Pittsburgh Steelers: Week Five Report Card Vs. S.D. Chargers
By Harv Aronson
Breathe a sigh of relief Steelers Nation, your team is returning home with a win. Following a game that could have been a victory against the Baltimore Ravens, the Steelers bounced back with a win in San Diego. This coming on a short work week where the Black and Gold will come out to Heinz Field on Sunday to tackle the 4-1 Arizona Cardinals.
A familiar foe will be calling the signals for Arizona in week six, former Bengal Carson Palmer. He had his team off to a hot start in 2014 and is at again this season. Hopefully, Michael Vick can get his offense off to a fast start on Sunday and not have to play come from behind or rely on his defense to keep the game close as was the case last Monday night.
With way too many penalties especially on special teams in San Diego, the Steelers look to clean up their act for Sunday’s game and get more execution early and often out of Vick. The fleet-footed quarterback was perilously close to being benched in game five, but his performance in the final minutes saved his temporary job of replacing Ben Roethlisberger. He will face another stern test this weekend as will the rest of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Looking back to week five, the grading begins.
Quarterback: The first 58 minutes of the game were quite ugly for Vick. Sacks, missed passes, just appearing to not have control of the offense and a seemingly a loss of confidence. But given a chance for redemption in the final two minutes, Vick moved the offense 80 yards to pay dirt and an important Steelers victory. C+.
Running Back: You have to love a fantastic finish. Just ask Franco Harris about his “Immaculate Reception.” While not as big a game as that was in 1972, last Monday night’s game was still an important one for the 2015 Pittsburgh Steelers and it ended in a classic way with Le’Veon Bell diving over the goal line to win the game for Pittsburgh. Bell became instant hero but aside from that one carry, he had a solid night with triple ones on the board, 111 yards rushing. Bell had a healthy 5.3 yards-per-carry mark and on one carry, toted the rock for 32 yards. A+.
More from Pittsburgh Steelers
- Pittsburgh Steelers: A Look Back at 2019
- Steelers: Need for QB of the Future is More Apparent than Ever
- Steelers: Defense Needs to Take Advantage of Inconsistent Bills Passing Attack
- Steelers: Devlin Hodges Has Chance to Make Lasting Impression in Week 14
- Steelers: James Washington’s Emergence Could Make Offense Dangerous
Wide Receiver: Is Antonio Brown like Ben Roethlisberger not worrying about stats and just wins? Let’s hope that’s the case because for the second game in a row, he had a un-Brown like night. Just three catches for 45 yards and not a single score. No deep receptions.
Do you think he misses Big Ben? Still, the Steelers won and in the end, that’s much more important than being a league leader in any stat. The rest of Brown’s crew contributed highly. Markus Wheaton had the play of the game when not considering the game-winner with a 72-yard bomb for a score. Darrius Heyward-Bey added two big receptions for 24 yards. B-.
Tight End: Heath Miller was blocking and oh yes, receiving. One huge catch to set up Bell’s bell-ringer. A-.
Offensive Line: The line did a great job holding up the defense so Le’Veon Bell could do his thing and gave Vick good protection. Vick’s sacks were more a result of his not being elusive. B+.
Kicker: Chris Boswell received just one opportunity two make a field goal and he cashed in with room to spare. He also showed some leg strength on his kickoffs. A+.
Defensive Line: Against a makeshift San Diego offensive line, the production should have been better up front but these guys still played very well. B-.
Linebackers: Outstanding play from this unit making solid tackles including a big sack from rookie Bud Dupree. Sean Spence after missing the first two seasons of his NFL career continues to improve. James Harrison still has it. A-.
Safeties: This unit simply could not answer to Philip Rivers‘ passing game. When you have an Antonio Gates to throw to, you better bring your A game. For what it’s worth however, they made enough plays to get a passing grade. C+.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Cornerbacks: These guys had responsibility covering the receivers and tight ends as well but Antwon Blake‘s pick-six brings up the grade in a big way. A.
Punter: If Jordan Berry continues to punt as well as he has through the first five games of the season, there will be no challenger in training camp next year. Last Monday night Berry kicked eight times for 322 yards putting the Chargers inside their own 20 on six of those punts. One of those opportunities was boomed for 56 yards. A+.
Coaching: Kudos to Mike Tomlin and Todd Haley for a gutsy and creative game plan. Who would have thought the Steelers would ever run the Wildcat? Tomlin and Haley showed they have cojones making that final play call that won the game for Pittsburgh. Just like in last year’s Super Bowl had the play failed, criticism would have followed. Had New England not intercepted that red zone play last February, Pete Carroll would probably be deemed a genius today. B-.
Intangibles: Road games are not always easy. They are more comfortable however when you have something like 25,000 of your fans in the visitor’s stadium. That’s how it was for the Steelers and they must have felt the love. This grade is for those Steelers fans who were waving all those Terrible Towels in San Diego’s stadium. A+.
Overall Grade: A back and forth game that either team could have come out the victor. Fortunately for Steelers Nation and the team, it was Pittsburgh who got the win. Not a perfectly executed victory, but it’s not always how you win but just winning. B.
Next: Pitt Ready To Wreck Georgia Tech