Pittsburgh Steelers Report Card after loss to Patriots
By Matt Shetler
Defensive Line: There were a couple of bright spots. Steve McLendon had a big stop on Stevan Ridley on a fourth-and-goal play and Cameron Heyward continues to make plays, getting a sack and getting pressure on Brady a couple of times. But at the end of the day the defense allowed a franchise-record 611 yards, including 197 rushing. It was as bad of an overall performance as imaginable. Grade: F
Nov 3, 2013; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots running back Stevan Ridley (22) is congratulated after his touchdown by his teammates wide receiver
Danny Amendola(80) and wide receiver
Julian Edelman(11) in the second half against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots defeated the Steelers 55-31. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Linebackers: Jason Worilds had two sacks, but one was forced by Heyward and Brady gave himself up on the other. Worilds – like all of the other linebackers – was pretty awful. The Patriots averaged 5.6 yards per rush and scored three rushing touchdowns. This Steelers defense has allowed as many rushing touchdowns (12) as they did in the 2010 and 2011 seasons combined. Grade: F
Secondary: Brady had 432 yards, four touchdowns and a near-perfect 151.8 passer rating. The Pats had three receivers over 100 yards and the Steelers secondary allowed five plays over 27 yards. They couldn’t find anyone to cover Pats tight end Rob Gronkowski early and Troy Polamalu turned in his worst game in a long time as he continues to be a liability in pass coverage. Grade: F
Special Teams: Brown had a nice punt return to set up the Steelers tying touchdown in the third quarter, but the Steelers came right back and allowed Julian Edelman to return a punt 43 yards to the Steelers 34, setting up a touchdown that gave the Patriots a 34-24 lead. That may have been the biggest play of the game at the time. Felix Jones had a 40-yard kickoff return but overall they didn’t get much from that unit either. Grade: D+
Coaching: The Steelers took a struggling Brady coming in and made things easy for him. The end result was the most yards and points allowed in franchise history. At the end of the day a 2-6 record is more about not having enough talent than the coaches but this team is turning out embarrassing efforts week after week. Something has to be done about that. Grade: F