The Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday loss to the New England Patriots was an unfortunate one and included their offense failing to capitalize on a few red zone opportunities while their defense failed to shut down the running game in addition to giving up a few explosive plays in the second half that changed the game. There were some good performances on both sides of the football just the same.
Per their initial grading of the game, Pro Football Focus has Steelers linebacker Jarvis Jones (82.4) as the team’s best player in Sunday’s loss to the Patriots.
Jones registered 7 total tackles on Sunday and that included one for a loss. He also had an early forced fumble that he recovered in addition to a hit on Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
Jones forced fumble came on the Patriots first offensive play of the game as he stripped wide receiver Chris Hogan of the football following a reception. Additionally, his 7 total tackles were the most he’s recorded in a single game since his rookie season. Jones also drew a few holding calls during the game.
As far as other Steelers players who graded out well in the Steelers loss to the Patriots, PFF has cornerbacks William Gay (81.7) and Ross Cockrell (81.0) both in that category. Gay ended the game with 5 total tackles while Cockrell had just 2. Neither player recorded a pass defensed during the game, however.
As far as the Steelers top players on offense on Sunday, three linemen grabbed the top three spots. Leading the way is guard David DeCastro (79.0) and he is followed closely by guard Ramon Foster (78.9) and center Maurkice Pouncey (78.5). The Steelers did not give up a sack Sunday to the Patriots.
When it comes to the Steelers skill position players, wide receiver Antonio Brown (74.3) led the way in the eyes of the PFF game grader. Brown caught 7 of the 11 passes thrown his way against the Patriots for 106 yards.
Strangely enough, Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell failed to crack the top five highest graded Steelers offensive players this week despite registering 149 yards from scrimmage against the Patriots. Bell caught 10 passes in the game for 68 yards and touched the football a total of 31 times.
As for Steelers quarterback Landry Jones (49.6), who started in place of the injured Ben Roethlisberger against the Patriots, PFF gave him a game grade of 49.6. Jones completed 29 of 47 pass attempts Sunday for 281 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. His lone interception, however, came when the Steelers were in the red zone and it was a result of an ill-advised throw to Brown in the end zone.
Jones was almost intercepted two other times during Sunday’s game in addition to being off target with several of his other throws.
