What’s lower than rock bottom? Because the Pittsburgh Steelers undoubtedly find themselves there following a 21-18 loss to the New England Patriots at home Thursday night, dropping to 7-6 on the season.
Why so low? Well, the Steelers became the first team in NFL history with a record over .500 to lose to two teams in consecutive weeks that are eight games under .500. That’s what happened in a four-day span, first with a loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, and then an awful showing Thursday night in primetime, the Steelers losing to the Patriots.
The defense spotted the Patriots 21 points in the first half, the offense couldn’t do much of anything, special teams was inconsistent again and had a crucial call go against them. It all added up to an embarrassing loss to one of the worst teams in the NFL.
The grades will reflect that.
QB — D
This might be harsh, but Mitch Trubisky wasn’t all that good Thursday night. It’s not surprising.
He’s too risky with the football, and that showed up again against New England. Trubisky stated he was going to be aggressive because the Steelers needed to score points. With that aggressiveness comes bad decision-making. Trubisky was picked once, which set up a short field for New England, leading to a 14-3 Patriots lead. He had another interception nullified by a penalty and had at least two more passes that should have been picked.
Trubisky also took far too many downfield shots that are low-percentage throws, especially in critical spots, like on third-and-manageable situations, and even a 4th-and-2 situation to effectively end the game. It was maddening to watch. Clear definition of insanity from Trubisky and the Steelers’ offense.
Trubisky did some decent things in the loss, though.
He made a great throw to Diontae Johnson for a 25-yard touchdown to give the Steelers life. He also used his legs well, ripping off a 15-yard run on the first play from scrimmage, finishing with a rushing touchdown on the night. But he was largely a mess in the pocket, threw off his back foot a ton and really just did not handle pressure well.
RB — C
It was well-known it was going to be a night of tough sledding for the Steelers in the run game. That proved to be the case for both Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren.
Nothing worked in the run game. Harris gained just 29 yards on 12 carries, while Warren added 11 yards on seven carries. Each had a long of seven yards on the night.
Both did some decent work in the passing game as Warren had four receptions for 29 yards with a long of 12 yards while Harris added three receptions for 19 yards with a long of 14 yards.
Harris also had a great blitz pickup on the Trubisky touchdown to Johnson, giving Trubisky plenty of time and space to throw the ball downfield for the score. But outside of a few decent plays in the pass game and in protection, the running backs really had a hard time on the night being as effective as they have been for the last month or so.
WR — C-
Diontae Johnson’s stat line looks fine: three receptions, 57 yards and a touchdown. He made a great finger-tip grab on his 25-yard touchdown to give the Steelers life in the first half after falling into a 21-3 hole. But he was very ineffective as a downfield threat, which the Steelers used him a ton as against the Patriots.
George Pickens was completely useless on Thursday night — through no fault of his own. The Steelers rarely asked him to stretch the field, didn’t utilize him in the middle of the field and really fell into previous bad habits from a usage standpoint. Pickens had just five receptions for 19 yards. Embarrassing how they utilize Pickens. Though he needs to control his emotions better, he has every right to be frustrated.
Allen Robinson II had one reception for 21 yards, which is more than he’s done in recent weeks. His usage is puzzling though. The Steelers took a deep shot to him early in the game, which is just not going to work. He had three targets on the night. He’s a fine blocker and all, does his job in that regard for the Steelers, but he is just completely ineffective as a receiver.
TE — D+
After his breakout performance against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 12, Pat Freiermuth has been very quiet in back-to-back weeks. Against the Patriots, with an opportunity to really take advantage in the middle of the field, Freiermuth had just three receptions for 18 yards. He had a drop in the first half that killed a drive, and then he sat down in zone on a route instead of continuing his route upfield, leading to Trubisky’s interception.
Darnell Washington had one catch for 12 yards and really got moving in space with the football when given a chance. He had his issues as a blocker, though.
The only real bright spot on the night was the individual effort from Connor Heyward on a third and long. Taking a short checkdown and picking up 10 yards, he hurdled a defender to get back the line to gain, giving the Steelers a new set of downs.
This group was manhandled at the point of attack in the run game, which is concerning. The Patriots had a well-known dominant run defense coming in, but it was rather discouraging to see the tight ends struggle the way that they did.
OL — F
Two steps forward, one giant step back for the offensive line.
The Steelers really struggled in the trenches throughout Thursday night’s game. There was absolutely no push up front in the run game. The Steelers averaged 2.9 yards per carry. It’s rather telling when the longest runs of the night come from a quarterback scramble on a broken play, and a trick-play reverse to a little-used backup wide receiver.
The Steelers’ offensive line allowed six quarterback hits and two sacks, along with countless other pressures that Trubisky really struggled with at times. Not to mention, the Steelers continued their embarrassing stretch of being unable to line up properly, leading to an illegal formation penalty.
Center Mason Cole struggled to snap the football properly, too. What a mess.
DL — C-
Outside of Cameron Heyward, the defensive line was rather quiet.
Heyward had six tackles and a sack, moving into a tie with James Harrison for second in sacks in franchise history with 80.5. He really pushed the pocket well on the interior. He was the only effective defensive lineman on the night.
Larry Ogunjobi was unable to take advantage of a favorable matchup and had just two tackles. Keeanu Benton had just one tackle. His best play on the night should have drawn a holding penalty on a screen play in which he was tackled. But there was no call, and he was banged up on the play.
Montravius Adams had three tackles in his return to the lineup but was overall quiet. Armon Watts had just one tackle and wasn’t much a factor. Isaiahh Loudermilk did absolutely nothing in extended snaps, not even finding his way onto the stats sheet.
LB — C
Elandon Roberts had a great game in a matchup against his former team. After leaving Sunday’s game with a groin injury, Roberts was able to return to the lineup on a short week. He was outstanding Thursday night. He recorded six tackles, had a key sack on a perfectly timed blitz, and got his hand in on a pass, leading to Mykal Walker’s interception.
Since stepping into an every-down role he’s played some great football.
Walker, outside of the interception and subsequent return, really struggled. The Patriots went after him over and over again. New England attacked him on Ezekiel Elliott’s touchdown, running a pick play on him and getting Elliott wide open in the flat. Walker was unable to recover.
Blake Martinez got the start in his first game with the Steelers. He had four tackles but came off the field in sub-package. He helped limit the Patriots to just 3.2 yards per carry but wasn’t all that impactful overall.
On the outside, T.J. Watt had a strong game, finish with six tackles and a tackle for loss. He was held off of the board from a sack perspective though, which some will criticize him for. It wasn’t his fault. He was held a lot — again. And the Patriots threw the ball quickly.
Alex Highsmith was hurt in the loss, leaving with a neck injury. He was quiet before the injury. Hopefully he’s able to return quickly. The Steelers need that guy in a major way. Rookie Nick Herbig played well in place of him, recording a team-high seven tackles, generating a few pressures and recording one tackle for loss.
DB — D
This secondary is bad, period.
Bailey Zappe diced them up in the first half, throwing for three touchdowns, making some big plays down the field. Coming into the night the Patriots didn’t have a single 30-plus-yard completion on the season. Zappe did that on the first drive of the game, hitting JuJu Smith-Schuster for 37 yards over safety Damontae Kazee.
Kazee had an awful night. He was beaten by Hunter Henry for his second touchdown of the night. Kazee must think he’s Ed Reed or something, considering how aggressive he is going after the football. He got burned for it.
Minkah Fitzpatrick had five tackles and a tackle for loss, which came on the first play of the game, knifing in to cut down Elliott in the backfield. But after that Fitzpatrick was rather quiet.
Joey Porter Jr. had a nice night, breaking up a key pass in the first half that forced a punt. He also nearly had an interception in the second half on a diving play but wasn’t able to come up with the football. Patrick Peterson made a key tackle in space on Smith-Schuster to force a punt late in the game. It could have been a game-changing play, but the offense couldn’t come through.
Just can’t allow Zappe of all people to throw for 240 yards and three touchdowns, with much of that damage coming in the first half. Awful.
Special Teams — B-
Special teams captain Miles Killebrew blocked his second punt of the season, which seemed to be a game-changing play. The Steelers scored a touchdown four plays later and seemed like they were going to come all the way back.
In the end, they didn’t, obviously.
Chris Boswell drilled a 56-yard field goal in the loss, bouncing back from a miss Sunday. Punter Pressley Harvin III was very inconsistent — again.
He had a short punt in a key spot that gave the Patriots good field position. Then, after a long drive to open the third quarter, Harvin couldn’t pin the Patriots deep, punting the ball into the end zone for a touchback.
The game-changing play on special teams came on what appeared to be the Steelers drawing the Patriots offsides on a punt in the fourth quarter, only to see long-snapper Christian Kuntz called for a puzzling false start. He was penalized for an abrupt movement of his head, but he did what he’s done all season long.
Officiating strikes again. It’s awful and is ruining the product, period.
