The Pittsburgh Steelers needed a win on Sunday and got one in a big fashion, defeating the San Francisco 49ers 43-18.
For a change there was very little to complain about on either side of the football.
How did the Steelers grade out at each position?
Let’s take a look.
Quarterback- Ben Roethlisberger was once again fantastic. There’s no other way to put it after completing 21-of-27 passes for 369 yards and three touchdowns. In addition to the three touchdowns there were also a pair of two-point conversion throws. Grade A+
Running Backs- DeAngelo Williams once again filled in nicely for Le’Veon Bell and in the process staked his claim for more touches once Bell returns next week. Williams finished with 77 yards on 20 carries and tied a club record with three rushing touchdowns. He struggled some in the first half as the 49ers were crowding the line but once Roethlisberger made the Niners back off some, Williams found more running room. Grade B+
Wide Receivers- Antonio Brown was once again a beast, finishing the day with nine catches for 195 yards and a touchdown. Even more impressive was the contributions from Darius Heyward-Bey and Markus Wheaton, who both made big plays. Heath Miller had only two receptions, but caught a touchdown and two-point conversion. Grade: A+
Offensive Line– The Niners didn’t touch Roethlisberger all day. And while the Steelers struggled to run the ball early, it was a good day for the guys up front, other than a shaky start to the game for Ramon Foster. Grade: A
Defensive Line- It was a nice showing for the Steelers defense and while it helped that the 49ers were so offensively challenged, it was a positive day nonetheless. Cam Heyward was a beast and Stephon Tuitt looked very good as well. The Steelers front limited Carlos Hyde to just 43 yards. They also held the 49ers scoreless on six plays from the three-yard line or closer. Grade: A-
Linebackers: Speaking of a beast, what about the performance from Ryan Shazier? Shazier finished with 15 tackles (11 solo), three for loss, and a 17-yard sack. He also forced a fumble and recovered one as well. Rookie Bud Dupree also got a sack for the second consecutive game. Grade: A+
Secondary: Colin Kaepernick threw for 335 yards, but most of that came after the game was already decided. Mike Mitchell and Antwon Blake were throwing big hits around and William Gay also looked good at times. Grade: B
Special Teams: Kicker Josh Scobee missed an extra point, but the coverage teams were very solid on the day as the 49ers never had good field position. Grade: B
Coaching-The Steelers couldn’t start 0-2 and they came out with a solid game plan on both sides of the ball. Mike Tomlin’s team was ready to play from the opening kickoff, which is sometimes an issue. Todd Haley knew the 49ers would try and stuff the run so he put the ball in Roethlisberger’s hands and let him take shots down the field.
Keith Butler’s defense was aggressive spying Kaepernick and making plays sideline to sideline. There will still be questions about the defense going forward because the 49ers are terrible as an offense, but at least for one Sunday the defense did what it needed to. Grade: A
Photo Credit: Associated Press
