Pittsburgh Steelers Report Card After Thrilling Win vs. Green Bay Packers
By Matt Shetler
If anything, the Pittsburgh Steelers sure make things interesting.
After a thrilling 38-31 win in the snow over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, the once 0-4 Steelers still have their playoff hopes alive as they head into a Week 17 home matchup against the Cleveland Browns.
Dec 22, 2013; Green Bay, WI, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le
Troy Polamalu‘s forced fumble set up Le’Veon Bell‘s 1-yard touchdown run with 1:28 left, then Pittsburgh withstood Green Bay’s last throw into the end zone and dealt the Packers’ playoff hopes a blow.
It’s a longshot, but the Steelers (7-8) are still mathematically in the hunt for an AFC wild-card spot. They need a lot of help.
But that’s all for next week.
Let’s take a look at how the Steelers graded out in their wild victory against the Packers.
Quarterback: Ben Roethlisberger was good once again, even though the stat line only reads 16 of 28 for 167 yards with a pair of touchdowns and an interception. He also ran a touchdown, which proved big. His QBR was just 66.0 and his quarterback rating was 83.5, which represented recent lows for Big Ben. His pick proved costly, but ultimately Roethlisberger was plenty good enough again. Grade: B
Running Backs: It took 23 games, but finally a Steelers running back rushed for over 100 yards and the Steelers needed every single one of Bell’s 124 yards. The rookie averaged a nice 4.8 yards per carry, which has been a problem most of the year. He caught only one pass for a change and had a costly fumble, but Bell’s performance Sunday gave plenty of hope for his future as a featured back. Grade: A
Wide Receivers: Antonio Brown continued his outstanding season with six catches for 105 yards and Emmanuel Sanders and Matt Spaeth each caught touchdowns on the afternoon. There weren’t many big plays on the snowy afternoon, but nine different Steelers caught a pass to lead to a nice balanced attack. Grade: B-
Offensive Line: It may have been the best performance of the season for the offensive line as the Steelers rushed for a season-high 151 yards, had their first 100-yard rusher, averaged 5.2 yards per carry and allowed only one sack against a team that can get after the quarterback. No complaints here from me. Grade: A