Positional Grades: Steelers At Patriots
What a disaster.
After a “herky-jerky” performance offensively in a Week 1 win over the Atlanta Falcons while leaning on a superhuman defensive performance by T.J. Watt, the Pittsburgh Steelers made no key plays Sunday in Foxboro. It resulted in an embarrassing 20-3 loss to the New England Patriots, dropping the Steelers to 1-1 in the Mike McCarthy era.
The Steelers turned the ball over twice, one of which resulted in a Patriots defensive touchdown. The defense, meanwhile, gave up too many explosive plays in key spots, resulting in an ugly loss is stirring unrest already in the Steel City.
Let’s get to some grades. Then, in the words of Bill Belichick, we’re on to Cincinnati.
QB — D+
Drops were an issue with the Steelers once again as DK Metcalf remains a mess. It was more than that on Sunday though. The offensive line struggled to protect Aaron Rodgers throughout the game, resulting in the 42-year-old quarterback taking four sacks while being hit seven times.
Rodgers also fumbled the ball twice, one of which was returned for a touchdown. He wasn’t all that good, but it’s not as if he had much time or space to operate within the pocket. The Patriots schemed up pressure well, battering Rodgers all game.
He was drilled from the blind side after a miscommunication between tackle Troy Fautanu and guard Mason McCormick, resulting in a fumble and pushing the Steelers into a 4th and 43, leading to no points. Later, his fumble while trying to step through pressure ended in a touchdown, and the interception wasn’t his fault as rookie Germie Bernard bobbled the ball into the air for the pick.
The Steelers have to clean up everything around him, and Rodgers has to be more willing to play within the offense rather than searching for specific matchups time and time again. Trust the scheme, don’t try and play 1-on-1 basketball.
RB — B-
The run game still wasn’t all that good, but I liked what I saw from Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle — for the most part.
Warren ran for 43 yards on 11 carries. He looked explosive and was hard to bring down between the tackles. Though he had a number of carries in which he again absorbed contact behind the line of scrimmage, I liked what he created in limited action on the ground. Warren also had two catches for 34 yards, including an explosive 26-yard catch and run to get the Steelers inside the Patriots’ 10-yard line. Unfortunately, they couldn’t capitalize on it.
Rico Dowdle had some good moments, too, though he dealt with in an injury throughout the game, one that saw him carted to the locker room before ultimately returning. Dowdle finished with 22 yards on seven carries and added two receptions for 22 yards. He also had a great blitz pickup that drew a penalty on Patriots linebacker Robert Spillane.
Travis Homer even had a nice moment in this game, ripping off a 14-yard run in the first half. That was the Steelers’ longest rush of the game, just like everyone expected.
WR — D-
DK Metcalf has the yips. It’s quite clear.
Metcalf struggled to catch the football cleanly again, dropping a vital pass over the middle on one series and then had another massive drop on a crossing route in which Rodgers hit him right in stride for what should have been a big play.
The big-money receiver had just four receptions for 27 yards on nine targets and really struggled to do anything against Christian Gonzalez.
Outside of Metcalf, Germie Bernard had a nice day until the drop resulted in an interception. The rookie had four catches for 35 yards, including a pivotal 19-yard catch over the middle in the first half. All four receptions came on one drive. He also had a big block late in the first half to help tight end Pat Freiermuth turn the corner and get out of bounds.
Roman Wilson had five receptions for 28 yards but didn’t get much work downfield due to the Steelers’ struggles in pass protection.
Nobody is getting open consistently though, and it’s leading to challenging throws and a real lack of creativity offensively.
TE — B-
Pat Freiermuth continues to be a go-to target for Rodgers. He had four receptions for 32 yards and was one of the few threats in the passing game. He didn’t really do much work in the middle of the field though, and he had a rough start with a bad block on an outside-zone run that he said set the tone in a bad way for the offense.
Darnell Washington had just one catch for seven yards, and he wasn’t all that impactful as a blocker.
This group is far from the problem offensively, though.
OL — F
Once again, this group played really poorly. I figured the line would take some time to get up to speed under a pair of new coaches in James Campen and Jahri Evans. But I didn’t expect things to be this bad.
Too many times Sunday the Steelers allowed free rushers at Rodgers due to miscommunications or complete breakdowns. Dylan Cook flat-out whiffed on one block, allowing Robert Spillane to rush free and force a third-down incompletion.
Then, on a play in which Rodgers was rocked, Troy Fautanu and Mason McCormick had a miscommunication, leaving a free rusher blindside to force a fumble. It left Fautanu and McCormick looking at each other after the Steelers recovered the fumble. A rather fitting picture it was.
Inside, there was no real push in the run game. Zach Frazier was a mess, both in the run game and in pass protection. He’s as good as it gets at his position, but it was a very forgettable day for him. Spencer Anderson was a disaster, too. He had a holding penalty that set the Steelers back in the second half, On the very next snap, he allowed a sack that resulted in a Rodgers fumble that the Patriots returned for a touchdown.
Terrible performance, and the group overall isn’t inspiring right now despite the Steelers’ investment up front.
DL — B-
Yes, the Steelers allowed 136 rushing yards, but I don’t think much of it was on the defensive line.
Derrick Harmon had a great game, finishing with a team-high eight tackles and half a sack. He also had a terrific pass rush in the red zone on a crucial third down in the first half that resulted in a rushed throw that fell incomplete. I think it was his best performance as a Steeler.
Cameron Heyward didn’t have as impactful of a game as he had in Week 1. He had three tackles, and the one rep that I really didn’t like came on Rhamondre Stevenson’s 24-yard run. Heyward guessed in his gap and was too high trying to reach around the blocker to make the play. He got pushed out of the hole, giving Stevenson a lane.
Keeanu Benton had a tough roughing-the-passer penalty that felt a bit ticky-tack and gave a Patriots drive life. Outside of that he had three tackles. I liked what I saw from Yahya Black and Sebastian Joseph-Day, too, but it wasn’t as impactful in the end.
I’m curious to see how things look in the All-22 early in the week.
LB — B-
One week after playing well against the Falcons, the inside linebackers struggled early and often, resulting in a poor day. Payton Wilson was crushed on a block on TreVeyon Henderson’s 39-yard rushing touchdown, while Patrick Queen was moved easily off his spot, resulting in a huge lane. Wilson was later beaten in coverage by rookie tight end Eli Raridon and was called for pass interference in the process.
Wilson also had a facemask penalty in the blowout loss.
Queen bounced back nicely after that rough rep on Henderson’s touchdown. He had a clutch interception in the third quarter, recording his first as a Steeler. He dropped perfectly into coverage before making the play on the underthrown ball. He didn’t make much of an impact against the run though as he finished with two total tackles. That’s not good enough in a game where the Patriots ran the ball 36 times.
T.J. Watt continued to do T.J. Watt things against New England. He had 1.5 sacks in the first half and was impactful all over the formation. It’s the first time he’s had back-to-back multiple-sack games since 2021. Alex Highsmith was just as impactful, too. He had a key pass breakup on third down in the first half, had a sack in the red zone on third down, and had some good rushes overall. His offsides penalty wiped out an early third-down sack, leading to Henderson’s touchdown, which was disappointing.
Nick Herbig had a nice game with a big forced fumble early, giving Pittsburgh the ball. He also had a key tackle for loss on a quick screen, blowing things up. He finished with seven tackles and three tackles for loss.
DB — C-
The Steelers held Drake Maye to just 208 passing yards, but there were far too many explosive plays and mental lapses in coverage.
Jamel Dean lost Romeo Doubs on one scramble-drill play, resulting in a big throw down the sideline. Meanwhile, safety Rayshawn Jenkins got lost in coverage and turned around on another scramble drill, resulting in a 63-yard gain for Doubs. Jenkins was also bowled over by DeMario Douglas in the second level on TreVeyon Henderson’s touchdown.
Asante Samuel Jr. had five tackles and a key pass breakup, while Jaquan Brisker had six tackles and provided some physicality. Jalen Ramsey was impactful as a blitzer, but he didn’t do much in coverage. His key third-down sack early in the game was wiped out by Highsmith’s offsides penalty, setting up Henderson’s touchdown.
Special Teams — C-
I was worried about special teams coming into the year after the Steelers lost 1,000 snaps there in free agency. So far, those concerns appear very valid.
Chris Boswell missed a field goal early in the game, though he bounced back with a 56-yarder right before the half to put up Pittsburgh’s only points in the loss.
Coverage was an issue again, too. The Steelers allowed Patriots star returner Marcus Jones 10 yards per punt return, while Kyle Williams had a 29-yard kickoff return, giving the Patriots good field position.
Rookie Kaden Wetjen had a decent day, ripping off a 17-yard punt return. However, he managed just 23 yards per kickoff return. Fellow rookie Eli Heidenreich had just one kickoff return for 26 yards as the Steelers didn’t really get much in the return game.
Cameron Johnston punted the football well, averaging 48.1 yards. He had three punts downed inside the 20-yard line and had one touchback, though the Steelers nearly saved it.
Rookie Robert Spears-Jennings is a special teams demon. He had multiple tackles on special teams Sunday and is one of the lone bright spots on the units.
