The Pittsburgh Steelers built some momentum Sunday afternoon at Heinz Field, winning their second consecutive game for the first time this season by beating the Washington Redskins 27-12, getting over the .500 mark in the process.
From quarterback Ben Roethlisberger engineering four early scoring drives to a defense that made things very tough for highly-touted rookie Robert Griffin III, the Steelers turned in one of their more complete performances of the season.
With that being said, it’s time for my weekly report card, grading every position on the field.
In addition, this week I bring in a one-time special guest to help grade the Steelers victory. Here’s a look at not only my weekly grades, but those of Dominic Errico as well.
Quarterback–
Shetler-Roethlisberger was efficient once again, despite the wet conditions, completing 24-of-33 pass attempts for 222 yards and three touchdowns. In addition, the offense scored on their first four drives, something they haven’t done all season. He completed 7 of 8 passes for 65 yards on the first possession that ended with a fourth-down touchdown pass to Leonard Pope. He played well enough early on to give the Steelers defense a nice cushion. In addition he didn’t throw a pick for the fourth time this season. Big Ben wasn’t typical Roethlisberger on third down, but regardless, he did everything the Steelers needed him to do too win. Grade: A-
Errico- Roethlisberger had another strong day for the Steelers. While his yardage total wasn’t overwhelming, he finished the day with 222 yards, three touchdowns, zero picks and a 121.0 QB Rating. He did a great job as usual spreading the ball around to his arsenal of weapons. The Steelers put a big focus back on the running game in this one, so I think Ben did everything asked of him in this game. Grade: B+
Running Backs
Shetler– Jonathan Dwyer is making a statement to become the Steelers full-time starter, gaining 107 yards on only 17 carries (6.3 yards per carry). By doing so Dwyer became the first Steelers’ running back to post back-to-back 100-yard games in four years. Chris Rainey continues to become more involved in the offense as well, which is a good thing. As a team, the Steelers averaged 5.2 yards per carry and if they continue to do that they are a very tough team to beat. Grade: A
Errico- Dwyer continues to stake a huge claim on the full time starting job, notching his second straight game over 100 yards rushing, running 17 times for 107 yards, a 6.3 YPC average. Rainey also added four carries for 26 yards. The rejuvenated Steelers’ running game was a huge part of the gameplan, trying to keep Redskins’ quarterback Robert Griffin III off the field. Grade: A
Wide Receivers
Shetler-The receivers had a solid day as Mike Wallace held onto the ball this week lading the team with seven catches, but the fact that the Steelers are basically turning him into a possession receiver is a bit concerning. Antonio Brown had a couple of big catches on a scoring drive, but the playmakers on Sunday were Heath Miller and Emmanuel Sanders, who both keep making big plays in big situations. Grade: B
Errico- Miller continues to climb the Steelers record books. His touchdown grab moved him into a tie with Elbie Nickel with 37 in his career, which is tops for a Steelers’ tight end in their career. Wallace rebounded nicely from last week’s case of the drops and caught seven passes for 62 yards. Sanders had a strong presence in this game, with three catches for 56 yards. Overall the Steelers wide receivers held onto the ball, while their opponents struggled mightily in the rainy conditions. Grade: B+
Offensive Line
Shetler– Roethlisberger wasn’t sacked and they averaged 5.2 yards per carry. The guys up front get all the credit there. Suddenly, the past two weeks, the Steelers have a ferocious and bruising offensive line. Rookie offensive tackle Mike Adams played very well in place of Marcus Gilbert and is making is case as well to be a permanent starter. Grade: A
Errico- The men in the middle of the Steelers’ line did a great job keeping the Redskins pressure away from Roethlisberger. They also helped pave the way for the team’s second straight 100-yard rusher and overall they dominated the war in the trenches. This is a good sign for a Steelers’ offense still trying to find a strong balance in their attack. I find it very hard to find anything wrong with this performance. Grade: A-
Defensive Line
Shetler– It’s back-to-back solid performances for this unit as they held Alfred Morris, the NFC’s leading rusher, to 59 yards on 13 carries, but they also prevented Griffin from using his legs as a weapon, holding the rookie to just 8 yards on six carries. In addition they made some big plays. Casey Hampton blew up a third-down running play to force a Redskins’ punt in the first quarter and Brett Keisel had a tackle that resulted in a seven-yard loss. The one way the Redskins could have won this game was on the ground, but holding the NFL’s top-rated rushing attack to 86 yards was a huge factor in the win. Grade: B+
Errico- Anytime you hold the league’s No. 1 rushing team to less than half their average you’ve done a pretty solid job up front. Washington came into the game averaging 177.7 yards on the ground, but the Steelers held them to 86 yards rushing. Part of the lower average may have had to do with the Redskins having to throw the ball because they were down 20-6 at halftime but overall I thought they did a good job containing rookie sensation RGIII and Morris. Grade: B
Linebackers
Shetler– Not a lot of tackles from this unit and James Harrison was quiet for the second game in row, but the middle linebackers played pretty well. Larry Foote had the only sack on Griffin and a big tackle for loss on the Redskins’ first series and Lawrence Timmons had three pressures that forced hurried throws and also had a tackle for loss. Overall they took Griffin out of his comfort zone, which was the gameplan coming in. While the numbers say they were good in pass coverage, they really weren’t as the ‘Skins had receivers running open underneath frequently but they couldn’t catch the football. Grade: B
Errico- The Steelers generated a solid pass rush all game long and did a good job keeping Griffin in check. Foote registered a big sack and overall they did a strong job up front and in the middle of the defense. Grade: B
Secondary
Shetler– Griffin came in leading the NFL in completion percentage (70.4) but completed less than half of his passes for the first time in his young career (47 percent). Some of that was due to the insane amount of drops, officially seven, but that number is generous; but much of it is also credited to being out of his comfort zone. The secondary stuck with receivers long enough even when Griffin was scrambling, which is usually a problem for this unit. Will Allen and Ryan Clark each had seven tackles and Keenan Lewis turned in another strong game. Grade: B+
Errico- The overall passing numbers for Griffin look a lot worse than they should be because his receivers dropped about 10 crucial passes that could have kept drives going. The Steelers had solid coverage on a lot of plays, but let’s not pretend like they were dominant in coverage all night long. Allen really played a strong game in the middle and deserves some recognition for how solid he has been in the wake of Troy Polamalu’s injury. Grade: B-
Special Teams
Shetler– Kicker Shaun Suisham is now 16-for-17 on the season and punter Drew Butler had a solid afternoon. The kicking game isn’t the problem- it’s the return game and the amount of penalties the Steelers take on special teams. There have been more kick returns with flags thrown this year than returns without them. Curtis Brown helped wipe out a punt return for a touchdown by Antonio Brown, his second return for a score that has been called back this season. In addition Brown’s showboating was unnecessary. This unit can’t keep taking points off the board and costing the team field position. The return units cost the special teams an otherwise solid grade. Grade: C+
Errico- Suisham continues to make every realistic field goal he is asked to attempt and the punting game buried the Redskins deep in their territory several times. What continues to be a problem is costly penalties on big returns. Brown had another touchdown return wiped out because of a block in the back by Curtis Brown. The Steelers can’t afford to keep making costly mistakes like this. Grade: B-
Coaching
Shetler– The gameplan on both sides of the ball was executed great. Dick LeBeau is now 14-1 against rookie quarterbacks and Todd Haley’s offense methodically put together four consecutive scoring drives to open the game. That combination was all the Steelers really needed. Mike Tomlin’s team continues to be prepared well despite the rash of injuries. Grade: A+
Errico- I think the Steelers’ gameplan to contain RGIII was a sound one. They knew they had to shut down the Redskins’ running game and overall that’s exactly what they did. On a rainy day in Pittsburgh, it was wise to go to the running game once the Steelers built up a lead, and it gave Dwyer a chance to shine once again. The Steelers showed the rookie how it was done today. Grade: A
Photo Credit: Associated Press
