STEELERS WEEK 14 REPORT CARD
Quarterback: One of the reasons the Steelers won their first 11 games was Ben Roethlisberger’s decision-making and willingness to play a more conservative style. But his poor decision and throw with 52 seconds left before halftime resulted in a Taron Johnson 51-yard interception return for a touchdown. The Bills defense he faced isn’t even that good, and all he could do was manage was a 65.9 passer rating, his lowest of the season. Grade: F
Running backs: James Conner returned, but it didn’t matter. Everything about the running game still stinks. Conner had 10 carries for 18 yards, Jaylen Samuels had four for 15 and Benny Snell three for 14. There is just no reason for opposing defenses to respect the Steelers’ running game, and that is causing all kinds of problems for Roethlisberger and the passing game. Grade: F
Receivers: Mike Tomlin followed through on his promise to bench players when they dropped the ball. Diontae Johnson dropped two passes in the first 4 ½ minutes of the game and didn’t see the field for the rest of the half. His replacement, James Washington, caught a 19-yard touchdown, but there wasn’t much else to write home about. When your leading receiver (JuJu Smith-Schuster) has 55 yards, it’s a bad night at the office. Grade: F
Offensive line: Injuries to Matt Feiler and Kevin Dotson forced J.C. Hassenauer to finish the game at left guard. This group is very average when it’s healthy, and when it’s playing with reserves, it’s much less than that. Roethlisberger was sacked in the third quarter, the first time the line gave up a sack in five games. Now they can’t even hang their hats on that streak. Grade: F
Defensive line: Tyson Alualu extended the Steelers’ sack streak to 70 games, an NFL record, but there wasn’t much pressure being put on Josh Allen in the second half. It would have helped if Stephon Tuitt showed up for the game. He didn’t as much as record one tackle on Sunday. Shouldn’t he have been padding his stats in a game like this? Grade: B-
Linebackers: Depleted by injuries and illness, Avery Williamson and Marcus Allen made their first starts for the Steelers at inside linebacker, and they played well in the first half before wearing down in the second half. Outside linebackers T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith combined for just three tackles between them. That’s not going to cut it against an offense like the Bills. Grade: C
Secondary: Stefon Diggs heated up in the second half, and the Steelers didn’t have an answer for him as he caught 10 passes for 130 yards. He got wide open for a 19-yard touchdown catch on the first drive of the second half when Steven Nelson fell down. Cam Sutton filled in for Joe Haden and played well early. He had a fumble recovery and nearly had a strip sack of Allen in the first half. Mike Hilton had an interception in the first half, too. It was a solid effort, but they needed to come up with another play or two in the second half. Grade: B
Special teams: The kickoff coverage team had a bad night. Bills returner Andre Roberts averaged 31 yards on his three returns, which allowed the Bills to have good field position for much of the game. Chris Boswell returned from a hip injury, but the Steelers didn’t have any chances to use him. The Steelers did use Jordan Berry a bunch. He punted eight times but for only a 39.8 average. Grade: D
Coaching: Tomlin has to do something about his offense. The Steelers have scored 19, 17 and 15 points in their past three games. Would anyone be surprised if all they could manage next week in Cincinnati is 13? Offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner has not made any adjustments to fix his regressing unit. Time is running out, too. It doesn’t matter how good the defense is, the Steelers won’t win a playoff game with an offense like this. They might not even win the division if the coaches don’t get their act together and come up with a better plan. Grade: F
Ray Fittipaldo: rfittipaldo@post-gazette.com and Twitter @rayfitt1.
First Published: December 14, 2020, 4:52 a.m.
