There wasn’t a lot of good in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 31-28 loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday. The defense struggled against the pass, the offense struggled to consistently move the ball, and on top of it, the special teams struggled with Corliss Waitman putting together his worst performance of the season. It was a day to forget, but one positive takeaway is the play of the offensive line. Pittsburgh’s offensive line has come on a little bit, and while there were still some consistency issues against the Bears, the offensive line led the way in Pro Football Focus’ Week 12 grades.
PFF OFFENSIVE GRADES VS. BEARS
1. OG Mason McCormick (89.9)
2. OG Isaac Seumalo (88.8)
3. TE Darnell Washington (81.3)
4. WR Ben Skowronek (80.0)
5. C Zach Frazier (72.2)
PFF DEFENSIVE GRADES VS. BEARS
1. DL Yahya Black (91.7)
2. CB Brandin Echols (73.1)
3. CB Darius Slay (71.2)
4. CB Joey Porter Jr. (64.0)
5. DL Derrick Harmon (62.4)
RB Jaylen Warren had a solid day with 18 carries for 68 yards and a touchdown, and he finished just behind Frazier with an overall grade of 70.6. Meanwhile, fellow RB Kenneth Gainwell, who led the Steelers with 92 yards on the ground while chipping in six receptions for 30 yards, had an overall grade of 66.0.
Outside of the three offensive linemen in the top five, OT Broderick Jones had a 68.7 overall grade, his second-highest of the season, before leaving in the fourth quarter with an injury. OT Troy Fautanu finished with a 61.0, while do-it-all Spencer Anderson had a 61.4. OT Calvin Anderson, who replaced Jones, finished with a 56.1 overall grade, the third lowest on the offense.
It’s also not surprising to see a low grade for QB Mason Rudolph after his two turnovers, as Rudolph finished with a 57.3 overall grade. He also struggled pushing the ball downfield. WR DK Metcalf did Rudolph no favors on his interception, failing to knock the ball away from Nahshon Wright, and Metcalf had a tepid stat line with five receptions for 22 yards while adding a rushing touchdown, but he finished with a 62.2 overall grade.
Any way you spin it, Metcalf has been a disappointment for the Steelers this year, even if the offense is responsible for some of the issues. It just hasn’t been a good first season for a player the Steelers made one of the highest-paid wide receivers in the game.
Defensively, PFF continues to give T.J. Watt low marks. He wasn’t a disruptive presence for most of the game, but Caleb Williams did a good job getting the ball out quicker than he usually does and Watt had a strip-sack that led to a touchdown yet only received an overall grade of 54.3. Notably, Payton Wilson (40.5) and Patrick Queen (48.0) were two of the three lowest-graded Steelers. Queen cited schematic issues for the linebackers’ struggles in coverage, and there may be some truth there, but the two of them struggled yesterday.
It was a day to forget for the Steelers. They’ll need to regroup next week against the Buffalo Bills if they want to have any chance of winning the division and hanging around in the AFC playoff picture.
Ben Skowronek, Brandin Echols, Broderick Jones, Calvin Anderson, Darius Slay, Darnell Washington, Derrick Harmon, DK Metcalf, Isaac Seumalo, Jaylen Warren, Joey Porter Jr., Kenneth Gainwell, Mason McCormick, Mason Rudolph, Patrick Queen, Payton Wilson, PFF, Spencer Anderson, T.J. Watt, Trending, Troy Fautanu, Yahya Black, Zach Frazier