01-11-2021, 07:56 PM
https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2021/01/10/pittsburgh-steelers-cleveland-browns-nfl-wild-card-playoffs-grades-report-card/stories/202101100188?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1610341710
STEELERS WILD CARD REPORT CARD
Quarterback: Ben Roethlisberger’s late-season decline continued and bottomed out with one of the worst performances of his career. He threw four interceptions, including two in the first quarter in his own territory that led directly to Browns touchdowns. He turns 39 in two months, and he’s under contract for one more year. But games like the one he had Sunday night might make him consider his options. Or maybe the Steelers consider theirs
. Grade: F
Running backs: The game got out of hand so quickly that the running game was never a factor. Not that it has been all season. In what was likely his final game with the Steelers, James Conner ran for 37 yards and scored a touchdown. The Steelers have a long list of draft needs, but a difference-maker at running back is at the top of the list.
Grade: F
Receivers: It should have been a field day for the Steelers passing game. The Browns were missing cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Kevin Johnson, but it was hard to tell because JuJu Smith-Schuster and Diontae Johnson weren’t getting open against the backups. At least not when it mattered. (Garbage time doesn’t count). Like the rest of the team, the receivers deteriorated late in the season. Smith-Schuster is a free agent, and it’s hard to make a case to bring him back for big money. Not after a second consecutive mediocre season.
Grade: F
Cleveland Browns defensive end Porter Gustin intercepts Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger during the NFL wild card playoff game Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021, at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.
Offensive line: Center Maurkice Pouncey snapped the ball over Roethlisberger’s head on the first play from scrimmage, a gaffe that the Browns gleefully converted into a touchdown. It did not get better from there for a group that earned a reputation for being “soft” by members of the national media in recent weeks. Left tackle Al Villanueva won’t be back next season. Pouncey has one more year on his contract and so does David DeCastro, but the Steelers have to consider their options. They need to get younger and better up front — and pronto.
Grade: F
Defensive line: Nick Chubb ripped off runs of 15 and 20 yards on his first two carries through gaping holes in the defensive line. The run defense had been a problem since the middle of the season, and the Steelers never did fix it. The Browns finished with 128 yards rushing. For a unit that boasts two of the highest-paid defensive ends in the NFL, that’s way too much no matter what the circumstances were.
Grade: F
Linebackers: The return of Robert Spillane was supposed to improve the run defense, but the Browns ran roughshod over the Steelers in the middle. And once the Browns got a big lead they didn’t have to deal with the Steelers’ pass rush. The Steelers led the league in sacks, but they didn’t have any Sunday night. In the second half, Cassius Marsh was playing outside linebacker after Alex Highsmith was injured. They just picked him up a few weeks ago. Add edge rushers to the list of draft needs, especially with Bud Dupree becoming an unrestricted free agent in March.
Grade: F
Secondary: Mike Hilton was victimized on the Browns second touchdown when he was beaten by Jarvis Landry for a 40-yard touchdown. Then just before halftime, when the Steelers seemed to have a slight pulse when they cut the lead to 21, the secondary had two blown coverages. The second resulted in an Austin Hooper touchdown. On top of the poor coverage the tackling was atrocious, especially by Terrell Edmunds.
Grade: F
Special teams: Punter Jordan Berry was called on to pin the Browns deep early in the fourth quarter when the Steelers trailed by 13. So what does he do? He punts it into the end zone. The Browns scored on the ensuing possession, and the game was over. Here’s another example of poor special teams play: Right after the Steelers cut the lead to 28-7 the kickoff coverage team allowed a return to the 36-yard line after Chris Boswell kicked it to the 5-yard line. The Browns went down and scored before halftime. It was a tough year to coach special teams due to the constant roster shuffling, but Danny Smith’s units got worse as the season progressed.
Grade: F
Coaching: Mike Tomlin won a Super Bowl in his second season as head coach, but he has just three playoff victories since 2011. His team came out and looked totally unprepared against a team that hadn’t practiced all week and was missing some of its best players due to COVID-19 protocols. His head-scratching decisions on extra points and then punting on fourth-and-1 early in the fourth quarter will go down as some of the most bizarre gaffes of his tenure. It might not be time for Tomlin to go, but major staff changes are a must. His team collapsed late in the season for a third consecutive year.
Grade: F
STEELERS WILD CARD REPORT CARD
Quarterback: Ben Roethlisberger’s late-season decline continued and bottomed out with one of the worst performances of his career. He threw four interceptions, including two in the first quarter in his own territory that led directly to Browns touchdowns. He turns 39 in two months, and he’s under contract for one more year. But games like the one he had Sunday night might make him consider his options. Or maybe the Steelers consider theirs
. Grade: F
Running backs: The game got out of hand so quickly that the running game was never a factor. Not that it has been all season. In what was likely his final game with the Steelers, James Conner ran for 37 yards and scored a touchdown. The Steelers have a long list of draft needs, but a difference-maker at running back is at the top of the list.
Grade: F
Receivers: It should have been a field day for the Steelers passing game. The Browns were missing cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Kevin Johnson, but it was hard to tell because JuJu Smith-Schuster and Diontae Johnson weren’t getting open against the backups. At least not when it mattered. (Garbage time doesn’t count). Like the rest of the team, the receivers deteriorated late in the season. Smith-Schuster is a free agent, and it’s hard to make a case to bring him back for big money. Not after a second consecutive mediocre season.
Grade: F
Cleveland Browns defensive end Porter Gustin intercepts Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger during the NFL wild card playoff game Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021, at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.
Offensive line: Center Maurkice Pouncey snapped the ball over Roethlisberger’s head on the first play from scrimmage, a gaffe that the Browns gleefully converted into a touchdown. It did not get better from there for a group that earned a reputation for being “soft” by members of the national media in recent weeks. Left tackle Al Villanueva won’t be back next season. Pouncey has one more year on his contract and so does David DeCastro, but the Steelers have to consider their options. They need to get younger and better up front — and pronto.
Grade: F
Defensive line: Nick Chubb ripped off runs of 15 and 20 yards on his first two carries through gaping holes in the defensive line. The run defense had been a problem since the middle of the season, and the Steelers never did fix it. The Browns finished with 128 yards rushing. For a unit that boasts two of the highest-paid defensive ends in the NFL, that’s way too much no matter what the circumstances were.
Grade: F
Linebackers: The return of Robert Spillane was supposed to improve the run defense, but the Browns ran roughshod over the Steelers in the middle. And once the Browns got a big lead they didn’t have to deal with the Steelers’ pass rush. The Steelers led the league in sacks, but they didn’t have any Sunday night. In the second half, Cassius Marsh was playing outside linebacker after Alex Highsmith was injured. They just picked him up a few weeks ago. Add edge rushers to the list of draft needs, especially with Bud Dupree becoming an unrestricted free agent in March.
Grade: F
Secondary: Mike Hilton was victimized on the Browns second touchdown when he was beaten by Jarvis Landry for a 40-yard touchdown. Then just before halftime, when the Steelers seemed to have a slight pulse when they cut the lead to 21, the secondary had two blown coverages. The second resulted in an Austin Hooper touchdown. On top of the poor coverage the tackling was atrocious, especially by Terrell Edmunds.
Grade: F
Special teams: Punter Jordan Berry was called on to pin the Browns deep early in the fourth quarter when the Steelers trailed by 13. So what does he do? He punts it into the end zone. The Browns scored on the ensuing possession, and the game was over. Here’s another example of poor special teams play: Right after the Steelers cut the lead to 28-7 the kickoff coverage team allowed a return to the 36-yard line after Chris Boswell kicked it to the 5-yard line. The Browns went down and scored before halftime. It was a tough year to coach special teams due to the constant roster shuffling, but Danny Smith’s units got worse as the season progressed.
Grade: F
Coaching: Mike Tomlin won a Super Bowl in his second season as head coach, but he has just three playoff victories since 2011. His team came out and looked totally unprepared against a team that hadn’t practiced all week and was missing some of its best players due to COVID-19 protocols. His head-scratching decisions on extra points and then punting on fourth-and-1 early in the fourth quarter will go down as some of the most bizarre gaffes of his tenure. It might not be time for Tomlin to go, but major staff changes are a must. His team collapsed late in the season for a third consecutive year.
Grade: F
