The Steelers are 7-5-1 after a loss to the Oakland Raiders that really can’t be described by words. Words truly don’t encapsulate the magnitude of the problems the Steelers had this week and how far they have fallen the last three weeks. Here we try and figure out who was most to blame and who did stand out.
Quarterbacks:
Austin- (C+) Ben Roethlisberger went 25/29 but at the end of the day, that was because the Steelers were running a dink and dunk offense. There weren't really any special throws, but I can remember some bad ones, including two bad throws back-to-back where he threw behind Switzer on what should have been a touchdown, then on Juju’s actual touchdown. He also missed a wide open Juju running for the goal line on what would have been a nice 50+ yard touchdown.
John- (C+) At the time I really wasn’t all that impressed with Ben Roethlisberger. He did miss some throws in this one and got bailed out by a few nice catches, not to mention he should have been picked on his final touchdown pass. That being said Roethlisberger only had four incompletions and despite being injured he came back and engineered a touchdown drive in the clutch while clearly in pain. Outside of the opening drive, he had the Steelers in scoring position for every possession where he was quarterback. Josh Dobbs just wasn’t up to snuff in this one, he used his legs to his advantage, but he tossed a bad interception and missed several other throws.
Running Backs:
Austin- (C+) Ridley got a touchdown and Jaylen Samuels was great through the air, however I just felt like they weren’t very good running. Sure, some of that falls on the offensive line, but there was a few times I found myself saying “you need to run north and south.” but because of the offensive line, I’ll still give them a C+.
John- (B-) It’s not the fault of Jaylen Samuels and Stevan Ridley that their offensive line was hot garbage in terms of run blocking. I didn’t feel like their ineffectiveness on the ground was all their fault, although they could have been better. Samuels was a nice option in the passing game but it looked like he was a guy that never had more than 12 carries in a game before.
Wide Receivers:
Austin- (C) I wanted more out of everyone else in this game. I get Antonio Brown gets double teamed but he needs to do more. Juju is the only one that produced this game, and I mean James Washington on that hook and ladder nearly got his whole season redeemed, but alas the Steelers fell short on the kick. Regardless, I just feel like this group should have performed better against a weak secondary.
John- (C+) Let’s take away the great day from Juju Smith-Schuster. Did these guys really do anything special? Antonio Brown was pretty much a non-factor, James Washington chipped in his usual two catches for eleven yards, Ryan Switzer was surprisingly quiet and Darrius Heyward-Bey was utilized on an idiotic end-around on the first drive of the game that lost seven yards. Smith-Schuster was dynamic once again though. The Steelers have two number one receivers on their team now, there is no longer a debate about that.
Tight Ends:
Austin- (D+) These guys just didn’t produce at all in this game. I wanted something out of them, instead they both struggled in blocking. You hate to see it.
John- (D+) Jesse James and Vance McDonald really struggled with run blocking in this game for the first time all season. They were so bad, they were actually liabilities instead of assets, pretty disappointing. Both James and McDonald were pretty quiet in the passing game too, that’s not good when the wide receivers are having quiet days as well.
Offensive Line:
Austin- (F) Maybe giving up one sack doesn’t fail them because even a broken clock is right twice a day, but the inability to open up holes in the run game was unacceptable, so they fail when you combine those two.
John- (F) This week was almost a pass/fail type of evaluation based on how good they are and how bad the Raiders lines were. When you look at the terrible job they did opening holes against the second worst rush defense in the league, it really shouldn’t be any surprise that this group has a failing grade. It gets even worse when you realize they gave up a sack, that injured Ben Roethlisberger no less. I am most upset about the performance from this unit, because unlike coaching, special teams or the defensive backs, I expect a lot more out of the offensive line.
Defensive Line:
Austin- (A-) I felt pretty good about the line coming out of this. Tuitt got a sack and another tackle for a loss, Heyward had 6 total tackles, and then the rest of the line combined for 5 more tackles, they were really getting a lot of stops here. I also felt like pressure was pretty solid, but this was against a not very good line, so I keep it at an A- instead of an A.
John- (A-) It really doesn’t feel like it because of how the game ended, but the defensive line really controlled the line of scrimmage all day long for the most part. The Raiders were no better at running the football than the Steelers were and they contributed to a strong pass rush that sacked Derek Carr four times. Their performance loses some luster because of the fact they couldn’t come up with a big play on the final defensive series, but these guys are the lone bright spot of a bad defense.
Linebackers:
Austin- (C-) Besides maybe T.J. Watt, it felt like the linebackers were none factors here. I mean yeah, Dupree got a sack and all T.J. had was pressure, but I just felt like no one else really did anything.
John- (C) The outside linebackers were pretty solid with their match-ups, even if they didn’t always show on the stat sheet. But, the inside linebackers struggled, L.J. Fort is a good athlete, but he is no match for Jared Cook, he just wasn’t up to snuff against the run either. Vince Williams was solid against the run, but got beaten badly on Lee Smith’s goal line touchdown. This position group just doesn’t have the personnel to get the job done without Ryan Shazier, this is where not getting a guy like Leighton Vander Esch or Rashaan Evans really hurts. Fort isn’t good enough to be a physical run defender and nobody else can cover particularly well.
Defensive Backs:
Austin- (D) Hilton was all over the field and got a tackle for a loss to go with his sack, but even he dropped what could have been a pick 6. None of these guys can catch, it’s actually terrible. They have zero ball skills, if not negative ball skills like Sean Davis where he turns a pick into a touchdown for the opposing team. No bueno.
John- (F) The lack of ball skills that have been displayed by this unit (even the guys who supposedly have some) has been utterly embarrassing and it’s insulting to fans of both this team and people that watch the game of football. I can’t remember the last time the Steelers earned a takeaway based on play from this unit. Part of it is coaching and part of it is talent deficiencies. But, good lord, somehow the secondary is even worse than we originally through.
Specialists:
Austin- (F) I am sorry Jordan Berry, you actually had an okay day, but the two missed Chris Boswell field goals just weighs down so heavily for me. That combined with Ryan Switzer taking time off the clock at the end by taking it out of the end zone failed it for me. Just couldn’t over look those two things as they had such a large effect on the game.
John- (D-) I warned about the problems that can come with signing a kicker to a long term deal. My fears have been realized as Chris Boswell missed two more kicks, granted the final one had more to do with the ungodly abomination of an excuse for a field that exists at the Oakland Coliseum. But, all things considered, I think the Steelers have to bring in another kicker to at least compete with Boswell. His fall from greatness has been unlike anything I have ever seen, his mistakes have cost this team far too often this year and now it’s bordering on being enough to cost the Steelers a playoff berth. Elsewhere, Ryan Switzer was a non-factor on returns and Jordan Berry saves this grade from being an F, because he had two punts downed inside the 20.
Coaching:
Austin- (F) Keith Butler refuses to adapt or try to take away a team’s strong point and Mike Tomlin is still bad at time management. Ls and Fs.
John- (F) The mismanagement of the clock at the end of the game, the decision to sit Roethlisberger with the game in the balance... Not a good day.