Buccaneers vs. Steelers: Full Report Card Grades for Pittsburgh
With injuries to three key starters on defense, the Pittsburgh Steelers offense will have to carry the team on its back.
That didn't happen Sunday, and the Steelers were stunned by the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-24 at Heinz Field.
The defense, missing Ike Taylor, Jarvis Jones and Ryan Shazier, could not protect a 24-17 lead in the final quarter.
The Steelers (2-2) led 24-20 when the Buccaneers (1-3) reached their 14-yard line with just over two minutes remaining. But Tampa Bay didn't get any closer. After an incomplete pass by Bobby Rainey on a halfback option and three straight incompletions by Mike Glennon, the Bucs gave the ball up on downs with 1:49 left, and it looked like the Steelers defense came up with the stop it needed.
The problem was that the offense couldn't get the first down needed to run out the clock. A false start penalty, the Steelers' 13th flag of the day, didn't help.
Tampa Bay had the ball back with 50 seconds left. Glennon threw a 41-yard pass to Louis Murphy to get the ball to the 5-yard line, and Vincent Jackson caught the game-winner with seven seconds left.
The victory would have been a lot easier for the Buccaneers if Mike Evans hadn't pulled up lame on a pass that Cortez Allen intercepted deep in Steelers territory or if Louis Murphy didn't drop a touchdown pass and force the Buccaneers to settle for a field goal in the fourth quarter.
A horrific start in this game ultimately cost the Steelers. Former Cincinnati Bengal Michael Johnson remained a Steelers nemesis when he strip-sacked Ben Roethlisberger at the Steelers' 9-yard line three plays in to the game. Glennon's seven-yard touchdown pass to Evans gave the Bucs a 7-0 lead.
After the Steelers went three-and-out, Patrick Murray kicked a 50-yard field goal to make it 10-0 less than five minutes into the game.
The Steelers recovered and led 17-10 at halftime, but in the end the 10 points they spotted the Bucs came back to haunt them.
Just as they did in 2012 and 2013, the Steelers are coming out of September with some serious questions. After losing at home to a team that lost by 42 points 10 days earlier, it's hard to feel much better about this 2-2 Steelers team than last year's 0-4 team.
Let's break it down and grade the Steelers' performance in this loss.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Ben Roethlisberger completed 19 of 24 passes with two touchdowns in the first half but went just 10 of 16 in the second half.
Roethlisberger overthrew his receiver at least three times on deep passes. He missed Markus Wheaton deep with his first throw of the second half and was off the mark on a third-down pass to Antonio Brown that would have gained big yardage in the fourth quarter.
After apparently hurting his hand when he whacked it against Marcus Gilbert's helmet late in the first half, Roethlisberger stayed in the game. It's difficult to say if his so-so second half had anything to do with that.
Roethlisberger was sacked five times but threw no interceptions.
Grade: B-
Running Backs
2 of 10
All the debate about Le'Veon Bell being the best running back in the NFL is on hold for the time being.
Bell ran for a lackluster 63 yards on 19 carries Sunday, averaging 3.3 yards per carry. In the fourth quarter, he ran four times and lost a combined four yards on those carries. Bell once again was effective as a receiver, catching six passes for 46 yards.
LeGarrette Blount added 25 yards on four carries. As a team, the Steelers averaged 3.1 yards per rush.
Grade: C-
Wide Receivers and Tight End
3 of 10
Heath Miller hauled in a career-high 10 passes for 85 yards and a touchdown.
Antonio Brown now holds the NFL record with 20 straight games of at least five receptions and 50 yards. He caught seven passes Sunday for 131 yards and two touchdowns. He also completed a 17-yard pass to Le'Veon Bell during the Steelers' only touchdown drive in the second half.
However, Brown also hurt the Steelers by dropping an easy pass from Roethlisberger on a flea flicker in the fourth quarter. The Steelers were trying to add to a four-point lead, and Brown might have had a touchdown on the play.
Brown also dropped the first pass thrown to him, a routine screen on third down with the Steelers already down 7-0 in the first quarter.
Markus Wheaton seemed to be the only Steelers receiver who could hang on to a pass early in the game. He finished with four catches for 57 yards.
Grade: B-
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Offensive Line
4 of 10
The offensive line was both awful and effective at different points in this game.
Ben Roethlisberger was sacked five times, all in the first half. He was sacked twice on the game's first three plays. On the second, Michael Johnson forced a fumble, and the Bucs turned it into a 7-0 lead.
Kelvin Beachum yielded another costly sack late in the first half. Da'Quan Bowers dropped Roethlisberger for a six-yard loss at the Steelers' 32, and Shaun Suisham was forced to try a 50-yard field goal, which he missed. The Steelers led 17-10 at halftime, but they could have used those points.
There were times, however, when Roethlisberger had plenty of time to throw the ball.
The line committed four penalties, including one false start each on David DeCastro, Maurkice Pouncey and Marcus Gilbert. Pouncey's false start came when the Steelers went three-and-out on their final possession and allowed the Bucs to come back and win it.
The unit deserves its share of the blame for the Steelers' meager 3.1 yards-per-carry average.
Grade: D
Defensive Line
5 of 10
Tampa Bay ran the ball 20 times for just 63 yards.
Cameron Heyward had the Steelers' only sack and two tackles for losses, although he was called for unnecessary roughness after Doug Martin tied the game on a touchdown in the third quarter. Brett Keisel had another tackle for a loss.
Cam Thomas' facemask penalty aided a Bucs possession that ended with a field goal in the fourth quarter.
Grade: B
Linebackers
6 of 10
It's hard to believe the Steelers might actually be missing Jarvis Jones, considering the uneven start to his career, but so far it sure looks that way.
No Steelers linebacker had a sack Sunday. ESPN.com credited Jason Worilds with two quarterback hits, but Worilds was invisible for most of the day, and Mike Glennon rarely seemed to be hurried in the pocket.
Lawrence Timmons led the Steelers with 10 tackles, according to ESPN.com. No other Steelers linebacker had more than three, and that was Sean Spence.
Spence, making his first career start after coming back from a devastating knee injury two years ago, might have had another tackle if Anthony Collins didn't get away with holding him on Doug Martin's game-tying three-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
Grade: C-
Defensive Backs
7 of 10
Even though Ike Taylor is a shell of his former self, his absence was felt Sunday.
The secondary allowed Mike Glennon, the Buccaneers' backup quarterback, to rally his team to victory in the final minute. Glennon threw for 148 yards in the fourth quarter.
William Gay was credited with two pass breakups in the game, according to ESPN.com, but was burned multiple times in the fourth quarter.
Cortez Allen had an interception, the Steelers' only takeaway of the game. But that came when Bucs receiver Mike Evans pulled up lame with a groin injury on the play.
Troy Polamalu was offsides trying to anticipate the snap on a play in the third quarter. He also grabbed a facemask in the fourth quarter, although he broke up the pass later in the drive to force the field goal that narrowed the Steelers' lead to 24-20.
Grade: D
Special Teams
8 of 10
Shaun Suisham kicked a 25-yard field goal to put the Steelers on the board, but his franchise-record streak of 24 straight field goals came to an end when he missed a 50-yarder at the end of the first half.
Brad Wing averaged 37 yards on four points. The most damaging was a 29-yarder that gave the Buccaneers the ball at the Steelers' 46 with 50 seconds left and the Steelers trying to protect a 24-20 lead.
Grade: D
Coaching
9 of 10
The coaching staff didn't have the Steelers ready to play this game. Ben Roethlisberger was sacked twice in the first three plays, the second resulting in a turnover that led to a touchdown.
Antonio Brown's drop on an easy screen pass caused a three-and-out on the Steelers' first possession, and Tampa Bay extended its lead to 10-0 less than five minutes into the game.
In terms of play-calling, the Steelers went to the well a little too often on end-arounds, and on their last possession they were too conservative. On 3rd-and-5 from the Pittsburgh 19 with 1:35 left, Le'Veon Bell lost two yards on a run, and the Steelers had to punt. They weren't daring enough to close the game out.
Penalties are a growing problem for the Steelers. They were flagged 13 times Sunday for 125 yards, both season highs. In looking at reasons the Steelers lost this game, it's hard to ignore penalties. It's something that hasn't been fixed, and a big part of that falls on the coaching staff.
Grade: D
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Overall Grade |
| QB | B- |
| RB | C- |
| WR/TE | B- |
| OL | D |
| DL | B |
| LB | C- |
| DB | D |
| Special Teams | D |
| Coaching | D |
| Cumulative Grade | D |
The Steelers' final grade might not be the average of each positional grade, but this was not a game they should have lost. They followed up one of their most impressive road wins in recent memory by choking away a home victory against a winless team that lost by 42 points in its previous game.
The offense had its moments but not enough to bail out a defense that will continue to struggle with three injured starters.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
