The Pittsburgh Steelers had yet another let down Sunday in Seattle, falling 39-30 to the Seattle Seahawks.
The Steelers have still beaten only one team all season with a winning record and now have to fight the last five weeks just to make the playoffs.
There was plenty of blame to go around in this loss.
Let’s take a look at how the Steelers graded out in my weekly Steelers Report Card.
Quarterbacks– Ben Roethlisberger was the best player on the field for the Steelers. Unfortunately unless he played defensive back that didn’t mean a whole heck of a lot. Roethlisberger threw for 456 yards and had to throw it 55 times. But he threw two interceptions that Seattle converted into touchdowns and Landry Jones threw two picks on just four attempts. Grade: B-
Running Backs– DeAngelo Williams carried the ball only eight times and averaged only 3.6 yards per carry. He did catch seven passes for 88 yards. It was evident that running the football wasn’t in the game plan, but the Steelers rushed for only 58 yards on the afternoon (18 coming from Roethlisberger). The ground game has become a concern after gaining just 60 yards last week. Grade: C
Wide Receivers- Antonio Brown was blanketed by Richard Sherman, but Markus Wheaton stepped up in a big way with nine catches for 201 yards and a touchdown. However Martavis Bryant continues to drop passes, which has become another concern. Grade: B-
Offensive Line- The guys up front were much better in the first half than the second, but still only allowed two sacks on the day. Running the ball wasn’t really an option, but they didn’t do a good job of opening holes when the Steelers did try. Grade: C
Defensive Line- Cam Heyward had one of the Steelers two sacks, blocked an extra point and deflected a pass, but there wasn’t much pressure on Russell Wilson overall and the Seahawks rushed for 100 yards on 27 carries. Grade: C-
Linebackers- Very little pressure and no splash plays. That has become a common thing as of late for this defense. Vince Williams stood out the most, making seven tackles after Ryan Shazier left the game. Grade: D-
Secondary- Wilson threw for 345 yards and five touchdowns and most of them were easy throws as receivers were running wide open all day. Antwon Blake, Ross Cockrell and Will Allen were all terrible. The allowed 39 points to a Seattle team that averaged only 22 coming in. Grade: F
Special Teams- An interception by Jones on a fake field goal plus countless penalties- two by Blake- led to just another poor special team’s day for the Steelers. Grade: D+
Coaching- When will Mike Tomlin stop playing video game football and just take the points when they are presented to him? He has a kicker who has missed just once on the season but refuses to let him kick. The two-point conversion call when leading 16-14 was also not a smart call even though the Steelers converted. Todd Haley’s offense put up enough points to win, but Keith Butler’s defense allowed five touchdowns for the second time in the past three games. Grade: F
Photo Credit: USA Today Sports
