The Steelers saw their season come to a skidding halt last Sunday night with a 48-37 loss to the Browns in an AFC Wild Card game.
Over the next couple of days, even weeks, the front office and coaching staff will have blunt discussions regarding what went right, what went wrong and where this team goes from here.
But we need more immediate answers. With the season now complete, putting a final grade on what the Steelers did in 2020 no easy task.
But we'll give it a shot with some season-ending grades on the units this week, earlier this week, I graded the offense. In this installment, we'll look at the defense.
DEFENSIVE LINE: A-minus
The Steelers got 18 sacks, 24 tackles for a loss and 54 quarterback hits out of this unit during the season. Considering it lost Javon Hargrave last offseason, that's solid production out of the unit.
Stephon Tuitt had his breakout season, leading the way for the unit with 11 sacks in a season in which only 10 players in the entire NFL reached double digits -- largely because the NFL decided that holding was going to be permitted in 2020.
But he also was a bit up-and-down. The Steelers need consistent play out of him in the mold of what Cam Heyward brings from week to week.
Heyward had just four sacks this season, but his overall play was more than good enough to be named second-team All-Pro.
Tyson Alualu was solid replacing Hargrave. And even though he's 34, he showed he can still be an effective player. Alualu is heading into free agency, but it wouldn't be surprising to see the Steelers bring him back for at least one more season.
The Steelers traded a fifth-round pick to the Ravens for for Chris Wormley and a seventh-round selection and that's about the kind of production they got from him -- when he was healthy. In fact, it's because of the play of the backups that the defensive line gets a minus on its A grade.
Wormley, Isaiah Buggs, Henry Mondeaux and rookie Carlos Davis all got opportunities this season. And really, none showed enough to warrant a guaranteed spot on the roster in 2021.
Wormley is an unrestricted free agent, so the best the Steelers can hope is that he signs somewhere else and helps the team's comp formula.
Acquiring a mid-round prospect to rotate into the equation in 2021 and potentially replace Alualu down the road wouldn't be a bad idea.
Heyward and Tuitt ended up playing more than 75 percent of the defensive snaps over the course of the season, including well over 80 percent of the snaps after Bud Dupree went down. That's too much, especially considering they both see time on special teams on the field goal units.
OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS: A
T.J. Watt has a legitimate opportunity to be the NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He led the NFL with 15 sacks. That was the lowest for a league leader since Kevin Greene led the league with 14.5 with the Panthers in 1996.
But, again, with officials not calling holding, the fact Watt got home 15 times was amazing.
Dupree was having a similar-type season when he went down with a torn ACL and missed the final five games of the regular season. The Steelers went 1-5 -- including the playoffs -- without Dupree.
He'll be an unrestricted free agent after playing this season on the franchise tag, which is why the Steelers took Alex Highsmith in the third round of the draft.
Both Watt and Dupree are superior run defenders, something Highsmith must continue to improve.
Highsmith showed promise, but he's not Dupree. Heck, it took three-plus seasons for Dupree to become Dupree. Still, the Steelers got some solid play out of the rookie.
Backups Ola Adeniyi, Jayrone Elliott and Curtis Marsh, who was signed late in the year, are better suited for that role. Adeniyi will be a restricted free agent and Marsh will be unrestricted, meaning backup help could again be needed here if the Steelers are unable to retain Dupree.
And that seems unlikely given its cap situation and what premium pass rushers get on the open market, even one coming off a torn ACL.
INSIDE LINEBACKERS: C-minus
If the Steelers had gotten a full season out of Devin Bush, this grade would probably be a solid B. But they didn't.
And while the group of Vince Williams, Robert Spillane, Avery Williamson, Marcus Allen and Ulysees Gilbert had some moments here and there, they either weren't athletic enough to hold up in coverage -- Williams, Spillane and Williamson -- or they weren't stout enough to play the run -- Allen and Gilbert.
Williams is the best of the bunch by a large margin and had a good year. When he's playing next to Bush, he's an impactful player. When he isn't, it's not nearly as good.
This was easily the worst unit on the defense. It would have been even with Bush. But without him, that was the case by a large margin.
But it also can be fixed with the return of Bush from his torn ACL. With Bush in the lineup, the Steelers allowed 66.2 yards rushing per game. Without him, it was 131.6 yards rushing allowed per game -- though a 265-yard game allowed in a win over the Ravens skewed even that.
Can one player be that valuable? You bet. That's why the Steelers traded up to the 10th pick in the draft in 2019 to acquire him.
CORNERBACKS: B-plus
This was an interesting group in 2020. The Steelers allowed an NFL-low 56.7 completion percentage, as well as an NFL-best 76.7 passer rating.
Early in the season, the corners were allowing some deep passes, but that was largely because the Steelers were blitz heavy and leaving them on islands. That hurt Steven Nelson, in particular.
But once the Steelers backed off the blitzing, the corners began performing more consistently and the Steelers wound up allowing 11.7 yards per reception, but were one of just three teams to hold opponents under 200 passing yards per game.
The depth, with Nelson and Joe Haden as the starters, Mike Hilton in the slot and Cam Sutton filling in wherever was good. Justin Layne and rookie James Pierre both played some key snaps, as well.
But both Sutton and Hilton are headed for unrestricted free agency and the Steelers can't keep both. And if they both leave, the Steelers' only answer in the slot would be to bump Nelson inside. And that's not where he's at his best.
Haden and Nelson count a combined $30 million against next year's salary cap. But if the Steelers lose both Sutton and Hilton in free agency, the Steelers will need both.
Haden doesn't seem to be losing anything, even at 31, while Nelson wasn't quite as good as he was in his first season with the Steelers but still wound up being solid.
Haden allowed a completion percentage of just 50.6 in his coverage, while Nelson was at 58.2 percent, well above average for the position. Sutton was at 60.7 percent, while Hilton was 64.4 percent.
SAFETY: A-minus
Minkah Fitzpatrick wasn't the turnover machine he was in 2019, but he was still highly effective. Fitzpatrick allowed opponents to complete just 50 percent of passes in his coverage and gave up a passer rating of 62.7.
His tackling could be better at times, but he's still one of the best centerfielders in the NFL, as evidenced by him being voted first-team All-Pro once again.
Terrell Edmunds had easily his best season in Year 3, allowing a completion percentage of 55.6 in his coverage. He's a big part of the team's tight end coverage, especially once Bush was gone.
The Steelers allowed just 64 receptions (third fewest) by opposing tight ends this season for 638 yards (second-fewest) and a league-low three touchdowns.
Edmunds might never be a big turnover guy in the NFL, but only his most ardent haters -- and you know who you are -- would suggest he's some kind of bust.
The Steelers re-signed Sean Davis for depth and he didn't see much playing time. Nor did special teams ace Jordan Dangerfield or rookie Antoine Brooks.
COACHING: B-plus
The Steelers finished the season third in total defense and third in scoring. They led the NFL in sacks for a record fourth-straight season.
Obviously, the way things ended up weren't great. But that doesn't negate what was a very good season on this side of the ball.
That said, they weren't without their issues.
Stopping the run after losing Bush and Dupree was a problem. It also led to some of the other stars having to play too many snaps.
Entering training camp, defensive depth was an issue everywhere except cornerback and potentially the defensive line, though the defensive line depth proved to be not great.
The scheme itself still works. It's aggressive, but it's controlled aggression. Some might point to the game against the Browns as a reason to change things up, but the five turnovers the offense coughed up played a large roll in that, allowing the Browns to get a lead that permitted them to play things safe.
This is still one of the top defenses in the league and should be that again in 2021. It's just not possible to play shutdown defense in the NFL if the league isn't going to call holding penalties but a continued increase in pass interference penalties.
Two years ago, there were 249 pass interference penalties called across the league. That number rose to 284 in 2019 and 309 this season.
The Steelers defense could be better on some quick-change situations after offensive turnovers, but the red zone defense was good, ranking fifth overall, allowing opponents to score a touchdown just 55.6 percent of the time.
In a season in which scoring was at an all-time high, the Steelers didn't allow more than 27 points in a game during the regular season. Yes, the Browns scored 48 points in the playoffs, but 24 of that was a direct result of turnovers that gave the ball to the Browns in Pittsburgh territory.
OVERALL: A-minus
Could the defense be better? Sure. It actually was in 2019. But it was still pretty effective despite the injury issues and the way the league decided to hand out -- or not hand out -- penalties this season.
There were some letdowns overall against the Browns, in the second half against Washington and the Bills, but most weeks, this unit was a big reason why the Steelers won. But those letdowns can't be overlooked.
Given what was happening around the rest of the league -- just three teams held opponents under 20 points per game -- to give this unit anything less than an A would be a mistake.