The Pittsburgh Steelers had a resounding home win Sunday night over the Indianapolis Colts as their offense really caught fire midway through the game. Pro Football Focus has now submitted their initial grades from the game and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7.5) grading out as the team’s top offensive player probably won’t surprise you.
Roethlisberger completed 24 of 39 passes against the Colts for 364 yards with 4 touchdown passes. He probably could’ve had even better numbers had a few of his wide receivers hung onto balls thrown their way. Roethlisberger also completed 7 of the 14 deep passes that he threw in the game and at one point connected on six deep throws in a row.
Guard David DeCastro (3.9), wide receiver Antonio Brown (3.0) and guard Ramon Foster (2.9) all also graded out well for their play Sunday night. Brown ended the game with 8 catches for 118 yards and 2 receiving touchdowns to go along with a 71-yard punt return for a score.
On the other end of the grading spectrum, tight end Matt Spaeth (-1.4) and fullback Roosevelt Nix (-1.3) bot graded out in the red, according to PFF. The bulk of their poor play Sunday night was in the Steelers running game.
Defensively for the Steelers, linebacker James Harrison (4.4), cornerback Ross Cockrell (3.0) and safety Will Allen (2.8) received the top grades. Harrison had 7 total tackles against the Colts and that includes his 3 sacks of which one he was able to force a fumble on.
Cockrell had 2 total tackles in the game and was officially credited with 2 defensed passes.
Surprisingly, Steelers defensive end Stephon Tuitt (-1.4) and safety Mike Mitchell (-1.3) received the two lowest defensive grades from PFF for their play against the Colts. Tuitt managed just one tackle during the game but did have 3 quarterback hurries. The bulk of his poor play was attributed to his performance against the run.
