Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: Full Report Card Grades for Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh Steelers almost set a dubious record for biggest blown halftime lead in franchise history, holding off the Cleveland Browns 30-27 in Sunday's season opener at Heinz Field.
Shaun Suisham saved the Steelers after they blew a 27-3 halftime lead. He kicked a 41-yard field goal as time ran out, and the Steelers won their season opener for the first time since 2010. They beat the Atlanta Falcons 15-9 in overtime in that game, and they nearly needed overtime to win this one.
The Steelers (1-0) have put a lot of work into the sagging defense in recent years. They drafted linebackers in the first round in 2013 and 2014 and were more active than usual in free agency.
Sunday's performance showed that they still have a long way to go.
Cleveland ran for 183 yards on 30 carries, including 121 yards on 19 carries in the second half.
Perhaps the Steelers spent too much time in practice preparing for Johnny Manziel. The heralded rookie didn't get on the field.
Brian Hoyer completed four of 11 passes for 57 yards in the first half, but if there was any temptation for Browns coach Mike Pettine to replace him with Manziel, Hoyer put it to rest by completing 15 of 20 passes for 173 yards and a touchdown in the second half.
At least the Steelers didn't allow any 50-yard plays after giving up a league-high 11 of those last year. They did, however, yield a 47-yard completion to Jordan Cameron and three plays of 25-plus yards.
By the way, the Browns were without Cameron and starting running back Ben Tate when they rallied back from a 24-point deficit in the second half.
It looks like the Steelers will have to light up scoreboards like a pinball machine to win games this year, and they might be able to do that.
Antonio Brown, the only player in NFL history to catch five passes in all 16 games of a season, caught five on Sunday for 116 yards and a touchdown. The most encouraging performances came from Markus Wheaton and Justin Brown, who showed that maybe the Steelers can survive the exits of Emmanuel Sanders and Jerricho Cotchery.
Le'Veon Bell continues to grow as an NFL running back, running for 109 yards and a touchdown. It was the second 100-yard game of his career.
If you like high-scoring games, you'll enjoy this Steelers season. Well, you'll probably enjoy it more if they make the playoffs.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Ben Roethlisberger completed 16 of 23 passes for 278 yards, a touchdown and an interception in the first half. The 32-year-old showed that he's still young enough to dodge pressure and keep plays alive.
It looked like Roethlisberger tried to force a throw to Le'Veon Bell when Karlos Dansby intercepted him early in the second quarter.
Roethlisberger threw for 365 yards in the game. He wasn't quite as effective in the second half, as he succumbed to the Browns' pass rush. Cleveland had four sacks in the game.
However, Roethlisberger threw for 16 of the Steelers' 24 first downs and moved the offense 33 yards in 27 seconds with three completions on the game-winning drive.
Grade: A-
Running Backs
2 of 10
Le'Veon Bell averaged 5.2 yards on his 21 carries for a total of 109. It was the second time he reached the 100-yard plateau. His first came in Week 16 last year at Green Bay—also a Steelers win.
The Steelers' second-round draft pick in 2013, Bell also caught six passes for 88 yards, tying Markus Wheaton for the team lead in receptions. Bell was elusive and hard to tackle. His touchdown came on a 38-yard run that gave the Steelers a 24-3 lead in the second quarter.
Bell ran for just three yards on two carries on the Steelers' opening drive of the second half, when they could have used a long drive to grind out the clock.
LeGarrette Blount provided a mixed bag. He ran for a seven-yard touchdown in the first half, but with the Steelers playing for a game-winning field goal, he lost four yards on 3rd-and-1 at the Browns' 41-yard line just before the two-minute warning.
Grade: B+
Wide Receivers and Tight End
3 of 10
The Steelers entered the game with only four healthy receivers, but showed that there's more to their receiving corps than Antonio Brown.
Brown, the Steelers' leading receiver in terms of yardage, gained 116 on five catches for a staggering average of 23.2 yards per reception.
Markus Wheaton and Justin Brown, 2013 draft picks, will give opposing defenses more to worry about than just Antonio Brown if Week 1 is any indication.
Wheaton caught six passes for 97 yards, including a 40-yarder hinting that he could fill the deep-threat role that was vacated by Mike Wallace two years ago. Most importantly, Wheaton caught two passes for 31 yards on the game-winning drive, including a 20-yard reception that brought the Steelers to the spot where Shaun Suisham kicked the game-winning field goal.
If there was any doubt that Wheaton could become the Steelers' No. 2 receiver, there's less of it now.
Justin Brown, drafted in the sixth round last season, added three receptions for 38 yards.
Unlike last season, Heath Miller started the season healthy and contributed with three catches for 26 yards as well as his blocking.
Grade: A-
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
The offensive line started out strongly, but seemed to wear down as the game went on.
Ben Roethlisberger was sacked four times in the game. Three of those sacks came in the second half, including two in a row to kill a drive after the Browns had pulled to within 27-17 in the third quarter.
The offensive line deserves its share of the credit for the holes Le'Veon Bell ran through, but part of that was Bell's shiftiness.
Four sacks allowed per game is unacceptable. There also was a false start and a holding penalty on the opening drive. The holding call on left tackle Kelvin Beachum negated a four-yard touchdown run by Bell.
Offensive line coach Mike Munchak has to roll up his sleeves and do some coaching.
Grade: C+
Defensive Line
5 of 10
The Browns didn't need their top running back in the second half to slice and dice the Steelers defense.
With Ben Tate injured, rookie Terrance West ran for 100 yards on 16 carries in the game (6.3 yards per carry). When Tate was in there, he ran for 41 yards on six carries (6.8 YPC).
West had a 29-yard run and Tate had a 25-yarder.
The Steelers allowed 183 yards on the ground. They gave up more than that only twice last season. The Oakland Raiders and New England Patriots ran for 197 yards on them in back-to-back weeks.
Cameron Heyward was the Steelers' leading tackler on the defensive line with four. He also had a sack on the opening play of the Browns' final possession to stunt that drive. Next was Steve McLendon with three tackles, one going for a loss.
Brett Keisel, Cam Thomas and Heyward all had one quarterback hit, according to ESPN.com.
Grade: C-
Linebackers
6 of 10
Jarvis Jones and Jason Worilds both had a sack. If they can do that every game, the Steelers will take it.
Jones already has matched his rookie sack total.
Rookie Ryan Shazier was the top tackler among the linebackers with six. He emphatically dropped running back Isaiah Crowell for a four-yard loss in the fourth quarter, but Crowell scored a touchdown two plays later anyway to tie the game. Shazier also dropped an interception.
The linebackers take some of the blame for the Steelers' inability to stop the run and hold their 24-point lead in the second half, but the sacks by Jones and Worilds buoy their grade.
Grade: C+
Defensive Backs
7 of 10
This was more of the same regarding the Steelers' inability to generate turnovers. They overcame that to win this game, but they weren't so fortunate last season when they couldn't manage a takeaway in the first four games and started 0-4.
Cornerbacks Ike Taylor and Cortez Allen both dropped interceptions in the second half Sunday when the Steelers could have used a takeaway to foil the Browns' momentum.
Safeties Troy Polamalu and Mike Mitchell were the Steelers' leading tacklers with 11 and seven, respectively. That's further evidence of the front seven's futility against the run.
Despite his 11 tackles, Polamalu seemed to be doing a lot of chasing. It suggests that he was often out of position. He didn't break up any passes or make any of his trademark tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
With that said, the secondary saved the game for the Steelers when Allen and William Gay broke up passes to force the Browns to punt on their last two drives of the game. Those were the only second-half possessions on which the Browns didn't score.
Allen and Gay helped keep the game tied to set up Shaun Suisham's game-winning kick.
Grade: B-
Special Teams
8 of 10
Shaun Suisham made a game-winning, 41-yard field goal when the clock hit zero. He converted all three of his field-goal attempts in the game.
The special teams highlight of the day came when Robert Golden threw a first-down pass to Antwon Blake on a fake punt in the fourth quarter. The Steelers eventually had to punt for real on that series, but it kept the gassed Steelers defense off the field a little longer, and the Browns didn't score after that.
Grade: A
Coaching
9 of 10
It's safe to assume the coaching staff will have something different to say at halftime the next time the Steelers go into the locker room with a three-touchdown lead. Whatever was said at halftime Sunday, it didn't inspire the Steelers to keep their foot on the Browns' throat in the second half.
The call for the fake punt took a ton of guts. The Browns had all the momentum, and the Steelers were at their own 20-yard line on 4th-and-10 in a tie game with nine minutes and 28 seconds left.
It was a major risk and turning point in the game.
Grade: B+
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Grade |
| QB | A- |
| RB | B+ |
| WR/TE | A- |
| OL | C+ |
| DL | C- |
| LB | C+ |
| DB | B- |
| Special Teams | A |
| Coaching | B+ |
Cumulative Grade: B-
The Steelers might have a fighting chance to make the playoffs if their offense and special teams answer the call every week.
Defense is likely to be a problem. However, Dick LeBeau could make adjustments or the youthful unit could mature as the season goes on.
The way this game went shouldn't surprise anyone. A lot has been expected of the Steelers offense, but there are still questions surrounding the defense. The Steelers might not be so fortunate against a better team.
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