What in the world just happened?
The Pittsburgh Steelers have a knack for playing some really wonky games. Sunday’s road trip against the Los Angeles Rams might take the cake for the wonkiest game they’ve played in.
Somehow, some way, the Steelers found a way to pull off a 24-17 win over the Rams, moving to 4-2 on the season, shaking off a dreadful first three quarters of offense to find life in the fourth quarter, storming back to pick up a huge win on the West Coast.
Kenny Pickett was a completely different quarterback in the fourth quarter, Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren took over the game in the run game in the fourth quarter and the defense was dominant down the stretch, leading to the win.
Let’s get to some grades and take a look at how the Steelers fared.
QB — C
The first three quarters of the game were really ugly for Pickett, who had just 90 passing yards in the first 45 minutes of action.
For whatever reason, Pickett flipped a switch in the fourth quarter and was quite good. Pickett caught fire in the fourth quarter, making big-time throws to Diontae Johnson and George Pickens, cleaning up his accuracy and avoiding some of the mental mistakes in the pocket, standing in against pressure to make clutch throws.
On the day, Pickett finished 17-of-25 for 230 yards, making some big-time throws in the fourth quarter, including a huge 39-yard strike to Johnson and a 30-yard dart over the middle to Pickens on third down, standing in against pressure before delivering the throw.
Though he cleaned things up in the fourth quarter, the first three quarters were again a mess as he struggled with his pocket awareness and struggled to identify blitzes, leading to him taking some big shots in the pocket and scrambling right into pressure.
Still, that fourth quarter was great to see. He turns it on when it matters most. Now it’s about him doing that for four quarters, rather than waiting until the game is on the line.
RB — B
After making some suggestions to the game plan entering the Week Seven matchup, Najee Harris came through in a big way, running hard with a purpose, setting the tone for the Steelers on the ground.
Harris rushed for 53 yards on 14 carries and scored his first rushing touchdown of the season, punching one home from three yards out for the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter. He consistently fell forward and really wore down the Rams in the second half as the Steelers leaned heavily on the running game.
He also added three catches for 15 yards on the day, and his catch and run following T.J. Watt’s interception to open the second half was key in setting up Pickett’s 1-yard touchdown run. Great effort, great physicality all game long.
Behind him, Jaylen Warren played quite well. Warren raced home for a 13-yard touchdown to tie the game in the fourth quarter. Warren finished with 32 yards rushing on six carries. He paired well with Harris in the second half of the game — especially in the fourth quarter — to put the Rams away.
WR — B-
This grade would be much higher if not for some very dumb, unnecessary unsportsmanlike conduct penalties that George Pickens and Diontae Johnson incurred on Sunday, one of which nearly cost the Steelers a chance to salt the game away.
Johnson and Pickens are emotional players. They wear their heart on their sleeves and have a real passion to their games. They have to learn from their mistakes though.
Their play was quite impressive on Sunday, too.
In his return to the lineup, Johnson was as expected. He finished with five catches for 79 yards and had a huge 39-yard catch-and-run to open the fourth quarter that sparked the offense. He won consistently with his route runner and came up clutch time and time again for the Steelers.
Pickens simply can’t be covered at this point. For the third time this season and second straight week Pickens cracked 100 yards receiving, finishing with five receptions for 107 yards. His 30-yard catch in the fourth quarter on third down keyed the Steelers’ go-ahead touchdown on a great play call from Matt Canada and a great throw from Pickett.
He needs to learn to quit going for the big blindside blocks, too. He’s done it too many times this season and the one he landed on Rams’ safety Russ Yeast in the first half cost the Steelers. He also alligator armed a pass over the middle in the fourth quarter in which he looked worried about a hit from Yeast coming.
TE — C+
With Pat Freiermuth landing on Injured Reserve, rookie Darnell Washington and second-year tight end Connor Heyward appeared in line for a big opportunity in the passing game against the NFL’s worst defense covering tight ends.
Heyward was the only tight end to get much work in the passing game, finishing with two catches for 23 yards. He had a big 11-yard catch-and-run to set up Harris’ 3-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter. He saw just three targets but played quite well as a blocker, working across the formation for big kick-out blocks and handling his own overall.
Washington was largely invisible on Sunday. He didn’t see a single target on the day and really didn’t stand out much as a blocker despite the Steelers’ success on the ground.
OL — B-
Going against a very strong Los Angeles front seven, the Steelers’ offensive line played quite well, paving the way for three rushing touchdowns and allowing just two sacks, both of which came in the first half.
After Mike Tomlin told FOX’s Pam Oliver that the Rams were bringing some pressure looks that the Steelers weren’t expecting in the first half, the Steelers made adjustments at halftime and really played well protecting Pickett while opening up some big running lanes for Harris and Warren.
Isaac Seumalo had a big pair of blocks on Warren’s 13-yard touchdown run, as did James Daniels at the second level. Dan Moore Jr. really got going in the run game in the second half and held up well in protection.
The Steelers allowed just two sacks and seven quarterback hits and really played well in the fourth quarter with the game on the line. They negated Aaron Donald for the most part, too. Really nice showing from a group that has been under significant scrutiny so far this season.
DL — C-
Even with the Los Angeles Rams down to their third, fourth and fifth running backs on the season, they still rushed for 131 yards and a touchdown, gashing the Steelers’ defense time and time again.
That’s in large part due to the defensive line’s struggles on the day.
Montravius Adams had four tackles and a tackle for loss, but he was pushed around quite often at the point of attack against the run. He plays with a motor that runs hot, but he doesn’t have the ability to hold up against the run. He also should have drawn at least one holding penalty on the day on the Rams’ big pass play in the third quarter on a third down when Puka Nacua raced for 36 yards.
Larry Ogunjobi had a nice pass rush in the first quarter, sacking Matthew Stafford, but outside of that he was quiet, finishing with four tackles. DeMarvin Leal had just two tackles and really didn’t generate much push against the run, and rookie Keeanu Benton was quiet against the run, though he had a big pressure on Stafford late, forcing an incompletion on third down, leading to a missed field goal.
This group desperately needs Cameron Heyward back.
LB — B-
Outside, T.J. Watt continued to do T.J. Watt things. He was a menace against the Rams.
Watt’s big interception changed the game to open the second half. He had a number of pressures in the game, too, and should have drawn a couple of holding calls, but refs never threw a flag. He had just one tackle on the day, but he was an impactful defender overall.
So, too, was Alex Highsmith. He was a force off the edge against Los Angeles left tackle Alaric Jackson, getting consistent pressure against Stafford. He had just two tackles, but the pressures were so important overall.
Rookie Nick Herbig generated his first career sack, using speed to dip and get underneath Jackson off the edge, sacking Stafford in the second quarter. He had three tackles on the day in his first real extended action on the season, which came due to the Rams running a number of plays early on. Great to see him take advantage.
Inside, the group struggled against the run in spurts but turned it on in the second half.
Cole Holcomb finished with eight tackles and a tackle for loss, battling through an ankle injury in the process. Elandon Roberts had three tackles while Kwon Alexander had two tackles. They weren’t as impactful against the run as they usually are, but in the fourth quarter they stepped up.
DB — C
Outside of Minkah Fitzpatrick and Joey Porter Jr., this group was a mess against the Rams.
Fitzpatrick led the Steelers with 11 tackles on the day and had a huge tackle for loss early in the game. The Steelers used him everywhere and he rewarded them with some big-time plays.
Porter got significant run against the Rams and made key plays throughout, forcing some big incompletions on third downs. He did have at least two missed tackles though, which shows why he might not have been seeing the field all that much early in his career.
Patrick Peterson was burned quite a bit in the pass game by the Rams, who went after him consistently. Same for Levi Wallace, who was completely lost on Tutu Atwell’s 31-yard touchdown late in the first half. That play about summed up the secondary issues between those two.
On the day, Puka Nacua hauled in eight receptions for 154 yards, while Atwell had one catch for the 31-yard touchdown. The Steelers did very well holding Cooper Kupp to just two catches for 29 yards. They know how to take him away, though he did have two early drops, limiting his production overall.
Damontae Kazee and Keanu Neal played well in run support, too, but it’s a real problem that the safeties have to support against the run as much as they did on Sunday.
Special Teams — A
Very nice job from Danny Smith’s special teams units on Sunday.
Chris Boswell was money from 53 yards out on Sunday and drilled all three extra points, which is something that Rams kicker Brett Maher couldn’t do. Maher missed a critical extra point in the first half and missed two field goals. So it goes sometimes.
Punter Pressley Harvin III was quite good on Sunday, averaging nearly 44 yards per punt. He had two punts downed inside the 20-yard line with a long of 55 and shook off a bad first punt to have a strong day, pinning the Rams deep in their own territory consistently.
Calvin Austin III had a bobble on one punt return but fortunately held onto it. He had just 14 return yards on three punts. Godwin Igwebuike had a 15-yard kickoff return in the game in his lone action of the day.
Solid day from special teams overall though.
