HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. -- Welcome to my new written feature at DK Pittsburgh Sports!
After each game the Steelers play, I'll grade their performance, overall and by positional groups, beginning with the 23-20 overtime win Sunday in Cincinnati.
Let's get started:
OVERALL TEAM (A)
Simply because of the win on the road with a team as strong as the Bengals are.
QUARTERBACK (B-)
Mitch Trubisky showed nothing beyond the means of what you asked of him. From the Cam Sutton interception there was a 3rd down and he simply tucked it and ran it. Allowed for a field-flipping punt which the defense only gave up 3 points before half.
RUNNING BACK (C+)
Nothing overly special. They took what was given to 'em. I loved the fact that Jaylen Warren is getting more reps to spell Najee Harris for rest. They were physical when in space. Hope Najee isn’t out for long.
WIDE RECEIVER (C+)
Diontae Johnson leads the charge. He can be very special. He did go missing at times, but there’s a lot of talent around him. Chase Claypool showing how his role in this offense can be huge with the runs he has and showing better consistency with catching.
TIGHT END (B)
It was good seeing Zach Gentry get involved with the big screen play. The hands of both Pat Freiermuth and Gentry are showing up in a good way. This Pat and Zach duo reminds me of what we saw with Heath Miller and Matt Spaeth.
OFFENSIVE LINE (C-)
Gotta help this offense! Did enough to survive. Must be able to get the run game going way better. Run game wasn’t even close to being good enough.
DEFENSIVE FRONT (A)
Dominate! Absolutely beat up the Bengals' offensive line. Other than Joe Mixon's big run, not much to complain about. Really got after the quarterback, with pressures also!
LINEBACKERS (C-)
Have to find a level of violence to match the defensive line and outside linebackers. Missing run gaps and getting moved around in the run game isn’t the Pittsburgh way.
SECONDARY (B)
Wasn’t perfect but they were very active with being very aware and calculated in how defended the pass. With guys going down, you expect some drop in play when guys play out of position.
SPECIAL TEAMS (B-)
Would be higher but the “dong” heard around the world from Chris Boswell's missed kick took them down and Pressley Harvin’s level of punting at an elite level must become more consistent. Minkah Fitzpatrick’s blocked field goal jumped the score.
