In week three, the Pittsburgh Steelers lost their first game of the season to the Chicago Bears. The Steelers lost 23-17 in overtime, which resulted in mostly low positional grades.
Week Three Pittsburgh Steelers Positional Grades
Quarterback: C+
Ben Roethlisberger went 22 for 39 for 235 passing yards and a touchdown. While he didn’t throw any interceptions, he did lose a fumble on a sack that he took from a cornerback.
Roethlisberger seemed rushed with the ball and threw a lot of deep passes, especially when he saw man coverage. He finished with a QBR of 26 out of a possible 100, which is obviously not where the Steelers need him to be.
Running Backs: C+
Le’Veon Bell looked a little better than he did in the previous two games, but still not good enough. Bell carried the ball 15 times for 61 yards and scored his first touchdown of the season. Bell had one drop on an easy, short pass, but caught his other six targets for 37 receiving yards.
The Steelers continue to struggle to run the ball. However, 15 carries is not enough for Bell. Perhaps offensive coordinator Todd Haley is punishing Bell for his holdout and trying to send a message that he isn’t as important as he thinks. It’s hard for Bell to make a substantial impact when he’s only touching the ball 21 combined times.
Wide Receivers: B-
Antonio Brown led the way once again with ten receptions on 14 targets for 110 yards and a touchdown. JuJu Smith-Schuster had the second-most snaps out of the wide receivers and had two receptions for 39 yards on six targets. Martavis Bryant added two receptions for 30 yards on eight targets.
Eli Rogers started the game on an extremely poor note when he muffed a punt return which resulted in the Bears recovering the fumble. They began their drive with great field position and eventually ran it in for the first touchdown of the game. Rogers had zero targets, perhaps because he made such a crucial mistake early in the game. It’ll be interesting to see if Brown takes over the punt returning duties in the future.
Tight Ends: B-
The tight ends didn’t do much on offense. Jesse James had two catches for 19 yards on four targets. Vance McDonald didn’t make any plays on offense, but made possibly the biggest play for the Steelers in the entire game.
McDonald ran down a Bears defender after they blocked the Steelers field goal attempt and forced a fumble just before he scored a touchdown. Granted, the Bears player almost came to a complete stop before he reached the goal-line, perhaps celebrating early. Still, McDonald showed a lot of hustle by not giving up on the play.
Offensive Linemen: C-
The offensive line continues to be the weak link on the Steelers offense. Ramon Foster left early with an injury, but backup guard B.J. Finney did a nice job replacing him. The Steelers only managed 70 rushing yards and the offensive line also surrendered three sacks for -23 yards.
The offensive line is still struggling to create running lanes. Unless some major improvements are made, the Steelers offense may be in for a disappointing season.
Defensive Linemen: C+
The defensive line had a decent game, but Steelers fans are used to seeing them dominate opposing offensive linemen. Javon Hargrave had two tackles, including a sack.
The defense as a whole did a horrible job of stopping the run and that starts with the defensive line. Jordan Howard ran for 220 rushing yards with an average of 5.8 yards per carry.
Linebackers: C+
Ryan Shazier led the way once again with 11 tackles, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Vince Williams brought his energy to the game with seven tackles and a forced fumble that was recovered by Shazier. Bud Dupree had five tackles, two of which were for a loss, along with one hit on the quarterback. Anthony Chickillo registered a sack once again.
Dupree has been sucessful as a pass rusher, but he missed quite a few tackles against the Bears. James Harrison saw his first action of the season, but only played three snaps.
Going by stats only, the linebackers seemed to have a good game. However, as previously mentioned, the Bears out-rushed the Steelers 220 yards to 70. The Bears ran for a first down 13 times, which is unacceptable.
Cornerbacks: B-
When it comes to defending the pass, the secondary did a great job. It’s easy to defend the pass though when the opposing team doesn’t need to throw the ball. That being said, the Steelers secondary held Mike Glennon to only 101 passing yards and a QBR of 19.6.
Safeties: B-
Mike Mitchell made his presence known with nine tackles. Justin Wilcox filled in for the injured Sean Davis, who left early in the game. Wilcox had five tackles and a clutch interception in the fourth quarter that gave the Steelers life.
The entire Steelers secondary struggled to make open-field tackles, which led to an enormous amount of rushing yards for the Bears, especially the quick rookie Tarik Cohen.
