If Steelers LT Dan Moore Jr. could quote a song that bests sums up his performance yesterday against the Los Angeles Rams, it would likely be How Do You Like Me Now? by Toby Keith.
According to Pro Football Focus, Moore had his best game of the season against the Rams on Sunday, posting a 77.5 overall grade. Moore was actually Pittsburgh’s highest-graded offensive lineman, according to PFF, having the third-highest pass-blocking grade (76.5) behind RT Chukwuma Okorafor and C Mason Cole and the second-highest run-blocking grade (75.0) behind only LG Isaac Seumalo. According to PFF, Moore is the seventh-ranked offensive tackle in the league in Week Seven heading into Monday Night Football, ahead of names like Penei Sewell, Rashawn Slater, and Ronnie Stanley.
When news came out that Moore was going to take back the starting left tackle job coming back from an MCL sprain against the Rams, plenty of fans were frustrated with the decision. Moore had played objectively poor the first three weeks of the season, grading out as one of the worst offensive tackles in the league before going down with a knee injury early in Week Four against the Houston Texans. He was PFF’s worst-graded offensive tackle in Week One against the San Francisco 49ers. He struggled the following week keeping Browns EDGE Myles Garrett from pressuring the quarterback, ultimately surrendering 15 pressures in the first two weeks alone, according to PFF’s charting.
Rookie OT Broderick Jones stepped in for Moore in Week Four against the Texans and got his first career start against the Ravens the following week. The first-round draft pick played well against Baltimore in a must-win game to give Pittsburgh the lead in the AFC North heading into the bye. Many thought Jones’ performance would allow him to keep the job when Moore returned from injury. But head coach Mike Tomlin reportedly doesn’t like a player losing his job due to injury and allowed Moore to work his way back into the lineup, ultimately getting the start on the road against the Rams.
PFF included Moore among its biggest fallers right before Week Seven kicked off, now likely regretting the decision after Moore scored well according to its analytics. To Moore’s credit, he had a heck of a gauntlet to start the season, seeing DEs Nick Bosa, Myles Garrett, and Maxx Crosby in the first three weeks. He managed to hold his own against lesser competition, showing that his knee injury wasn’t going to hamper him going forward. He will get an opportunity to prove that his performance on Sunday wasn’t just a fluke. Pittsburgh faces the Jacksonville Jaguars next Sunday, seeing Travon Walker and Josh Allen, the latter of whom gave Moore some trouble last year in the preseason.
