The Pittsburgh Steelers knocked off the Arizona Cardinals Sunday 25-13 at Heinz Field and I thought we would take a look at what Pro Football Focus thought about the game as far as player grades go.
Offensively, it probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that wide receiver Martavis Bryant (3.1) received the top grade from PFF. Bryant’s 6 catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns was the difference in the game.
Also grading out well against the Cardinals were guard David DeCastro (1.8) and tackle Marcus Gilbert (1.8).
Grading out poorly on the offensive side of the football on Sunday were wide receiver Markus Wheaton (-2.2) and tackle Alejandro Villanueva (-1.9). Villanueva’s run blocking was his biggest negative in the game. We’ll have a full breakdown of his play in a future post.
Defensively for the Steelers, linebacker James Harrison (4.6) received the top grade from PFF. Harrison forced a fumble on Sunday and also had a sack. He even drew a holding call. Defensive end Cameron Heyward (2.7) also had another nice game on Sunday.
As you would probably expect, cornerbacks Antwon Blake (-3.4) and Ross Cockrell (-1.6) received the lowest Steelers defensive grades from PFF for their play against the Cardinals. Cockrell was flagged twice in the game and gave up 3 catches for 68 yards. Blake, on the other hand, allowed 9 catches for 163 yards and a touchdown in Sunday’s game.
PFF will likely update their grades after the all-22 tape is released, but on the surface, it’s hard to argue with any of them currently up that were obviously based off of the broadcast angle.
