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Steelers Vs. Texans Preseason Game 1: PFF Grades And Total Snaps

By Clayton Eckert

Posted on August 11, 2024 at 10:30 am

Football games are finally back! Yes, it’s the preseason, but we finally got to see the 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers embark on their first journey in stadiums. Unfortunately, with lots of new faces and stars sitting out, it was an overall messy affair that resulted in a 20-12 loss.

In this article, I will provide Steelers’ data and grades from Pro Football Focus (PFF) and takeaways from watching the film.

Offense:

Excellent (90-Plus Grades):

The best grade on offense was TE Darnell Washington (18 snaps, 91.7 grade), the only excellent mark. He had a particularly strong showing as a blocker in both the run and pass game. That’s great to see with his hard work this offseason working on his blocking techniques. The flipside was not being targeted in the passing game, but that seemingly wasn’t the focus in his preseason debut.

Great (80-Plus Grades):

One player here as well, WR Dez Fitzpatrick (18, 85.2). He had one of the offense’s seven explosive plays, a deep crosser with YAC for 34 yards on his lone catch. I also noted him for a plus run block, but PFF gave him a 57.9 grade on nine run-block snaps.

Good (70-Plus Grades):

Nine players here. WR George Pickens (15, 78.5) caught both of his targets for 25 yards. He encouragingly showcased great YAC on the short receptions (stop, screen), including a forced missed tackle (FMT), also noted a good run block.

TE MyCole Pruitt (16, 78.5) also graded well as a blocker, very encouraging with how OC Arthur Smith leans on the position for that. He also wasn’t targeted, so it would be great to see that change next game.

RB Daijun Edwards (9, 74.5) had the team’s lone rushing touchdown, punching in a one-yard score. He also had a 24-yard explosive run, the highlight of his three carries for 28 yards. One target as well, short with YAC on a leak-out for 9 yards, but against off coverage in the final two minutes.

WR Scotty Miller (17, 74.5) led the team with four targets, with three catches for 47 yards. He also had an explosive play on a nice double-move off play-action, with a nice catch and YAC on the throw from QB Kyle Allen. He also had a shallow crosser move the chains and another deep go-ball displaying his speed, but he was overthrown by Allen.

G Spencer Anderson (42, 74.1) was the top-graded lineman. PFF favored his pass blocking (86.1 PBLK, 67.5 RBLK). Anderson started at LG and noted a mostly solid performance, including a nice combo run block.

His comrade on that rep was rookie C Zach Frazier (39, 73.5). He entered following rough exchange issues from starting center Nate Herbig and QB Justin Fields and really enjoyed his NFL debut. I particularly noted two other strong run blocks, one an explosive play, while PFF graded him slightly better in pass pro (73.2 PBLK, 72.2 RBLK).

WR Tarik Black (seven, 72.2) caught his lone target late game for 11 yards. It doesn’t sound like much, but he contorted his body on an inaccurate throw from Allen to come away with the slant reception.

RB Jonathan Ward (ten, 70.6) also had an explosive run, bouncing to the outside for a nice 20-yarder. That was the majority of his 26 yards on the evening, getting six carries, and he also had a catch for five yards on a 3rd and 8 fail (screen).

A third running back completes this list, Aaron Shampklin (14, 70.5). He had two carries for 12 yards, but his highest 72.4 grade was on his lone PBLK, and also had three catches for as many yards (all screens).

The Bad (Below 50 Grades):

Six players here. Rookie G Mason McCormick (33, 48.8) graded lower than I expected. It wasn’t perfect, noting a few poor reps, but thought he’d have a higher run block mark, especially (58.2 PBLK, 48.4 PBLK).

QB Justin Fields (17, 46.0) was very up-and-down. The negatives were inexcusable, taking two sacks and two botched snap exchanges. He was severely dinged for those fumbles, while Herbig takes 100 percent blame for them. Fields facilitated the passing game well overall, going 5-of-6 for 67 yards, including an explosive corner route to WR Van Jefferson with no TDs or picks.

G Anderson Hardy (11, 44.3) unfortunately had a false start penalty late in the game, and all his opportunities were in the passing game (53.0 PBLK). Didn’t key in on his performance yet, along with G James Daniels (9, 44.0), who seemingly struggled in the run game (78.5 PBLK, 42.9 RBLK).

RB La’Mical Perine (9, 41.9) had four carries for ten yards, the lowest 2.5-yard average at the position. He was also unable to corral a bad overthrow (Allen) on a screen. T Tyler Beach (11, 37.0) had the lowest offensive grade in the opener. His late-game action was all pass game, too, but PFF has a 30.9 RBLK grade despite no snaps and a curious 81.4 PBLK compared to his struggles in my notes.

Defense:

Excellent (90-Plus Grades):

The best and only excellent defensive grade was LB Jacoby Windmon (18, 90.0). He received a strong 87.1 coverage grade (first among Pittsburgh defenders), including a nice pass breakup in the red zone on third down. That was his lone target on seven coverage snaps, and he had four tackles.

Great (80-Plus Grades):

Four players here. DL Keeanu Benton (seven, 85.8). He exited early with an eye injury, so seeing if that affects his availability moving forward will be interesting to monitor. I noted him for a nice pass rush push despite being double-teamed and a quick win in run defense. Benton encouragingly flashed with an assisted tackle and a QB hurry on minimal snaps.

EDGE Kyron Johnson (41, 81.9) had a nice game, with two QB hurries and three tackles for stops (successful defensive plays). I did note some down plays in run defense, but he also set the edge, had a nice pursuit tackle, and penetration for no gain on others. That’s reflected in his 84.6 RDEF grade, leading all Steelers defenders.

DL/EDGE DeMarvin Leal (33, 81.2) showed encouraging versatility and quality play overall. He played all over the line, but with injuries and stars out, opportunities on the edge were plentiful and cashed in with a sack from that alignment. Leal also led the team with three pressures, two hurries, along with a solo and two assisted tackles. One tackle went for a run stop as well. A promising showing.

LB Tyler Matakevich (14, 81.0) makes this list in his return to Pittsburgh. He had one tackle for a stop with his strongest individual grade a 78.4 in RDEF.

Good (70-Plus Grades):

Six players. DL Larry Ogunjobi (10, 77.4) didn’t apply any pressure in the opener and had an assisted tackle in his short stint of playing time. I noted him for a rep with good penetration but a seemingly quiet showing overall.

CB Kalon Barnes (33, 77.1) showcased some good things. He had three tackles, two of which were stops. Barnes was targeted three times, allowing two catches for ten yards and tackling quickly for minimal YAC. In turn, his 77.6 COV and 76.9 TACK grades were good, compared to a 63.0 RDEF.

DL Willington Previlon (19, 76.2) had a solo and assisted tackle, one going for a stop, and seemingly fared better in run defense. No pressure on ten pass rush opportunities, though, which was apparent in the game at times.

CB Thomas Graham Jr. (8, 76.0) had low snaps and wasn’t targeted in coverage. Where he appeared was blitzing, with a QB hurry and bat. I have emphasized the slot CB as a huge void from last season, and wondering who could fill the highly used blitzing at the position. Graham’s contributions on Friday certainly don’t hurt. For context, first-teamer for most of camp in Beanie Bishop had five pass rushes (no pressure, though), while Grayland Arnold had one (five total snaps).

Great to see CB Cory Trice Jr. (18, 75.9) out there. Seemed to fare well in coverage, and his lone target was a screen he diagnosed quickly to make a great tackle for loss.

CB Anthony Averett (41, 74.7) had two enjoyable plays I noted, a third down pass breakup and downhill run defense for a two-yard stop. While it’s controversial to assign blame in zone coverage at times, I thought the early TD allowed was on Averett (PFF charged DeShon Elliott). He was late to react, and regardless of blame, he also missed a tackle that led to points.

The Bad (Below 50 Grades):

Three players. S Damontae Kazee (11, 49.1) missed a tackle on the same TD I just mentioned, severely bringing down his overall grade.

Thought DL Montravius Adams (16, 48.0) was robbed with this grade. He provided two pressures, including a third-down sack (splitting two defenders), a nice two-yard run stop, and a bat on third down. Stepped up situationally with big plays. Where PFF dinged him was a 36.8 RDEF, but the overall grade seemed criminal IMO.

The lowest defensive grade was CB Joey Porter Jr. (11, 43.2). He had an obvious DPI penalty, but did not a nice pass-break up on a crosser in limited action. Encouragingly, though, his penalty was the only one for Pittsburgh’s defense, compared to four on offense and two from special teams.

Special Teams:

Excellent (90-Plus Grades):

None.

Great (80-Plus Grades):

Two players. The best special teams grade was Beanie Bishop Jr. (5, 82.2), primarily playing punt coverage and a starting gunner. Jalen Elliott (9, 80.9) had a solo and assisted tackle and played on four units.

Good (70-Plus Grades):

Two players. John Rhys Plumlee (5, 78.4) was back for four kickoff returns, returning two for a 21.0 average and a long of 23. He also made a nice tackle on his lone punt coverage snap. Not bad versatility for a “quarterback.” Tyler Matakevich makes this list as well (4, 76.4), unsurprising given that special teams are his calling-card, playing all snaps on kick coverage.

The Bad (Below 50 Grades):

Unfortunately, six players here. Dez Fitzpatrick (13, 48.3) played on four units, including first-team gunner, and noted a good block on a punt return. The bad news was an unforced penalty, running out of bounds on a punt. La’Mical Perine (7, 46.5) also played on four teams, with my only note being a poor kickoff coverage rep. Duece Watts (4, 35.5) was pushed back into his own punt returner (Scotty Miller), which thankfully didn’t go worse.

Quez Watkins (three, 31.3) was horrid as a punt returner, making poor decisions and tracking, including an egregious muff with lackadaisical effort as Houston recovered the turnover. The ship seemingly sailed. Ryan Watts (9, 30.0) was a four-teamer but also dinged by a block in the back penalty.

The lowest grade on special teams was long-snapper Christian Kuntz (6, 28.0), who had a poor snap, negatively affecting a missed extra point from K Matthew Wright. This is one of the many examples of what the team needs to focus on for the rest of the preseason.