Cole Holcomb was solid in stuffing the run. Herbig had another half sack with Benton, and forced a critical intentional grounding play. The true star of the unit was Payton Wilson who responded to a demotion by leading the team in tackles, meeting players at the point of attack. And his run down of Jordan Addison showed as much about his passion and commitment to winning as his 22.48 m.p.h. speed revealed about his athleticism. Grade: A+

Payton Wilson, Jordan Addison, Steelers vs. Vikings, Steelers vs. Vikings Dublin Ireland

Payton Wilson runs down Jordan Addison. Photo Credit: Clutch Points.com

Secondary
The fact that someone allowed Addison to slip through the secondary might seem damning enough when it comes to issuing grades. And had the final score differed, maybe it would. But overall the secondary played well, with DeShon Elliott’s return making a notable impact. The Steelers forced the Vikings offense to go one-dimensional and the secondary won more battles than it lost – and that’s not counting two turnovers taken away by replay. Grade: C+

Special Teams
The Steelers return coverage was solid as were the return game. It is easy to criticize Corliss Waitman for booming his final punt through the end zone, but he may have been following instructions. Special teams did give up a blocked kick late in the first half that costing three points that would have made a big difference at the end. Grade: C

Coaching
For the first time in a long, long time, the Steeler fielded a fluid, balanced NFL offense, rushing just three more times than they passed. Those ratios are nice, but what’s more important is that the Steelers did so effectively.

Arthur Smith’s men ran the ball when they needed to run it, and passed the ball with economy when necessary. And they did it against a defense ranks in the top ten in multiple categories.

On the flip side, some who might discount the work that Teryl Austin’s defense did against an offense playing against a retread quarterback and an injury-ravaged offensive line. But no one will do that here. This offense scored 48 points the week before, and you don’t do that in the NFL by accident.

  • The Steelers defense shut down the run and defended the pass effectively.

And while the coverage lapse certainly cannot be overlooked, it is also a correctable mistake.

Seemingly an eternity ago the Steelers traveled to London and got walloped against an inferior Vikings team. It was one of the worst efforts of the Tomlin era. Depending on who you believe, either the Steelers tried to come in early or made their own choice. Regardless, Mike Tomlin proactively managed the travel, all while keeping his team focused on winning the game instead of getting caught up in the hoopla over the first NFL game in Ireland.

Finally, it says here that Tomlin made a mistake in not kicking a late field goal, but in doing so he did what he’s always done – give his players a chance win the game. And they did. Albeit with considerably more drama than desired. Grade: B+

Spencer Anderson, Kenneth Gainwell, Pat Freiermuth, Steelers vs Vikings, Steelers vs Vikings Dublin, Ireland

Spencer Anderson celebrates with Kenneth Gainwell. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.come

Unsung Hero Award
In the pre-digital era, his name wouldn’t even appear on a stat sheet. Even today, you must dig deep to find it. The Steelers ran the ball far more effectively and far more consistently against the Vikings than they have against any team this season. This player only logged 36% of the snaps, but as the 6th tackle you’d have to figure he was a big part of the change and for that Spencer Anderson wins the Unsung Hero Award for the Steelers win over the Vikings in Dublin.

 

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