Down goes the giant! The Steelers finally defeated their nemesis in the New England Patriots on Sunday. Surprisingly enough, the defense was the standout unit, holding the typically explosive Tom Brady and Co. to just 10 points and only three after their opening drive. The offense which had contributions from a ton of different guys made enough plays to win, thanks in part to the fantastic effort of Jaylen Samuels. Let's see how everybody graded out.
Quarterbacks
Austin- (B) I felt like Ben
Roethlisberger was solid in this one. He had an interception that hurts his
stats, but it wasn’t his fault, so you gotta keep that in mind too. He still
missed a few throws though and did have a bad interception that was on him.
John- (B) Roethlisberger missed a
few passes and his deep ball was off. But, largely Roethlisberger was
solid and he made the big plays he needed to make for the Steelers to win.
I really blame his second interception more on Antonio Brown, but his first
interception was a bad throw and decision.
Running
Backs
Austin- (A) Very close to an A+,
but for me an A+ means an almost flawless game where the mistakes don’t hurt
you, and that one sack where Samuels didn’t pass protect just barely puts them
under. If it were a number grade it would be 94.9/100
John- (A) You can’t ask for more
than what you got from Jaylen Samuels and Stevan Ridley. They both ran
hard and with a purpose, Samuels was dynamic and both of his catches were huge
too. What a day for the rookie.
Wide
Receivers
Austin- (A-) Nobody really
had a standout game by themselves, but, that’s because Ben Roethlisberger
spread the ball around and I felt that all the receivers played well when they
got their chances. Juju Smith-Schuster Moss’d J.C. Jackson for a big gain,
James Washington made a big 32 yard grab and then a 24 yard catch and run,
Antonio Brown got a touchdown and Eli Rogers converted a key 3rd down and four
early and drew a defensive pass interference penalty. I was happy with
what they did together.
John- (A-) It’s probably the first
time we have seen significant contributions from more than three receivers, it
was an added bonus that five of the six active receivers (special teamer
Darrius Heyward-Bey excluded) all made plays. James Washington finally
had the breakout game we have all been waiting for.
Tight Ends
Austin- (B) Not the most productive
game, but Vance McDonald did get the opening score and converted a clutch 3rd
down and nine that allowed the Steelers to push for a late field goal. Jesse
James also got a nine yard grab. Overall, I felt like they had a bounce
back game, they blocked well in the ground game too.
John- (A-) These guys, like the
offensive line, were awesome run blockers. They really worked
over the Patriots defensive front
all day long and even though they didn’t put up huge receiving numbers, they
had big grabs. Vance Mcdonald especially had two huge catches.
Offensive
Line
Austin- (B+) Speaking of bounce
back games in run blocking, man were they opening up holes for Jaylen Samuels
in this game. They also protected Ben Roethlisberger well. Stats say they gave
up two sacks, but one was a coverage sack where Roethlisberger had the ball for
a very long time, while the other wasn’t really on the line, Samuels just
missed an assignment.
John- (A) This was a nice response
after a big disappointment in Oakland. They pushed the Patriots front
around consistently and protected Ben Roethlisberger very well, the two sacks
allowed were not on them.
Defensive
Line
Austin- (A-) Constant pressure from
this unit with 11 combined tackles and 4 quarterback hits, I was happy.
John- (B) They pushed the pocket a
lot and made Tom Brady uncomfortable, however, they were susceptible against
the run at times. They could have sealed gaps a bit better.
Linebackers
Austin- (A) T.J. Watt was an animal
this game and all of the tackles for a loss this game came from linebackers, so
I give them a lot of credit.
John- (B) Mixed bag from these
guys, Bud Dupree was solid, so was Jon Bostic. I really liked the games
from T.J. Watt and Vince Williams. Watt
had pressure all day long and Vince Williams was all over the field. They
struggled at times against the run though.
Defensive
Backs
Austin- (B+) Joe Haden had an
amazing day where he was the first Steelers defensive back to intercept brady
since Chris Hope in 2005, then besides that first touchdown debacle I felt like
they did pretty good as a whole.
John- (A-) These guys really
stepped up as a unit on Sunday. Can’t give them an A, because of the
awful touchdown they allowed to a wide open Chris Hogan. But, they were
largely great.
Specialists
Austin- (C+) Berry’s punting wasn’t
great, Boswell missed a 32 yarder, but he also hit a more important 48 yarder
later in the game. Ryan Switzer’s lone kick return went past the 25 to
the 27 and Patterson’s lone kick return only made it to the 23, so there was a
lot of averaging out in this.
John- (C+) Chris Boswell’s final
field goal was critical and saves this grade. Otherwise the special teams
as a whole was disappointing to average.
Jordan Berry was not very good and Boswell inexplicably missed a 32 yard
field goal that could have really been a problem if the Steelers hadn’t held
twice on defense late in the game.
Coaching
Austin- (B+) I got to give props to
Keith Butler for finally finding a way to stop Gronk. also Steelers won the
penalty battle by far. Still there was a dumb challenge in this game.
John- (A-) The awful challenge
hurts the grade, but Randy Fichtner and Keith Butler had excellent game plans
this week and they finally put their guys in a position to succeed.
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