Two weeks, two rather poor performances from Pittsburgh Steelers third-year left tackle Dan Moore Jr.
One week after being the worst-graded tackle in the NFL Moore followed it up with another bad performance, this time against the Cleveland Browns on Monday Night Football.
In the 26-22 win over the Cleveland Browns Monday night, Moore graded out at a 21.8 overall from Pro Football Focus, including a disastrous 3.5 in pass blocking. Shockingly, that wasn’t the worst grade among offensive linemen from a pass blocking perspective as San Francisco guard Spencer Burford graded out at a 0.0 in Week Two against the Los Angeles Rams.
Moore barely edged out Carolina rookie Chandler Zavala for worst-graded offensive lineman in Week Two from PFF. Zavala graded out at 27.4.
Against the Browns, Moore found himself in a very difficult matchup against the likes of Myles Garrett, Za’Darius Smith and Ogbonnia Okoronkwo. Moore played all 54 offensive snaps, 32 of which came on pass-blocking reps. In those pass-blocking reps, Moore allowed six total pressures, including four hurries and two hits.
Though he didn’t allow a sack in the win, Moore was bad for the second straight week.
It’s important to remember that he’s faced off against two of the best pass rushers in football the first two weeks in San Francisco’s Nick Bosa and Garrett.
While Garrett didn’t record a sack in the loss, he was the highest-graded defender for the Browns Monday night at 91.7 overall, including a stellar 91.1 as a pass rusher. Garrett generated three total pressures. Okoronkwo added three total pressures, while Za’Darius Smith had an additional pressure.
It’s not going to get any easier moving forward for Moore as the Steelers travel to Las Vegas in Week Three to take on the Raiders, who feature an elite pass rusher in Maxx Crosby and promising rookie pass rusher Tyree Wilson.
Based on his performances the first two weeks of the season, it might be time to start the discussion about making the switch to rookie first-round pick Broderick Jones at left tackle — and soon.
Moore wasn’t alone in the poor grades from PFF along the Steelers’ offensive line. Right tackle Chukwuma Okorafor graded out at a 37.6, while right guard James Daniels graded out at a 45.2. Center Mason Cole checked in at a 47.4, while left guard Isaac Seumalo graded out at 50.6 overall.
Another really rough week for an offensive line that had so much promise coming into the season.
