Pro Football Focus has now released their initial grades for the Pittsburgh Steelers following their Sunday win over the San Francisco 49ers and on the surface there really aren’t any surprises.
On offense, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7.0) and wide receiver Antonio Brown (3.4) received the highest grades. Roethlisberger had a great game against the 49ers and it included him being very accurate with his deep throw. Brown, on the other hand, caught nine balls for 195 yards and a score. He was unstoppable as usual.
Guard David DeCastro (-2.3) and center Cody Wallace (-2.4) graded out the worst on offense in PFF’s eyes and this was a result of their run blocking. However, neither player allowed a quarterback hit or sack in the game.
Defensively for the Steelers, defensive ends Stephon Tuitt (5.1) and Cameron Heyward (2.2) received the top grades from PFF. That’s not too surprising as both were in the 49ers backfield quite a bit on Sunday. According to ESPN.com, 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was sacked 5 times Sunday and was pressured (sacked or under duress) on 23 of his 53 dropbacks (44%). Heyward recorded six total tackles in the game and that included a sack. Tuitt registered four total tackles in the game and he also had a sack.
Defensive linemen Steve McLendon (-2.6) and Cam Thomas (-1.3) graded out the worst Sunday. In the case of McLendon, however, his two penalties were mainly responsible for his low grade.
PFF will more than likely have a few minor adjustments to their grades after the all-22 tape is released.
