Well, that was bad.
Playing a third prime time game in four weeks, the Pittsburgh Steelers did the same thing they did in the previous two: they laid an egg.
On the West Coast for a matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers, the Steelers were thoroughly outplayed in a 25-10 loss. They struggled to do much of anything offensively as Aaron Rodgers had his worst game of the season and one of the worst games of his career.
The offensive line couldn’t pass protect, the defense couldn’t stop the run and get off the field consistently, and in the end, it was an ugly blowout loss that has the Baltimore Ravens nipping at the Steelers’ heels just like that.
Let’s get to some grades.
QB — F
Quite the time for Rodgers to have his worst showing as a Steeler. There were signs of it being a rough night for Rodgers rather quickly. He misfired on a deep shot to DK Metcalf on the first drive of the game for what should have been a walk-in touchdown. Then, on the next drive, he took a dreadful safety on a play that was completely inexcusable.
It all snowballed after that.
Rodgers later misfired on a throw to a wide-open Jonnu Smith. A few plays later, Chris Boswell missed a field goal. Rodgers later threw high over the middle for Metcalf, and it was picked off. There was just nothing working for the Steelers’ offense. It didn’t help that Rodgers had happy feet in the pocket, and his footwork was all over the place when he was trying to set and throw.
He played as poorly as it gets, and it cost the Steelers.
RB — B-
I wish the Steelers had gotten Jaylen Warren more involved early and often.
Warren rushed for 70 yards on 14 carries in the loss. He created some chunk plays in the game, both as a runner and a receiver. He had a remarkable hurdle on a 14-yard run that seemed to spark the Steelers’ offense. In the fourth quarter, Warren was the source of offense at one point, driving the Steelers down the field with some key runs and a big 18-yard catch-and-run on a screen pass in which he broke a tackle. But then, he came off the field and the Steelers threw the ball, one a high misfire from Rodgers and another a bad look to Metcalf on 4th-and-6, leading to a turnover on downs.
When the Steelers run through Warren, they are successful. When they go away from him, it can get very messy.
Kenneth Gainwell and Kaleb Johnson provided next to nothing in this one. Gainwell had two receptions for four yards, and Johnson had two carries for three yards.
WR — D+
This grade could have been so much better if Rodgers hadn’t missed Metcalf early in the game. Metcalf made a great play working deep with Rodgers scrambling. He found himself wide open. Tough miss. After that, Metcalf was invisible. He had three catches for 35 yards, one of which was a 19-yarder that seemed to spark the Steelers early.
Calvin Austin III was targeted a team-high seven times (tied with Metcalf), but he had the biggest mistake of any wide receiver on the night. He was wide open on a slant route and had the ball bounce off his hands into the waiting arms of Chargers’ CB Donte Jackson. That all but sealed the blowout loss for Pittsburgh. Austin finished with just two receptions for 14 yards on the night.
Roman Wilson had a nice 27-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown in garbage time and finished with two receptions for 35 yards. I’d like to see him play a bit more. He makes plays in the passing game when on the field, and the Steelers need it.
TE — C
It seemed like it was going to be a big night for the tight ends early, as Darnell Washington had a key 15-yard catch over the middle and was starting to have an impact in the run game. Then, the initial call on the field was that Jonnu Smith made a big-time catch, bailing out a high throw from Rodgers. But the replay changed the call to incomplete, taking away the splash from Smith.
After that, things went a bit quiet for the tight ends. Washington didn’t see another target the rest of the game, while Smith finished with one catch for four yards.
Pat Freiermuth got going in the game, finishing with three receptions for 33 yards. He had a nice play in the fourth quarter, catching a short pass and running over a defensive back in the open field for a 15-yard gain. I thought the tight ends blocked well in the run game, too.
But if you’re going to play two and three tight ends at a time offensively, get them more involved in the passing game.
OL — D-
At times, I really liked what I saw in the run game from the group. They were creating some displacement and opening lanes, having success with Warren pounding the rock.
But for the good in the run game, minus inconsistencies, the work in pass protection was equally poor and costly.
The Steelers gave up too many quick pressures in the first half, with Broderick Jones and Spencer Anderson doing so on consecutive 3rd-and-4s in the first quarter. Those pressures blew up the entire play and caused Rodgers to try to make something out of nothing.
Troy Fautanu gave up his first career sack on the Rodgers safety and later had his first penalty of the season, getting called for a hold.
It should have been a sign, too, as on the first play of the game offensively, reserve interior offensive lineman Andrus Peat had a false start penalty with the Steelers in their jumbo package.
This group is too inconsistent. I get that they’re young, but it feels like one step forward, two steps back far too often.
DL — B-
Yes, the Chargers ran for 115 yards and a touchdown in the game and controlled the game in the second half. But I still thought the Steelers’ defensive line was solid for much of the game, mainly the starting three.
Keeanu Benton started the game fast by blowing up a run, and he continued to play good football all night long. Benton finished with seven tackles, one sack, and two tackles for loss. He talked about feeling the defensive line had been lacking in setting the tone for games, so it was great to see him start so quickly Sunday night. He’s stacking good games together.
Cameron Heyward was a force once again, finishing with six tackles and batting a pass down at the line of scrimmage. He had a tackle for loss in the game, too, while rookie Derrick Harmon had four tackles and played the run pretty well.
The Steelers got worn down in the second half. The Chargers dominated the time of possession, and it got harder for the Steelers to get off the field. It happens.
LB — B-
One week after winning the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Week award, Alex Highsmith had another strong showing. Highsmith recorded two sacks for the second straight week and had three total quarterback hits. He came up big repeatedly as a pass rusher, winning his matchups.
Opposite him, T.J. Watt had one sack and batted one pass at the line of scrimmage. He’s growing frustrated with some of the ways offenses are attacking the defense, limiting his impact, but he’s still finding a way to make plays, a credit to him.
Nick Herbig was very good in this one, too, recording a sack and a tackle for loss against the run.
Inside, Patrick Queen led the Steelers with 12 tackles, though just two were solo. I thought he was just fine. Social media will tell you he’s the worst player on the Steelers, which isn’t close to true. He had one missed tackle that I noted live, and it was a dreadful rep. But outside of that, I thought he did what was asked of him.
Payton Wilson had seven tackles and helped Benton record his sack. He beat the running back on a blitz, which forced Justin Herbert to step up into Benton. Malik Harrison had five tackles and a tackle for loss. He seemed to play a lot of snaps in this one and was an attacking, downhill piece for the Steelers.
DB — C
If Joey Porter Jr. could catch the football, things might have been different. Porter dropped an easy interception that hit him right in the numbers on a short third-down throw from Herbert. If Porter picks that pass off, the Steelers have a short field.
Instead, after that dropped pick, the Chargers recorded a safety a few plays later on a sack of Rodgers. He wasn’t called for any penalties in this one, but the lack of ball skills is really limiting him.
James Pierre came on for the injured Darius Slay and played some good football. He did have a pair of missed tackles and caught a mean stiff-arm from Quentin Johnston, but Pierre also had a hand in a couple of incompletions and was credited with two passes defensed. He makes plays when he’s on the field.
Brandin Echols had a night to forget. He was cooked repeatedly by Ladd McConkey out of the slot, one leading to a late touchdown in the first half, one leading to a conversion on a third and long, and one resulting in a 58-yard catch-and-run. When Echols wasn’t on McConkey, he played well. But he couldn’t stick with the second-year receiver.
At safety, Jalen Ramsey largely kept a lid on things again and helped the secondary communicate well. He finished with eight tackles and was all over the place. Kyle Dugger had a strong second game with the Steelers, too. Dugger had five tackles, a tackle for loss, and found himself in the mix on Herbig’s sack. He should have had an interception on a tipped pass, but he was just unable to squeeze it.
Special Teams — C-
The 59-yard boot early in the gam from Chris Boswell was really impressive. He has a big leg and can drill kicks from anywhere on the field. But then, he missed a 45-yarder later on in the first half, and after that miss, things seemed to snowball for the Steelers.
Rookie punt returner Ke’Shawn Williams later muffed a punt, making a bad decision to catch a short punt. He also bobbled another one, which was foretelling of what was coming.
Kenneth Gainwell had a nice 36-yard kickoff return in garbage time that hopefully the Steelers can build off of.
Corliss Waitman had a decent night punting the football. He punted four times for 183 yards, averaging 45.8 yards per punt. Two of those punts were downed inside the 20-yard line, and he had a long of 51 yards on the night. Coverage units were good for the Steelers, too. Roman Wilson had a nice open-field tackle on a punt return, limiting the gain to just 5 yards.
Related Items:Aaron Rodgers, Alex Highsmith, Bradin Echols, Cameron Heyward, Chris Boswell, James Pierre, Jaylen Warren, Joey Porter Jr., Keeanu Benton, Los Angeles Chargers, Nick Herbig, Pittsburgh Steelers, T.J. Watt, Trending, weekly
Recommended for you