The Pittsburgh Steelers made it three wins in a row on Sunday with a 20-12 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs that sent the Steeler back to the playoffs for the first time in three seasons.
There was a lot to like about the Steelers performance, which resulted in a third consecutive win.
With that being said, let’s take a look at how the Steelers graded out in my weekly Pittsburgh Steelers Report Card.
Quarterback- Ben Roethlisberger had another solid outing. While he only threw for 220 yards, he posted a solid quarterback rating of 112.1. He made the play on the touchdown throw to Antonio Brown and more importantly, didn’t commit a turnover for the third week in a row. Grade: A
Running Backs- For the second consecutive week, Le’Veon Bell was held in check as the Chiefs defense were committed to stopping the run. He did gain 63 yards on 20 carries and moved the chains often and found his way into the end zone, but Bell caught only one pass on the day and never had a run longer than seven yards. Grade: C+
Wide Receivers- Antonio Brown had seven catches, including his 12th touchdown reception, and broke his franchise record for receiving yards in a season. Martavis Bryant had one big play early and the Chiefs did a good job of not only taking away the big play and also limiting the check downs to Bell. But while taking all that away, it allowed Heath Miller to have a big day with seven catches. Grade: B
Offensive Line-Marcus Gilbert returned after missing three games and did a nice job on Justin Houston, as the guys up front continued to do a good job protecting Roethlisberger. The Chiefs front seven had the potential to be a game changer, but sacked Roethlisberger only once. They didn’t do a great job running the football though, averaging only 2.6 yards per carry on the day. Grade: B-
Defensive Line- The Chiefs had the second best red zone offense in the NFL, but the Steelers held them to only three field goals in four red zone trips. Cam Heyward was a beast and recorded 1.5 sacks on the Chiefs first drive and rookie Stephon Tuitt had a sack and forced a turnover fumble. It was easily the best performance of the season from the front three. Grade: A
Linebackers-Five sacks from the linebackers? Where has that been? James Harrison had a day and was all over the field. Lawrence Timmons was a star as well with a game-high 13 tackles, including a huge momentum changing fourth-down stop. Grade: A
Secondary– Alex Smith picked apart the Steelers defense to the tune of a 311-yard performance, his best game of the season. But the secondary, like the rest of the Steelers defense got tough in the red zone and they didn’t allow any big plays over the top. Grade: C+
Special Teams– A short punt from Brad Wing set up the Chiefs second field goal and KC was able to extend a drive with a fake field goal. However after that everything was solid. Wing uncorked a 56-yard punt in his only other attempt. Shaun Suisham was perfect on the day and the coverage units did their job. Grade: C
Coaching- Mike Tomlin said he challenged his defense this week and they responded. The offense made plays when they had to and for the most part the Steelers played mistake-free football for four quarters. The end result is a three-game winning streak and a return to the playoffs. Grade: A
Photo Credit: USA Today Sports
