Category Archives: Steelers Report Card

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 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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Steelers Report Card for Loss to Bears: Chicago Blues Edition

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Taken from the gradebook of a teacher who is tired of signing the Chicago Blues, here is the Pittsburgh Steelers Report Card for the loss to the Bears at Soldier Field.

Colston Loveland, Jalen Ramsey, Kyle Dugger, Steelers vs Bears

Colston Loveland scores. Photo Credit: AP, via Tribune-Revew

Quarterback
In his first start of the season, Mason Rudolph went 24 of 31. Completing just shy of 80% of your passes looks good superficially. His first interception negated a great defensive start. His fumble turned over the ball while the Steelers were sniffing field goal range, setting up a touchdown that put the Bears up by 10. Beyond the turnovers, his longest completion went for 21 yards and appeared to be incapable of passing downfield. The deep ball was supposed to be his specialty. Grade: FSteelers, Report Card, grades,

Running Backs
Kenneth Gainwell led the way with 92 yards on 10 carries retaining a respectable average even if you take out his 55 yard scamper. Gainwell also had 6 catches for 30 yards, making him the team’s number 1 receiver. Jaylen Warren had a strong day, rushing for 68 yards on 18 carries. Connor Heyward ran once for zero yards. Grade: B+

Tight Ends
Steelers Tight Ends combined for 8 catches for over 60 yards with Jonnu Smith taking two tosses as runs for 6 yards and Pat Freiermuth catching a touchdown pass. Grade: B

Wide Receivers
Calvin Austin led the Steelers wide receivers with 4 catches for 36 yards. D.K. Metcalf had 5 catches for 22 yards, losing on yet another combat catch. Ben Skowronek had a nice catch for 21 yards, but that was the longest catch of the day. Roman Wilson had zero catches but executed an excellent pass break up negating a would-be interception. The receivers must share blame with the quarterback for the failure of the downfield passing game. Grade: F

Offensive Line
Run blocking was solid. Mason Rudolph was only sacked once twice and hit 4 other times. And statistically speaking, that looks pretty good. But one of those sacks helped scuttle the Steelers first drive, and the second one resulted in a forced fumble. Grades here are driven by performance and results. Grade: C-

Defensive Line
The Steelers held the Bears running game in check for the most part, but Caleb Williams did escape four times. The defensive line, as a unit, was overpowered on the Bears touchdown run. Yahya Black recovered a fumble in what should have been a game-changing play. Grade: C

Linebackers
T.J. Watt made an All Pro move by first forcing Caleb Williams into the end zone and then strip sacking him. Nick Herbig pounced on it for the touchdown. However, a neutral zone infraction by Herbig negated a Joey Porter Jr. interception on the final drive at halftime that resulted in the Bears getting three extra points that decided the game. Grade: D

Secondary
Overall play of the secondary was OK at times with Kyle Dugger’s addition paying dividends. He had a pass defensed as did James Pierre. But the Bears passed for 3 touchdowns. Grade: D

Special Teams
The Bears had more kick return success than you’d like to see. After Chicago forced the Steelers to punt to start the second half, Corliss Waitman boomed off a deep punt. Unfortunately a Ben Skowronek penalty forced a re-punt and Waitman did not do a good job of that. This set up the Bears only non-turnover assisted touchdown drive. Grade: D

Coaching
Several times during his tenure we’ve credited Arthur Smith for leading an offense where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Against the Bears, the opposite was true.

The Steelers led in all sorts of offensive stat categories, even edging an impressive 6-minute time of possession advantage. Yet, they came up short on the score board. Turnovers, which are not Smith’s fault are a huge factor here. But so is the Steelers chronic inability to pass down field.

  • Critics are already calling out the 31 points given up by Teryl Austin’s defense.

Fair enough. Numbers don’t lie. The defense wasn’t good enough, especially in the Red Zone. But the defense was also sandbagged by the offense and special teams on each scoring drive and self-sabotaged on the Bears field goal drive. That’s not on Austin’s game planning.

  • Still, Austin’s defense gave up 3 passing touchdowns. That’s three too many.

The Steelers have been playing the Bears in Chicago since 1938, one year before my oldest living blood relative was born in Mt. Oliver. Since then, they’ve beaten the Bears in Chicago precisely one time.

  • Any number of individual plays could have turned the collective outcome.

That may not come down on game plan or coaching, but Mike Tomlin and his staff are ultimately responsible. The Steelers needed a win in Chicago. Instead they got a loss. Grade: F

Kenneth Gainwell, Darnell Washington, Steelers vs Bears

Kenneth Gainwell runs for 55 yards. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.com

Unsung Hero Award
Kenneth Gainwell may have authored the offense’s most explosive play but that was all made possible by the block leveled by Darnell Washington, and for that he wins the Unsung Hero Award for the Steelers loss in Chicago to the Bears.

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Steelers Report Card for Loss to Chargers: Pessimistic Teacher Edition

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Taken from the notebook of an increasingly pessimistic teacher, here is the Pittsburgh Steelers Report Card for the loss to the 2025 Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football.

Ladd McConky, Jalen Ramsey, Steelers vs Chargers, Steelers vs Chargers. SNF

Jalen Ramsey can’t stop Ladd McConky. Photo Credit: IMAGN Images, via Tribune-Review

Quarterbacks
Aaron Rodgers had a bad night. His overall numbers of 16-31-1-2 for 161 are pretty putrid to begin with – and that’s with garbage time glory included. Rodgers was off all night. When he wasn’t overthrowing open receivers and or underthrowing covered receivers he was throwing passes that were too high or too low. Grade: FSteelers, Report Card, grades,

Running Backs
Jaylen Warren had 70 yards on 14 carries adding 21 yards on two catches from the air. Kaleb Johnson had 3 yards on two carries. Steelers running backs were OK when they needed them to be special. Grade: C

Tight Ends
Pat Freiermuth had 3 catches, Darnell Washington had 1 and Jonnu Smith and one more plus another that was reverted on replay. Its no coincidence that the one drive where the Steelers feigned a smidgen of rhythm two tight ends caught passes. Still, the Steelers deployed the Jumbo Package and the blocking wasn’t quite there. Grade: C-

Wide Receivers
D.K. Metcalf had 3 catches for 35 yards and two end zone targets – one that was a gimmie touchdown and another on a ball he had next to no chance of catching. Roman Wilson had 3 catches including another garbage time touchdown. Calvin Anderson had 2 catches for 14 yards, but he also let an easy catch bounce off his hands for an interception that effectively killed any chance for a comeback. Rodgers was off target early and often, but it is also clear that this group of receivers struggles to “get open.” Grade: D

Offensive Line
It is starting to look like Isaac Seumalo is the critical member of this unti, as it was not the same without him. Run blocking was OK at times, but the Steelers needed it to be exceptional. More worrisome was the pass blocking. Rodgers was hit 5 times and sacked three times including one for a safety. And Broderick Jones looked bewildered and jinxed all night. Grade: F

Defensive Line
Keeanu Benton with 7 tackles, a sack and another for a loss. Cam Heyward had 6 a tackle for a loss, and a deflected pass. Kimani Vidal actually had a respectable night for the Chargers, but he never came close to disrupting the game the way other running backs have. Grade: B

Linebackers
Two weeks after plenty of talking heads wanted him traded or at least benched Alex Highsmith posted his second consecutive 2 sack game. Patrick Queen led the team and the group with 12 tackles. Malik Harrison had a tackle for a loss and was a force in stopping the run. Nick Herbig had a sack, tackle for a loss and 2 QB hit. T.J. Watt “only” a sack, tackle for a loss, deflected a pass and 3 QB hits. The linebackers played well enough to win. Grade: B+

Secondary
Justin Herbert is one of the better young quarterbacks in the game, yet the Steelers limited him to 220 yards per game, despite Herbert enjoying an overwhelming time of possession advantage. Moving Jalen Ramsey to safety appears to be helping and Kyle Dugger is playing well. Still, Joey Porter Jr. let an interception slip through his hands and the secondary did give up a long run after Rodgers’ first interception. The Steelers needed spectacular secondary play, not good* performance. Grade: B-

Special Teams
We forgot this now, but T.J. Watt actually answered Donte Jackson’s interception with a punt-forcing sack 3 plays later. Unfortunately, Ke’Shawn Williams when the Steelers theoretically could have still made a comeback. Chris Boswell knocked in a 59 yarder only to miss a 45er. Yeah, it was that kinda night. Grade: F

Coaching
A week ago Teryl Austin’s unit shut down a Colts offense that had been galloping through other NFL defenses. They did it with a heavy dose of turnovers. Against the Chargers they went out against one of the league’s rising young quarterbacks and, although they did give up a long play, they played well enough to win, albeit while leaving turnovers on the field. So far so good.

  • Alas, Arthur Smith’s offense is a mess.

Throughout the season his unit hasn’t been effective in establishing a rhythm, has faltered too much on possession downs and their time of possession has been atrocious. Despite that Smith has more often than not found ways to make it work.

Steelers offense for example has capitalized on turnovers, converted the Red Zone and otherwise gotten far enough into opponent’s territory to allow Chris Boswell to knock in enough field goals so that the Steelers score when they need to.

It is clear after watching the Chargers game that the key component to this was Aaron Rodgers making just enough of the critical throws make all this happen.

Rodgers failed to do this against the Chargers and, in tandem, rest of the offense failed to pick up the slack.

How much of that is due to scheme and how much of that is tied to personnel decisions remains an open question. But as  Mike Tomlin has a clear voice in both, he shoulders the blame. Grade: D

James Pierre, Derius Davis, Steelers vs Chargers

Body Slam! Photo Credit: NFL.com

Unsung Hero Award
He was a former starter who got benched, was allowed to leave in free agency, got cut by his new team, returned, was resigned, then cut, then signed to the practice squad then quickly activated. A concussion thrust him into the starting role and batted away two passes while delivering a WWF (or WWE) style body slam tackle, and for that James Pierre wins the Unsung Hero Award for the Steelers loss to the Chargers at SoFi Stadium.

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Steelers Report Card for Win Over Colts: Sustain Good Study Habits Edition

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taken from the gradebook of a teacher hoping his students can sustain the good study habits learned in the last week, here is the Pittsburgh Steelers Report Card for the 2025 win over the Colts at Acrisure.

Pat Freiermuth, Mekhi Blackmon, Steelers vs Colts

Pat Freiermuth with the go ahead touchdown. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review

Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers was 25 of 35 for 203 yards, with one touchdown and zero interceptions. At times Rodgers seemed frustrated with his receivers, which isn’t good. However, he did not force any balls the way he had in the previous two weeks. Grade: BSteelers, Report Card, grades,

Running Backs
Jaylen Warren scored two touchdowns, but he only managed 31 yards on 16 carries. Kenneth Gainwell had 3 carries for negative 1 yards. Kaleb Johnston had 1 carry for 4 yards, while Connor Heyward managed 4 yards on his tush push. Both Gainwell and Johnson made drive-sustaining catches. Grade: C-

Tight Ends
Once again tight ends absorbed the majority of the targets, with Darnell Washington bringing in 4 of 6 balls thrown his way for 43 yards, Pat Freiermuth caught 3 of 5 thrown for 27 yards his way including a touchdown. Jonnu Smith caught 3 of 5 for 25 yards. Grade: B+

Wide Receivers
Calvin Austin led receivers with 5 catches for 56 yards with the Steelers scoring on each drive he caught a pass on. D.K. Metcalf caught 2 passes for 6 yards. Roman Wilson only had one catch which should have ended the game, but unfortunately he fumbled. Grade: B-

Offensive Line
Aaron Rodgers was sacked 3 times, but generally had good time to throw. The Steelers running game never go into gear. How much of this is due to Isaac Seumalo’s injury and how much of it is the Colts scheming to prevent the Steelers from playing a ball control offense is unknown. Either way the Steelers will need better line play down the stretch. Grade: C-

Defensive Line
Cam Heyward tipped two passes and made 4 tackles. Keeanu Benton had 5 tackles and a sack. Derrick Harmon helped stuff Jonathan Taylor, helped run down Tyler Warren from behind, and on the very next play recovered a fumble. Grade: A-

Linebackers
How good were the linebackers? Alex Highsmith dropped Taylor for a loss on his first carry, knocked away a would-be first down pass, sacked Daniel Jones, and then strip sacked him in the 4th quarter. Not bad for a guy many wanted to bench a week ago. T.J. Watt’s strip sack shifted the course of the game. Rookie Jack Sawyer intercepted a batted pass.

But you know what? The best linebacker on the field was Payton Wilson who was all over the field with 13 tackles, two deflected passes and an interception which set up the go ahead touchdown. Grade: A

Alex Highsmith, Daniel Jones, Alex Highsmith strip sack Daniel Jones, Steelers vs Colts

Alex Highsmith strip-sacks Daniel Jones. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review

Secondary
Jalen Ramsey’s move to free safety provided critical stability for an ailing unit. His hard hitting also set the tone for the entire defense. Joey Porter Jr. batted away four balls, made a sack, and caught an interception, but his pass interference penalties continue. Darius Slay had a solid game after two very shaky weeks. Brandon Echols played well. Grade: B+

Special Teams
Corliss Waitman had 5 punts averaging 50 yards, but with no touchbacks and two landing inside the 20. Ke’Shawn Williams hasn’t broken a kick or punt return yet, but he’s flashing that ability. Chris Boswell was perfect. The Steelers special teams did however, get caught with their pants down on a fake punt. Grade: B-

Coaching
At first glance, Arthur Smith’s offense’s stats look rather anemic. Except perhaps for the score.

By a lot of measure’s, Smith’s offense had a tough day. Mike Tomlin described it as “running on the beach.” While the difficulty the Steelers had in rushing the ball is cause for concern, Smith’s unit did what a competent offense is supposed to do: Turn turnovers into touchdowns.

As he did at times last year, Smith found a way to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts.

Teryl Austin may not have taken the brunt of the heat for the defensive collapses against the Bengals and Packers, but the criticism he weathered was blistering. In the face of that, and missing 3 of five safeties he started the season with, Austin put together a game plan that, when executed shackled the league’s most potent offense.

Jonathan Taylor looked nothing like the player that the NFL had been watching revived the concept of Franchise Running back in real time. Along the way, Austin’s defense secured 5 turnovers against a team that had given up 6 all season long.

Last December, the late, great Craig Wolfey worried that the Christmas loss would be a “cheese grater game” for the Steelers. Wofley was right. The twin losses to the Bengals and Packers carried that same “cheese grater potential.”

  • Mike Tomlin made sure that did not happen.

The Steelers arrived at Acisure with as much focus as fight. Penalties were a non-factor. Even as the Steelers gave up three 4th down conversions, one a quick touchdown, and failed at their own 4th and goal situation, it never felt like they were losing control of the game.

Tomlin needs to ensure his men can maintain that focus in the weeks to come, but he’s make a good start. Grade: A

Kyle Dugger, T.J. Watt, Jonathan Taylor, Steelers vs Colts

You Shall Not Pass! Kyler Dugger & T.J. Watt stuff Jonathan Taylor for no gain. Photo Credit: Taylor Oallson, Steelers.com

Unsung Hero Award
One week ago this man was under the employ of the New England Patriots. He didn’t put on a Pittsburgh Steelers uniform until Thursday, which is when the Steelers found out they were going to need him. Kyle Dugger came in on 3 days practice and helped stabilize an ailing secondary and for that he win the Unsung Hero Award for the Steelers 2025 win over the Colts 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 Browns: Struggling to Keep Up on a Short Week Edition

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Taken from the grade book of a teacher who is next to certain that he’ll fail in his assignment to keep this short on a short week, here is the Pittsburgh Steelers Report Card for the 2025 win over the Browns at Acrisure.

Jaylen Warren, Steelers vs Browns

Jaylen Warren runs to daylight. Photo Credit: Alyissa Rubin, Steelers.com

Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers went 21-30-235 for 2 touchdowns. Keeping it real, Rodgers missed a few throws that contributed to a touchdownless first half. But he more than made up for it with laser strikes to the end zone in the 2nd half. And Rodgers deft management at the line of scrimmage has kept elite defensive coordinators rocking on their heels for 2 straight weeks. Grade: B+Steelers, Report Card, grades,

Running Backs
It was back to the future for Generation X Steelers fans as offense deliberately incorporated 3 running backs into the game plan. Jaylen Warren led the group with 52 yards on 11 carries, followed by Kenneth Gainwell who got 22 on 6 carries and Kaleb Johnson who got 15 on 6 tries. All of this came against the NFL’s best rushing defense. Warren and Gainwell added for 2 catches and each running back banged out at least one long run. Grade: B+

Tight Ends
Darnell Washington opened the game with a 36 yard pass and finished the day with 3 grabs for 62 yards. Pat Freiermuth had one catch for 11 yards, and Connor Heyward came up with another for 12 yards, and a touchdown. The tight ends blocking efforts were also critical to the success of the offense. Grade: A

Wide Receivers
D.K. Metcalf had 4 catches for 95 yards all of which were chunk plays, one of which was the decisive touchdown. The only other receiver to get a target was Roman Wilson, who caught 1 pass for 11 yards. That helped set up a score. Grade: B

Connor Heyward, Steelers vs Browns

Connor Heyward with the first touchdown of the day. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.com

Offensive Line
Aaron Rodgers was not sacked and the Cleveland Browns only touched him 3 times. 3 rushers had carries for double digit carries and another had a 9 yard run. Yes, the unit had help from the tight ends and Spencer Anderson again appeared in the Jumbo Package. No, the team couldn’t quite run out the clock. But this was a strong performance against a good defensive front. Grade: B+

Defensive Line
The individual stat sheet might look a little sparse outside of Derrick Harmon’s sack. But stat to focus on is Cleveland’s 3.8 yard-per-carry average. The Steelers needed to make the Browns one-dimensional. And they did. Oh, and Daniel Ekuale dropped into coverage Esezi Otomewo paving  the way for a Dick LeBeau style zone blitz sack. Grade: A-

Linebackers
T.J. Watt, Nick Herbig and Alex Highsmith are all credited with parts of sacks by ESPN. Watt also tipped a pass to force a punt. Patrick Queen was laying in the wood while Payton Wilson and Cole Holcomb quietly put in good days. Grade: A

Secondary
Jalen Ramsey had two sacks his 4th and 5th out of 139 career games. No one got an interception, but DeShon Elliott, Daruis Slay, and Joey Porter all got their hands on passes, as did Juan Thornhill. Its been said that the Steelers 6 sacks were in large part due to Dillion Gabriel holding on to the ball too long – there’s a reason why they’re called coverage sacks. On a day when the Browns threw for over 50 passes, they didn’t cross the 50 until the end of the first half, and then didn’t reach the Red Zone until late in the 4th quarter – where they got shut down. Grade: A

Special Teams
Chris Boswell knocked in 3 field goals and missed another due to the turf. Corliss Waitman only punted twice, but one went for 20 yards. Ke’Shawn Williams opened with a phenomenal punt return that got called back for a penalty. Williams and Gainwell did well on kick returns and coverage was solid. Grade: B-

Coaching
Arthur Smith took a lot of heat last year for failing to turn a Steelers offense that had been stuck in schematic purgatory since the days of Matt Canada and Randy Fitchner. We saw glimpses of what he wanted to do last season, but desire failed to connect with results far too often.

The Browns may be 1-5, but they have what may be reguarded as the NFL’s best defense. Per Bob Labriola:

…the Browns came into the game ranked first in the NFL in total yards passing allowed, first in rushing yards per game allowed, and fourth in average gain per rush. They were fourth in sacks per pass attempt, and second in first downs allowed per game.

And Jim Schwartz is regarded as one of the best defensive minds in the game. Yet Arthur Smith’s offense took control of the game and never relinquished it.

The Browns offense, suffice to say, isn’t remotely in the same category as their defense. Nonetheless, Teryl Austin’s defense did what it was supposed to do against a weaker unit – force them to be one dimensional and keep them out of the end zone.

  • After six weeks, the Steelers stand at 4-1 and with a lead over the AFC North.

That’s good, but its not what’s encouraging about the Browns win. Its that the Steelers continue to get better each week, and Mike Tomlin deserves credit for that. Grade: A-

Jonnu Smith Denzel Ward, Steelers vs Browns

Jonnu Smith with 1 of his 3 catches. Photo Credit: Alyssa Rubin, Steelers.com

Unsung Hero Award
The Steelers wide receiver depth chart is thin. And they’re were down a man against the Browns. Such situations requires coaches to get creative. But to do that, they need players who are versatile. This player converted a first down with his first catch, started a scoring drive with his second, and ran for then yards sustaining the Steelers first touchdown drive and for that Jonnu Smith wins the Unsung Hero Award for the Steelers win over the Browns at Acrisure.

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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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Steelers Report Card for 2024 Season – Tired of Grading Edition

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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, Steelers vs Chiefs, Chiefs sack Russell Wilson

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: BSteelers, Report Card, grades,

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, Joe Burrow, T.J. Watt strip sack Joe Burrow, Steelers vs Bengals

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, Mike Tomlin, Steelers vs Browns, Steelers vs Browns snow

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 Elliott, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Steelers vs Colts

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.

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