Taken from the grade book of a teacher who is tired of grading, here is the Pittsburgh Steelers Report Card for the 2024 season.
Russell Wilson is sacked. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review
Quarterbacks
Justin Fields started in led the Steelers to a 4-2 record. He legs proved to be as much if not more of a weapon than his arm. Which is OK, he largely did what the Steelers asked him to do. Russell Wilson took over a 4-2 team and was cooking by the time the team reached 10-3 before the meat girder portion of their schedule. There Russ faltered a bit, but mainly because he tried to do too much. If there’s one player who “left it all on the field” in the playoff debacle against Baltimore, it was Wilson. The Steelers had winning quarterback play in 2024. Grade: B
Running Backs
Najee Harris logged his 4th consecutive 1000 yard season, earn his best rushing average. Jaylen Warren had 511 yards and an even better average. Don’t look now, but Cordarrelle Patterson actually had a better average than both of them. And yet, for all of those numbers, the whole of the Steelers rushing game was still less than the sum of its parts. Too often “Sludge Ball” on 1st and 2nd down resulted in 3rd and 8s. The running backs did a respectable job in catching passes, but were never true weapons. The running rarely establish a rhythm. That’s not all on the backs, but the Steelers needed more. Grade: C-
Tight Ends
Pat Freiermuth was easily the offense’s most reliable player, catching 65 passes for 653 yards and 7 touchdowns. Darnell Washington caught 19 passes for 200 yards, but never emerged as a consistent threat. MyCole Pruitt didn’t add much and Connor Heyward seemed to be the odd man out. Pat Freiermuth lifts the group grade, but the Steelers needed more from the tight ends in 2024. Grade: B-
Wide Receivers
George Pickens displayed his incredible athletic talent on the field on several occasions, but his immaturity with pointless penalties cost the team on many others. And his production dropped year-by-year. Calvin Austin had a nice second season and flashed playmaking potential at times, but he wasn’t able to do so consistently. Van Jefferson showed he might have it to be an NFL WR No. 4 or maybe even a No. 3. But he’s no No. 2. Mike Williams flashed at times, but wasn’t able to pick up the slack when Pickens was out. Ben Skowronek only saw spot duty, but he did quite well there. Scotty Miller was a non-factor. The Steelers clearly didn’t have the wide outs needed for a playoff run, let alone a championship run. Grade: D
Offensive Line
Injuries scrambled the line’s continuity early in the year, and it showed. By mid-season the line appeared to be making progress – then things fell apart as the weather got cold, rookie walls got hit, and from there on out “Sludge Ball” and sacks characterized the line play. Given the investment of free agent dollars an draft picks, this was a failing performance. Grade: F
Defensive Line
Cam Heyward bounced back after an injury plagued 2023. He was not only the best player on the line, if there is any football justice in the world, Heyward should have punched his card to Canton. His 8 sacks, 11 passes defensed an 12 tackles for losses don’t do justice to the ass kicker he was. Keeanu Benton had his moments, but really didn’t make second year leap, and Larry Ogunjobi likely set himelf up to be a cap casualty. Grade: B-
T.J. Watt strip sacks Joe Burrow. Photo Credit: X.com
Linebackers
T.J. Watt was voted team MVP, and he did some through with several splash plays that swung or sealed games. Yet, he was hot and cold and not effective late in the year. Alex Highsmith had a strong year over coming injury, and Nick Herbig made things happen. Rookie Peyton Wilson shown at times, but also appears to have it the “rookie wall.” Patrick Queen led the unit in tackles, while Elandon Roberts proved himself to be a “tooth chipper.” Grade: B
Secondary
Joey Porter Jr. had some sophomore struggles and must learn to avoid costly penalties. Donte Jackson had 5 interceptions, although if Pro Football Focus ratings are to be believed – and perhaps they are not, he struggled in coverage. Minkah Fitzpatrick led the team in tackles, but the big play “Minkah Magic” was missing. Beanie Bishop looks to be like a nice find as an undrafted rookie free agent. The secondary had a solid year in at lot of ways, but it faltered against elite QB’s down the stretch. Grade: C-
Special Teams
Chris Boswell had a otherworldly season, accounting for all of the team’s scoring in two games. Corliss Waitman started the year strong in relief of injured Cameron Johnston, but his performance leveled off as the trees grew bare. The Steelers punt coverage was strong, kick return coverage could have been better. The Steelers got little out of their kick return game, but Calvin Austin did a fair job as a returner. And the Steelers had several blocks early in the season. Grade: B
Coaching
Where to start?
Arthur Smith had his hands full – his offensive line was injured early and often, he never got a legit WR No. 2, and his starting quarterback was out for the first six weeks. Yet he found ways to make things work for the bulk of the season’s first 13 weeks.
But his offensive line began to falter at the same moment that he lost his starting wide receiver, and the unit struggled through December football.
Teryl Austin’s followed a similar arc. It might not have dominated during the season’s first 13 weeks, but the only truly worrisome performance came in the loss to Dallas, and he rectified that in short order. The defense was able to produce turnovers, and succeeded in making Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry look human when they came to Acrisure.
But the brutal reality is that his defense went into 5-star matchups on Christmas against the Chiefs and in the playoffs against Baltimore at full health and came up Choto on both occasions. (Choto is Argentine slang for coming up short – it carries both practical and anatomical implications.)
Arthur Smith confers with Mike Tomlin. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review
And finally, that brings us to Mike Tomlin.
Dispassionate analysts who focus on calling things as they see them as opposed to catering to angry fans to generate clicks, have argued that a sober analysis of this roster shows it to be an 8 or 9 win team. In that light, Tomlin should be credited for bringing out the best in what is a middle-of-the-road roster.
That may be true.
But here is something else that is true: In 2023 the Steelers finished 10-7 with weaker quarterback play, and were within a touchdown of trying the Buffalo Bills with 10:32 remaining in the 4th quarter in the playoffs. In 2024 they finished 10-7 and then Baltimore Ravens ridiculed them in the playoffs.
The objective of the Pittsburgh Steelers football club is to win a Super Bowl, and the franchise regressed in 2024. And that is on Mike Tomlin. Grade: F
Front Office
It is tempting to point a finger at the front offense for the failure of the line to step up, but the unit is young.
And clearly, Omar Khan executed addition by subtraction by dealing Diontae Johnson for Donte Jackson. Nonetheless, no “Khan Artist” plan to land a true number 2 wideout ever materialized. And that clearly hurt the offense, if for no other reason than it allowed defenses to crowd the box.
DeShon Elliot. Photo Credit: Steelers.com
The defense did not deliver on bang for its salary cap buck, but the only major contract given on that side of the ball this off season was to Patrick Queen, who played pretty well. Grade: C
Unsung Hero Award
Fans have always salivated over free agent signings, in large part because the Steelers seldom make big ticket moves. The ones that the franchise has historically excelled at are the under the radar ones. And this year the Steelers made one in the secondary, and his number seemed to show up on the field where ever it was needed and for that DeShon Elloitt wins the Unsung Hero Award for the Steelers 2024 season.
