Another Sunday has come and gone and for Mike Tomlin’s Pittsburgh Steelers, that means yet another disappointing loss, this time a 31-10 beat down at the hands of the Cleveland Browns.
The Steelers were dominated in this one and there is a lot of blame to go around.
Were there any positives to take away from yet another disappointing performance?
I take a look in my latest Steelers Report Card.
Quarterback: Ben Roethlisberger did not play well and only completed 50 percent of his passes, his lowest mark in over two years. He missed a lot of throws, but wasn’t exactly helped out much by his receivers, who dropped a lot of passes. The bottom line is that this offense has scored only two touchdowns, one a meaningless one on Sunday, in their past eight quarters. Grade: D
Running Backs: The Steelers were determined to run the ball early and Le’Veon Bell had 82 yards on 18 carries, including 47 in the first half. LeGarrette Blount and Dri Archer also combined for 51 yards on 11 carries. But it amounted to only three points and they had to abandon that plan rather quickly. Grade: C
Wide Receivers: After Antonio Brown, do the Steelers really have another receiver? Markus Wheaton was terrible, including dropping a touchdown. The drops and the inability to get separation resulted in Roethlisberger having to force a lot of throws. Grade: F
Offensive Line: The line did their job early as the Steelers were able to move the ball on the ground, but when they had to clear holes down on the goal line, they didn’t get the job done. Roethlisberger was sacked twice, but those were coverage sacks. Overall not a terrible day for the linemen, but nothing spectacular either. Grade: C
Defensive Line: The Browns had 158 yards rushing on 38 carries and scored three touchdowns as the Steelers front three is still a mess. When they knew Cleveland would run the ball in the second half, Cleveland gashed them again for 95 second half yards. Changes need to be made. Grade: F
Linebackers: Not a good day for these guys either. No pressure and they can’t cover tight ends. Jordan Cameron had two big plays and even backup tight end Jim Dray beat the Steelers deep. Grade: F
Secondary: If I could, I would give these guys a G. Troy Polamalu is a liability at this point and Cortez Allen isn’t much better. Allen gave up three pass plays of 24 yards or longer, including a 51-yard touchdown to Cameron. Brian Hoyer completed only eight passes, but for a whopping 217 yards. Grade: F
Special Teams: Brad Wing not being able to get a hold down was a big momentum changer. Archer needs to learn how to take a knee. Every aspect of the special teams was ineffective. Grade: F
Coaching: In the last six quarters, the Steelers have been outscored 55-13 by the Browns and seven of those came on a meaningless touchdown to Lance Moore. It’s beating a dead horse, but either this team isn’t properly prepared or they just aren’t very good. I lean towards a combination of both. Grade: F
Photo Credit: Pittsburgh Steelers
