If anything, the Pittsburgh Steelers sure make things interesting.
After a thrilling 38-31 win in the snow over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, the once 0-4 Steelers still have their playoff hopes alive as they head into a Week 17 home matchup against the Cleveland Browns.
Troy Polamalu’s forced fumble set up Le’Veon Bell’s one-yard touchdown run with 1:28 left, then Pittsburgh withstood Green Bay’s last throw into the end zone and dealt the Packers’ playoff hopes a blow instead.
It’s a longshot, but the Steelers (7-8) are still mathematically in the hunt for an AFC wild-card spot. They need a lot of help.
But that’s all for next week.
Let’s take a look at how the Steelers graded out in their wild victory against the Packers.
Quarterback: Ben Roethlisberger was good once again, even though the stat line only reads 16-for-28 for 167 yards with a pair of touchdowns and an interception. He also ran a touchdown, which proved big. His QBR was only 66.0 and his quarterback rating was only 83.5, which represented recent lows for Big Ben. His pick proved costly, but ultimately Roethlisberger was plenty good enough again. Grade: B
Running Backs: It took 23 games, but finally a Steelers running back rushed for over 100 yards and the Steelers needed every single one of Le’Veon Bell’s 124 yards. The rookie averaged a nice 4.8 yards per carry, which has been a problem most of the year. He caught only one pass for a change and had a costly fumble, but Bell’s performance Sunday gave plenty of hope for his future as an NFL featured back. Grade: A
Wide Receivers: Antonio Brown continued his outstanding season with six catches for 105 yards and Emmanuel Sanders and Matt Spaeth each caught touchdowns on the afternoon. There weren’t many big plays on the snowy afternoon, but nine different Steelers caught a pass to lead to a nice balanced attack. Grade: B-
Offensive Line: It may have been the best performance of the season for the offensive line as the Steelers rushed for a season-high 151 yards, had their first 100-yard rusher, averaged 5.2 yards per carry and allowed only one sack against a team that can get after the quarterback. No complaints here from me. Grade: A
Defensive Line: The Packers had plenty of success running against the Steelers, gaining 151 yards on the ground, averaging 5.0 yards per carry. Cam Heyward had a pair of costly 15-yard penalties and while Brett Keisel had a sack and fumble recovery, it wasn’t a great day for the front three. Grade: C-
Linebackers: Considering the fact that the Steelers played most of the second half with Chris Carter and Stevenson Sylvester at outside linebacker, it wasn’t a terrible day. Jason Worilds and Lawrence Timmons each had a sack and Timmons recorded 10 tackles on the afternoon. Vince Williams only had three tackles, but made big play to tackle Eddie Lacy for a two-yard loss on first down after Bell’s fumble at the three. Grade: C+
Secondary: The secondary made a ton of big plays on the afternoon, none bigger than Polamalu’s big strip-fumble on Matt Flynn with 1:51 remaining led to the winning touchdown. Cortez Allen, who took a bad angle and allowed a five-yard TD pass to Jarrett Boykin, also made a big play with a 40-yard interception return for a touchdown. Ryan Clark tied Timmons with a team-high 10 tackles. Grade: A-
Special Teams: The Steelers special teams impacted the game in a big way with a blocked field goal, a fake punt and two big returns from Sanders and Brown, but nearly threw the game away when they allowed a 70-yard kick return with 1:25 remaining. Shaun Suisham continued his good season by knocking through his only field goal attempt of the game, but breakdowns in the coverage units continue to prove costly. Grade: B+
Coaching: The play calling was aggressive at times on both sides of the ball, but two decisions nearly proved costly. The first of which was throwing on first down with a 10-point lead. The Roethlisberger interception started the Packers comeback. Then there was the decision to go for the touchdown at the end of the game instead of taking two knees and run down the clock for a winning field goal. Both decisions nearly cost the Steelers a win, but at the end of the day, this team still has a chance at the playoffs heading into Week 17, so give the coaching staff some credit. Grade: B-
Photo Credit: Getty Images
