Position-by-position grades from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Friday preseason 27-15 win against the Buffalo Bills.
Quarterback: B+
Kenny Pickett and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starting offense continues to be red hot. Pickett needed only one play for the Steelers’ second touchdown, throwing a beautiful ball to Pat Freiermuth back-shoulder and down the seam for a 25-yard score. It took several tries and a couple penalties, but Mitch Trubisky hit Connor Heyward for a short score before the half. He finished the day 10-of-13 for 78 yards and that touchdown.
Mason Rudolph went 5-of-7, though nearly threw a pick on a curl route dropped by the defender buzzing down. And rookie Tanner Morgan cleaned things up but mostly handed the ball off and took a sack on an extended play. Overall, the quarterback play was solid, though this group only ultimately completed just 18 passes for 144 yards.
Running Back: B
Jaylen Warren’s 62-yard touchdown run was a thing of beauty, the second-year back showing an extra gear down the left side to run away from talented veteran safety Jordan Poyer. It was well-blocked and well-finished. And though it was two carries for three yards, Najee Harris showed some power plowing ahead while it’s clear new addition Xazavian Valladay has some juice to his game with a nice 22-yard catch along the right sideline.
Still, Warren’s run aside, the backs averaged 1.8 yards per carry. That’s not all their fault, the blocking largely wasn’t there and there aren’t many any other takeaways except from Warren’s play. Good news, it was a big one.
Tight End: B+
Don’t have a lot of notes or initial impressions of performance. Pickett threw a great ball to Freiermuth, who adjusted back for the 25-yard score. That was a nice play all around. Zach Gentry and Darnell Washington each had one short catch while Connor Heyward caught two passes, including a short touchdown before the half. Overall, two touchdowns from this group and no overtly negative tape gives them a really solid grade.
Wide Receiver: B-
A fine though generally quiet group outing. Gunner Olszewski made a couple of solid grabs while Cody White was competitive over the middle. George Pickens had just one catch on a curl against off-coverage while Diontae Johnson was not targeted, though he sprang a key block on Warren’s long score. That was as impactful as anything anyone did at the position tonight on the offensive side of the ball. Calvin Austin III’s punt return will count in the special teams grade but he also caught a slant over the middle, though he’s a guy where the ball has to be thrown right on him in order for him to make the catch.
Besides Olszewski, no wide receiver had more than one grab on the night.
Offensive Line: B
Grading the offensive line is always tough to do live. But they held up okay. Great blocking on Warren’s run, though they didn’t open up many holes after that. Quarterbacks were generally kept clean with Morgan eating the ball after running around a bit. Couple of penalties, Kendrick Green on a hold, Spencer Anderson hands to the face but the starters and players most likely to be on the 53 did their job.
Defensive Line: C
Not as much to write home about here. The run defense looked a little shaky and the pass rush from the line was minimal. Isaiahh Loudermilk was caught on the ground on one run while DeMarvin Leal finished the game with just one tackle. Like the offensive line, the All-22 will provide a heartier evaluation but nothing here looked anything more than average.
Outside Linebacker: A
Alex Highsmith can do it all. Drop into coverage and break up a throw on Stefon Diggs one play. Chase Josh Allen halfway to Fox Chapel the next and drop him for a big loss. Markus Golden would’ve had a sack had he not been held. And Nick Herbig, man, what a firecracker. Strip sack/fumble and a tackle for a loss. It’s going to be hard to keep this guy off the field come Week One.
Inside Linebacker: A-
The group here overall looked strong. Elandon Roberts is fearless and throws himself into the line every play. It’s refreshing to see Steelers inside linebackers play like…Steelers inside linebackers. Cole Holcomb tipped a red zone pass that led to an Elijah Riley interception. Taking points away in the red area is huge to winning. And Tanner Muse was solid with a fumble recovery, run stuff, and big hit over the middle to force an incompletion. He may have captured his roster spot tonight. And, oh yeah, in case you forgot, Mark Robinson will hit you into next week.
The backups waned a bit, Forrest Rhyne isn’t fleet of foot, and the general run defense was slightly lacking, but it was an overall good showing.
Cornerback: A
A ball-hawking squad. Joey Porter Jr. picked off his first NFL pass, squeezing Matt Barkley’s throw and finishing the play. And the corners played tip drill, Elijah Riley on the other end of Holcomb’s bat while Chandon Sullivan tipped a pass to himself for a pretty diving pick. Both those guys have made strong cases to be part of the 53-man roster.
Josh Allen had a couple of downfield throws, but it was mainly rookie TE Dalton Kincaid churning out Buffalo’s yards in the early going. And he was doing damage over the middle on linebackers.
Safety: B-
A fine outing overall. Nothing too bad, nothing too special. Trenton Thompson aggressively flies around the ball, though he can play himself out of position. That was summed up on one pass play in which he came downhill, missed the tackle, got up, and cleaned things up. But he has size and physicality, traits you can work with. Kenny Robinson led the team with five tackles. These guys were around the ball, at least.
Special Teams: A
Very good here. Calvin Austin III had an explosive 54-yard punt return and likely cemented his place there with that runback. Miles Killebrew partially blocked a punt. Miles Boykin dove to down a Pressley Harvin III punt while Dez Fitzpatrick made a diving, shoestring tackle as a gunner to stop a potentially decent return. Harvin overall had a nice night and should win the starting job. And Chris Boswell made all five of his kicks (three extra points, two field goals).
About the only negative was a 12-men penalty on the field goal block team at the end of the game, which turned into a successful Bills two-point conversion. But Danny Smith can happily chew his gum today.
