Quarterback: It was only a month ago that Duck Hodges was a cult hero in Pittsburgh, but he ended his rookie season with three consecutive losses. Sunday was another game he’d like to forget. He was 9-for-25 for 95 yards. It was his second consecutive game with fewer than 100 yards passing. That’s almost unheard of in the NFL. Hodges was put in a very difficult situation as a rookie, but his play over the final three games cast some doubt about his future with the Steelers.
Grade: F
Running backs: Rookie Benny Snell was a small ray of sunshine in an otherwise dreary day for the offense. He had all 91 yards the Steelers had on the ground. After a midseason knee injury, Snell bypassed Jaylen Samuels in the running back pecking order and set himself up for more playing time next season. Kerrith Whyte had three carries for minus-1 yard. Samuels played in passing situations, but he didn’t get a carry.
Grade: C
Receivers: Diontae Johnson led the Steelers with four catches for 54 yards and finished his rookie season with the most receptions on the team with 59. JuJu Smith-Schuster completed a disappointing season with another subpar outing. He finished with two catches for six yards. After getting 103 yards against the Dolphins in Week 8, Smith-Schuster had just 109 yards receiving the rest of the season. He missed four games with a knee injury before returning for the last two games, but he could only manage 28 yards in those final contests. James Washington also had a disappointing finish to the season. He was targeted three times on Sunday and had two drops.
Grade: D-
Offensive line: The running game hasn’t been productive since the middle of last season. That’s a big issue the front office is going to have to address over the offseason. This unit hung its hat on pass protection, but that’s breaking down, too. Hodges was sacked twice, including a strip sack late in the first half that led to a Ravens touchdown just before halftime. He was hurried on many other occasions. Mike Tomlin has deflected the blame away from the offensive line in recent weeks and shifted it to playing with young quarterbacks and young skill position players. There is some truth in that. But there’s also some truth in this unit failing to take the offense on its shoulders when it clearly needed an identity.
Grade: F
Defensive line: The Ravens have the NFL’s top rushing offense, but they made it look easy against the Steelers even with half of their offensive starters sitting out. The Ravens churned out 223 rushing yards on 44 carries. Gus Edwards, a backup who started in place of Mark Ingram, piled up 130 yards. The worst part was the Steelers had to know it was coming. Not only do the Ravens have a run-first mentality, but all they wanted to do in this game was run the clock so they could get out injury-free for the playoffs. The inability to stop the run shouldn’t come as a surprise. The Steelers had a hard time defending it all season. It’s definitely an area where they need to improve in 2020.
Grade: F
Linebackers: T.J. Watt had a half sack and a forced fumble, but he also had three undisciplined penalties that helped the Ravens move the ball on their early scoring drives. Watt went offsides twice and was flagged for an unnecessary late hit on Robert Griffin III. Bud Dupree, in what might have been his final game with the Steelers, had four tackles and a sack. The inside linebackers weren’t very good in coverage as Ravens tight ends and receivers racked up yardage in the middle of the field. Devin Bush did have 12 tackles and finished his rookie season as the team’s top tackler. This group will be strong again next season even if Dupree doesn’t come back, but Sunday wasn’t one of their better days.
Grade: D
Secondary: It’s hard to evaluate the corners and safeties in this game because the Ravens didn’t have to go to their passing game very often. Robert Griffin III only threw the ball 21 times. He completed 11 of them for 96 yards. He did have some important completions early in the game when the Ravens built a 16-7 halftime lead. Safety Terrell Edmunds missed a tackle on Justice Hill’s touchdown run in the second quarter. Corner Joe Haden recorded his fifth interception of the season in the final minute, but the Steelers didn’t get any big plays when the game was still in doubt.
Grade: C
Special teams: Jordan Berry’s punts have been inconsistent in the second half of the season. Now we know his hands are inconsistent, too. He dropped a snap late in the fourth quarter that led to the Ravens’ final touchdown, capping a final month of the season that he’d rather forget. He’s got one more year left on his contract, but the Steelers might want to search hard for some competition over the offseason. Good punters can be weapons for a good defense, and the Steelers should do everything in their power to obtain one in the next few months. If there has been one bright spot for the special teams in the final half of the season, it’s Johnson on punt returns. He had two for 24 yards on Sunday. That’s one position they don’t have to worry about filling next season. He’s only going to get better.
Grade: C-
Coaching: The decision to have Hodges drop back and pass with 45 seconds left in a heavy downpour was ill-advised. The Steelers only trailed by two at that point, and they were getting the ball to open the second half. But after Matt Judon strip-sacked Hodges, the Ravens went up 16-7 at halftime. Whatever happened to the conservative game plans that worked so well in the middle of the season? Untimely turnovers killed the Steelers over the final three weeks of the season, and in hindsight, offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner should have been more conservative with his play-calling. Defensive coordinator Keith Butler has to fix his run defense over the offseason. The secret is out. If you can run on the Steelers, you can control the game. Overall, it was a season to build on for the defense, but this game is a strong reminder that his unit isn’t a finished product.
Grade: F
Ray Fittipaldo: rfittipaldo@post-gazette.com and Twitter @rayfitt1.
First Published: December 30, 2019, 2:04 a.m.
