The Windy City Blues.
Once again, after a trip to Chicago to take on the Bears, the Pittsburgh Steelers came up short, failing to make necessary stops in the second half and struggling to take care of the ball offensively in a 31-28 loss to drop to 6-5 on the season.
Without Aaron Rodgers under center, the Steelers looked a bit off offensively. While the run game was humming, the offense just couldn’t consistently throw the football. Defensively, Pittsburgh got significant splash in the first half on a T.J. Watt strip-sack leading to a Nick Herbig touchdown.
But it wasn’t enough in the end. Now, the Steelers are facing really difficult back-to-back weeks with matchups against the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens ahead.
Let’s get to some grades.
QB — C-
Things started off very poorly for Mason Rudolph, who threw an interception on his first pass attempt of the game. He underthrew a deep ball down the sideline to DK Metcalf that Chicago cornerback Nahshon Wright made an exceptional play on.
He shook off that poor start by going 6-for-6 on the next drive, leading to a DK Metcalf rushing touchdown. But after that things were just hit or miss. He really did not push the ball down the field, and when he did take shots deep, he was simply way off.
Rudolph did make a great throw across the middle to Pat Freiermuth for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, threading the needle. But with the game on the line, Rudolph had a pair of passes tipped at the line of scrimmage, and saw the potential game-tying drive fall apart in the end.
Rudolph was also strip-sacked in the loss and just didn’t take care of the football well enough. He wasn’t the reason the Steelers lost, but he wasn’t anywhere close to good enough, either.
RB — A-
Kenneth Gainwell is really starting to become a significant playmaker for the Steelers.
Aside from his 55-yard run on the fake tush push leading to an end around that saw him sprint to the 1-yard line late in the first half, Gainwell was a force. He had nine other carries for 37 yards and six receptions for 30 yards. He also had a touchdown wiped off the board by a Metcalf holding penalty.
In recent weeks he’s emerged as a big-time weapon for the Steelers while splitting time with Jaylen Warren. Speaking of Warren, the starting running back got off to a fast start, carving up Chicago’s depleted run defense. But in the second half he slowed down and wasn’t much of a factor.
Warren finished with 68 rushing yards on 18 carries and had a 1-yard touchdown in the loss, which gave the Steelers a 21-14 lead late in the first half. He wasn’t a factor at all in the passing game though, which continues to be a bit confusing.
WR — D+
Another very quiet, ugly day from the Steelers’ receivers.
DK Metcalf had five catches for 22 yards, struggling to do much of anything downfield. He didn’t make much of a play on Rudolph’s early interception, failing to try and break it up. He later had a holding penalty that took a touchdown off the board and was banged up throughout with an ankle injury. Metcalf did add a rushing touchdown, catching a backwards pass and scoring on a 6-yard play. He also added a 6-yard run on a jet sweep.
Calvin Austin III led all Steelers receivers with 36 yards on four catches. He saw five targets and had a long of 19 yards, so not a ton to write home about. He did draw a big 27-yard pass interference penalty in the second half, but overall he just wasn’t much of a factor.
Ben Skowronek had a nice 21-yard reception in the first half, hauling in a pass off play-action. Roman Wilson saw two targets but didn’t factor much into the game outside of those. This group just feels like a mess once again.
TE — C+
Pat Freiermuth had a nice touchdown catch over the middle in the second half, running a good timing route and settling just a bit in space for the strike from Rudolph. He also had a big 14-yard catch and run on the final drive of the game that gave the Steelers a spark. But he was just not much of a factor.
Neither was Darnell Washington, at least as a receiver. Washington had just two receptions for 22 yards, but he was outstanding as a run blocker. He leveled a Chicago defender on one run and then landed a big block to help spring Gainwell on his 55-yard run off the fake tush push. Where he struggled though was in pass protection, including allowing a strip-sack to Montez Sweat.
Jonnu Smith was worked into the game plan and saw five touches on the afternoon. He hauled in three passes for 21 yards and had two rushes for seven yards. He did have a false start penalty that helped derail a smooth drive and just continues to not feel like much of a fit at all.
OL — B-
I really liked what I saw from the offensive linemen throughout the game. They blocked well, particularly in the run game, as the Steelers rushed for a season-high 186 yards. It was really encouraging seeing the jumbo package working the way that it did, especially with Washington on the move and Spencer Anderson at fullback.
Anderson even had some key blocks in space on swing routes out of the backfield. I thought the rest of the offensive line was good in the run game, opening up a ton of lanes. Pass protection was pretty sound, too. Rudolph was only sacked twice and largely worked from a clean pocket.
Penalties were frustrating though, especially the illegal formation penalty on Troy Fautanu that wiped out a big Rudolph scramble. Of course, that was on Austin and Gainwell and not Fautanu, but it was still frustrating seeing that in Week 12.
DL — C-
After playing some good football in recent weeks, the Steelers’ defensive line took a significant step back against the Bears. Chicago rushed for 99 yards on 4.0 yards per carry. It wasn’t as if the Bears were dominant, but they were just steady throughout the game, and the Steelers’ defensive line got pushed around, particularly in the second half.
Cameron Heyward had a really rough showing. It’s hard to tell just how much his ankle was bothering him, but he wasn’t his usual self. He was pushed around at times, especially on Kyle Monangai’s rushing touchdown when Heyward was pushed into the end zone.
Keeanu Benton didn’t do much, either. He had five tackles, but he was pushed around against the run, too. Same with Derrick Harmon. Nobody really stepped up in the trenches for the Steelers, and that was pretty disappointing.
LB — C+
Much like the defensive line, the linebackers weren’t all that good for the Steelers. T.J. Watt had significant splash, sacking Caleb Williams in the end zone and stripping the football, leading to a Nick Herbig fumble recovery for touchdown. But that was about it on the day for the linebackers.
Herbig added a tackle for loss against the run, slipping underneath a block to make the play. But inside, Patrick Queen, Malik Harrison and Payton Wilson weren’t noticeable.
The three combined for 13 tackles, but there were no tackles for loss and no real splash plays. They were asked to do too much in coverage, spot dropping a ton, and just really couldn’t affect things. It led to a pointed comment from Queen after the game, too.
DB — D+
What a rough game for the secondary. It might have been primarily due to schematics and the Steelers being at a disadvantage, but too often guys were wide open and easy throws were there for Caleb Williams.
Jalen Ramsey and Kyle Dugger were solid at safety as Ramsey led the Steelers with nine tackles and Dugger had six tackles. Dugger did have two pass breakups, but he dropped an interception late in the first half, which helped set up a Chicago field goal.
Dugger had a big hit in the game, helped force a punt, and Ramsey set the tone early with a hit on Caleb Williams. At cornerback, Joey Porter Jr. got off to a fast start and performed well before a leg injury knocked him from the game. James Pierre had some good moments, too, with a nice punch out on a play along the sideline. But his injury late in the game cost the Steelers a timeout that came back to hurt them on the final drive.
Darius Slay barely played, which was a positive sign. But it was a rough day for the secondary.
Special Teams — C-
Corliss Waitman had an awful day, and he capped it with a disastrous 33-yard punt late in the fourth quarter after Mike Tomlin made a shocking decision to punt with 2:01 left in the game. Waitman managed just 33.5 yards per punt and had a long of 39 yards.
He’s been steady throughout the season, but Sunday was a disastrous performance.
Ke’Shawn Williams had a fumble out of bounds on a kickoff return, and Ben Skowronek had a shocking penalty on a punt, which was baffling to see. Really frustrating day for Danny Smith’s unit.
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