Things didn’t go all that well as a team for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday night against the Baltimore Ravens as the Black and Gold dropped a 34-17 decision to the Ravens. The Steelers fell into a tie in the AFC North and continued a tough slide late in the season, having now dropped three of their last five games, including two in a row.
The Steelers — particularly QB Russell Wilson — had two killer turnovers, including a pick-6 in the fourth quarter. The defense couldn’t get necessary stops, resulting in the blowout loss that has the Steelers trying to regroup just a few days before Christmas against the Kansas City Chiefs.
As expected in an ugly loss, the grades from Pro Football Focus for individual players weren’t all that impressive, either.
According to PFF, OLB Alex Highsmith and LG Isaac Seumalo earned the highest grades in the loss to the Ravens, while the likes of WR Calvin Austin III, C Zach Frazier and RB Jaylen Warren rounded out the top five for Pittsburgh.
Highsmith, in his second game back from injury, was quite good on Saturday against the Ravens, especially rushing the passer in a prime matchup with Ravens’ LT Ronnie Stanley.
Highsmith finished with a grade of 76.7 overall from PFF, thanks to generating four pressures and an early strip-sack of Lamar Jackson. Unfortunately, the ball bounced right into the hands of Stanley, leading to a Ravens recovery, taking away an opportunity to give the Steelers an early turnover.
Along with his four pressures, Highsmith added two run stops on the day and clocked an elite-level 90.8 pass rush grade, playing 44 total snaps. He was the only defensive piece that really graded out well for the Steelers, though DL Isaiahh Loudermilk recorded an 80.1 overall grade from PFF, including an 82.1 against the run, but did not meet the minimum snaps requirement.
Seumalo offensively graded out at a 75.5 overall from PFF, playing all 60 snaps for the Steelers. He registered an 81.9 overall as a pass blocker and a 69.6 as a run blocker. Seumalo didn’t allow a single pressure in the game on 38 pass sets, including a high-end 84.9 overall from PFF in true pass sets. He was one of the few bright spots up front offensively.
Frazier joined Seumalo as one of the top five highest-graded players for the Steelers on Saturday, checking in at a 67.9 overall on the afternoon, including a 63.7 as a pass blocker and a 68.1 as a run blocker. However, Frazier was charged with two pressures allowed and had just a 56.4 overall grade in 17 true pass sets, hindering his grade.
Calvin Austin III had a strong day with four receptions for 65 yards as the defacto WR1 for the Steelers, including hauling in a 44-yard pass down the right sideline for an explosive play.
Austin ran 29 routes, aligning in the slot 12 times and out wide 17 times in the loss to the Ravens. Two of his receptions went for first downs, including a pivotal 16-yard catch on 3rd and 6 on a scoring drive. However, he had just 7 yards after catch on the day and was 0-for-1 in contested-catch situations, per PFF.
Playing 40 snaps to lead all running backs, Jaylen Warren rounded out the top five for the Steelers, recording a grade of 66.1 overall, including a 52.6 as a receiver, a 73.4 in pass protection and a 70.4 as a runner. Warren averaged 5.4 yards per touch on the afternoon, including 12 carries for 48 yards and five receptions for 44 yards. He also forced a team-high seven missed tackles on the afternoon.
