Pittsburgh Steelers Report Card After Thrilling Win vs. Green Bay Packers

Defensive Line: The Packers had plenty of success running against the Steelers, gaining 151 yards on the ground, averaging 5.0 yards per carry.  Grade: C-

Dec 22, 2013; Green Bay, WI, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback

(28) returns an interception for a touchdown during the third quarter against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Pittsburgh won 38-31. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Linebackers: Considering the fact that the Steelers played most of the second half with Chris Carter and Stevenson Sylvester at outside linebacker, it wasn’t a terrible day. Jason Worilds and Lawrence Timmons each had a sack and Timmons recorded 10 tackles on the afternoon. Vince Williams only had three tackles, but made big play to tackle Eddie Lacy for a two-yard loss on first down after Bell’s fumble at the three. Grade: C+

Secondary: The secondary made a ton of big plays on the afternoon, none bigger than Polamalu’s big strip-fumble on Matt Flynn with 1:51 remaining led to the winning touchdown. Cortez Allen, who took a bad angle and allowed a 5-yard TD pass to Jarrett Boykin, also made a big play with a 40-yard interception return for a touchdown. Ryan Clark tied Timmons with a team-high 10 tackles. Grade: A-

Special Teams: The Steelers special teams impacted the game in a big way with a blocked field goal, a fake punt and two big returns from Sanders and Brown, but nearly threw the game away when they allowed a 70-yard kick return with 1:25 remaining. Shaun Suisham continued his good season by knocking through his only field goal attempt of the game, but breakdowns in the coverage units continue to prove costly. Grade: B+

Coaching: The play-calling was aggressive at times on both sides of the ball, but two decisions nearly proved costly, the first of which was throwing on first down with a 10-point lead. The Roethlisberger interception started the Packers comeback. Then there was the decision to go for the touchdown at the end of the game instead of taking two knees and run down the clock for a winning field goal. Both decisions nearly cost the Steelers a win, but at the end of the day, this team still has a chance at the playoffs heading into Week 17, so give the coaching staff some credit. Grade: B-