Facing an elite talent like Cleveland Browns DE Myles Garrett is no easy task. For Dan Moore Jr., he had his hands full all of Sunday and the numbers reflect that. Garrett dominated on the box score, finishing with three QB hits and two sacks, and on the Pro Football Focus scoresheet.
Per PFF’s numbers, Moore graded out as the 55th offensive tackle out of 56 qualifiers with an overall grade of 36.0. His pass protection was even worse, bottoming out to easily the worst of anyone with an 18.8 score. Only one other player in the league over the weekend had a pass protection score under 30.
Here’s how PFF graded Moore in its key categories:
Overall – 36.0 (55 of 56 qualifiers)
Run Block – 50.3 (44 of 56)
Pass Block – 18.8 (56 of 56)
PFF charged Moore with four pressures, two sacks, one hurry, and one hit. A terrible performance. But you already knew that.
If you’re wondering, the only offensive tackle to have a lower overall grade than Moore also played in Cleveland Sunday. That was Browns left tackle Geron Christian, though he’s a backup starting in relief of the injured Jedrick Wills as the team’s racked up injuries at the position this season.
It’s similar results as to what happened in Week Two. In the first meeting against the Browns, Garrett routinely won his reps against Moore. But the Steelers minimized Garrett’s impact, even without a running game, by getting the ball out quicker and pairing their pass protection with their passing concept. The few times Moore was left on an island, QB Kenny Pickett had a short drop, and the ball came out quickly. When Garrett was doubled or off the field, the Steelers took their shots, leading to George Pickens 71-yard touchdown. Those are all things we noted at the time in our film room breakdown.
Pittsburgh didn’t have the same game plan yesterday. On the first snap of the game, Pickett only took a three-step drop but the routes were deeper downfield and took longer to develop. In the shadow of the Steelers’ goal line, Pickett needed time. He didn’t get it. Garrett beat Moore to the inside and came through the middle to sack Pickett, avoiding a safety by inches.
In the fourth quarter, Garrett got to Pickett again, sacking him for a loss of 10 on 2nd and 12 from the Browns’ 17. It set up third and long and forced Pittsburgh to settle for a field goal, tying the game at 10 instead of potentially taking the lead. It was only Garrett’s second multi-sack game against the Steelers in his career and the first since 2018, when the two sides played an extra frame in a 21-21 tie to open up the year. They allowed Garrett to write the headlines of the game, something the Steelers have been otherwise good of avoiding against star defensive players.
Judging Moore based on what he didn’t do against Garrett is tough to do. Most tackles look bad against the guy. But it’s obvious Moore is not a long-term fixture at left tackle and the position could be addressed with an early pick for the second-straight season after the team took Broderick Jones in Round One this year, a move that at least seems to have promising initial returns. If you’re wondering, Jones graded out largely average yesterday across the board, his overall score ranking 24th of the weekend.
