Houston Texans vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: Full Report Card Grades for Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh Steelers' season was in danger of slipping away Monday night.
Then they scored 24 points in less than three minutes late in the first half and rode that spurt to a 30-23 victory over the Houston Texans at Heinz Field.
The boos rained down, along with actual rain, at Heinz Field as the Steelers (4-3) fell behind 13-0 in the second quarter. Arian Foster ran for 88 yards in the first half, and the Texans scored on Alfred Blue's 11-yard touchdown reception from Ryan Fitzpatrick and two Randy Bullock field goals.
After the beating Pittsburgh took in Cleveland last week, the Steelers appeared to be on their way to a 3-4 record with Andrew Luck and the Colts coming to town next week and the Baltimore Ravens visiting the week after.
The Steelers finally got on the scoreboard on Shaun Suisham's 44-yard field goal with 3:13 left in the first half. Then the defense turned in its first three-and-out and Ben Roethlisberger threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Martavis Bryant to narrow the Texans' lead to 13-10.
A pair of takeaways set up the Steelers' next two scores. Foster fumbled at the Texans' 3-yard line, and on the next play, Antonio Brown threw a touchdown pass to Lance Moore on a trick play to give the Steelers the lead.
Brett Keisel intercepted Fitzpatrick on Houston' next play, and Le'Veon Bell hauled in a two-yard touchdown pass from Roethlisberger to make the score 24-13.
The Steelers became the first team since the 2002 Seattle Seahawks to score 24 points in less than three minutes, according to the NFL Network.
"Fantastic @nflnetwork research dep’t looked this up: Since 1983, only 1 other team had scored 24 points in under 3 minutes (Seattle in 02).
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) October 21, 2014"
The Texans (3-4) scored a touchdown with less than two minutes left to pull to within 30-23 and nearly recovered the onside kick, but the Steelers hung on and climbed out of last place in the AFC North. The Browns dropped to 3-3 with Sunday's loss at Jacksonville.
The Steelers should grade out a little better in this game than they did last week in Cleveland.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Ben Roethlisberger turned in his best performance of the season in terms of passer rating. His 23 completions out of 33 attempts, 265 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions calculates to a 113.8 mark.
If it weren't for the ball that Buster Skrine trapped last week that was ruled an interception, this would have been Roethlisberger's fifth straight game without an interception.
Roethlisberger threw deep for a change and completed a 35-yard touchdown pass to rookie Martavis Bryant. His eight yards per attempt is his highest average since the season opener.
It wasn't a perfect performance. Roethlisberger fumbled the ball away on a sack late in the first quarter, and it led to the field goal that gave Houston a 10-0 lead.
But overall, Roethlisberger looked like the kind of quarterback who wins two Super Bowls.
Grade: A-
Running Back
2 of 10
Le'Veon Bell turned the game around with his playmaking ability.
Down 13-0 with 5:42 left in the first half, the Steelers were staring at 3rd-and-10 from their own 14-yard line. Bell took a short pass over the middle and ran it 42 yards after the catch for a 43-yard gain. The Steelers eventually got on the scoreboard with a field goal, and the defense followed with its first three-and-out of the night.
Bell started the Steelers' next possession with a 28-yard catch, then Ben Roethlisberger threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Martavis Bryant to make it 13-10.
Just 1:18 later, the Steelers led 24-13.
Bell caught eight passes for 88 yards and joins the Cowboys' DeMarco Murray as the only players with 100 yards from scrimmage in each of the first seven games this season. According to CBSSports.com, Bell became the first Steeler ever to do it.
Even though he did more damage as a receiver, Bell also ran the ball 12 times for 57 yards.
LeGarrette Blount and Dri Archer combined for 16 yards on nine carries, which dragged the Steelers' rushing average down to three yards per attempt. But Bell's game-changing play buoys the running backs' grade.
Grade: A
Wide Receivers and Tight Ends
3 of 10
Two receivers who couldn't get on the field early in the season scored touchdowns for the Steelers.
Rookie Martavis Bryant was activated for the first time to aid the Steelers in the red zone, but his first career touchdown catch was a 35-yarder that cut the Texans' lead to 13-10.
Lance Moore has just five catches this season, but two have been for touchdowns. He caught Antonio Brown's pass in the end zone for three yards to give the Steelers a 17-13 lead with 1:10 left in the first half.
Darrius Heyward-Bey caught just one pass, but it was a 17-yard gain that gave the Steelers a first down late in the third quarter.
Bryant, Moore and Heyward-Bey all helped pick up the slack for Markus Wheaton, who didn't have a catch.
Antonio Brown was the only Steelers receiver to catch more than two passes. He caught nine balls for 90 yards and added to his highlight reel with the go-ahead touchdown pass after the Steelers recovered Arian Foster's fumble at the Texans' 3-yard line.
Heath Miller had the only reception from a tight end, a 13-yard connection immediately after Bell's 43-yard reception that put the Steelers in range for their first field goal. Miller also threw a key block on Bell's 20-yard run in the fourth quarter to help sustain a field-goal drive that increased the Steelers' lead to 27-16.
Grade: A-
.jpg?w=256 "FERNANDO MENDOZA")
Offensive Line
4 of 10
J.J. Watt recovered a fumble and sacked Ben Roethlisberger in the first half, but the offensive line contained him after that.
Roethlisberger was sacked three times, but none of those sacks came in the second half. After the Steelers scored their first points, Roethlisberger wasn't sacked.
Mike Adams came in at right tackle for Marcus Gilbert, who suffered a concussion according to Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
"Maurkice Pouncey on Mike Adams stepping in for the concussed Marcus Gilbert: “That was huge. That was major, man. That showed us a lot."
— Ray Fittipaldo (@rayfitt1) October 21, 2014"
It was the first action of the season for Adams, who has had a rough career since being drafted in the second round in 2012. But he performed well enough to not stick out like a sore thumb even if he did false start on one play.
Grade: B
Defensive Line
5 of 10
It was more of the same in the first half for the Steelers' run defense.
After the Browns ran all over the Steelers last week, Arian Foster went for 88 yards in the first half Monday to help the Texans take a 13-0 lead.
The defensive line patched up the holes in the second half, however. The Texans had a 2nd-and-1 on their first possession, and Foster was stopped twice for no gain to force a punt.
The Steelers stopped Foster again for no gain on 3rd-and-1 the next time the Texans had the ball. Foster had just 14 yards in the second half, and the Steelers allowed 132 yards on the ground after giving up 158 last week in Cleveland.
Brett Keisel was frequently in Ryan Fitzpatrick's face and intercepted him on the Texans' first play after the Steelers had taken the lead in the second quarter. Keisel returned the pick 16 yards to the Texans' 8-yard line, and two plays after that Le'Veon Bell caught a two-yard TD pass to widen the Steelers' lead to 24-13.
It was Keisel's second career interception. He got his hand on the pass, and the ball bounced off Lawrence Timmons and into his hands.
Cameron Heyward led Steelers defensive linemen with three total tackles, according to ESPN.com.
Grade: B-
Linebackers
6 of 10
Lawrence Timmons once again shined the brightest in this department.
Despite throwing up on national television, Timmons led the Steelers with 12 tackles, 11 of them solo and two for losses. He's tied for sixth in the league with 63 combined tackles. Timmons also had the Steelers' only sack.
Jason Worilds forced Arian Foster to fumble and Sean Spence recovered at the Texans' 3-yard line. The Steelers immediately took advantage when Lance Moore caught the go-ahead touchdown pass.
James Harrison hit Ryan Fitzpatrick three times, according to ESPN.com. Arthur Moats was more active than he has been and made one quarterback hit.
The Steelers will need more than one sack per game going forward, but the linebackers did their part to spark the Steelers' scoring barrage late in the second quarter.
Grade: B+
Defensive Backs
7 of 10
Mike Mitchell continues to slowly and steadily improve.
The Steelers led 27-16 with less than six minutes left in the game when Texans receiver DeAndre Hopkins caught a 32-yard pass near midfield. Mitchell ripped the ball loose and Troy Polamalu recovered. The Steelers turned that takeaway into three points when Shaun Suisham kicked a 40-yard field goal to make it 30-16.
William Gay had a solid game in coverage. Cortez Allen, demoted to nickel back, had some rough stretches but broke up what would have been a touchdown pass to Andre Johnson with two minutes left in the game.
Ryan Fitzpatrick completed 21 of 32 passes for 262 yards and two touchdowns. The Steelers allowed five passing plays of more than 20 yards. The secondary let the Texans back in the game when Fitzpatrick threw for 65 yards on an 86-play touchdown drive that cut the Steelers' lead to 30-23 with 1:35 to go.
The win wasn't secure until the Steelers recovered the ensuing onside kick.
Grade: B
Special Teams
8 of 10
Special teams played a role in the Steelers' second-quarter scoring flurry.
After Martavis Bryant's touchdown narrowed the Texans' lead to 13-10, Danieal Manning muffed the kickoff at the 1-yard line. Ross Ventrone made him pay, tackling him at the 5-yard line. Two plays later, Arian Foster fumbled.
Shaun Suisham made field goals of 44, 30 and 40 yards and Brad Wing averaged 44 yards on four punts. He twice pinned the Texans inside their own 10-yard line.
Dri Archer can't seem to get to the 20-yard line on kickoff returns. He was stopped short of the 20 on both of his returns Monday.
A successful fake punt by the Texans kept a drive going in the third quarter, but the Texans didn't score on the possession.
The Steelers' hands team ultimately locked up the victory. The Texans tried an onside kick after pulling to within 30-23 with 1:31 left in the game. The kick turned into a hot potato that bounced all the way to the Steelers' 36-yard line before tight end Michael Palmer came up with it.
Grade: B+
Coaching
9 of 10
The Steelers' most significant coaching move likely came hours before the game when Martavis Bryant was told to suit up.
Bryant was at the epicenter of the Steelers' 24-point rally in the second quarter when he caught a 35-yard touchdown pass to pull the Steelers to within three points.
Ben Roethlisberger also completed a 30-yard pass to Antonio Brown as the Steelers finally aired the ball out after weeks of conservative play-calling.
The Steelers played a penalty-free first half, but committed six penalties in the second half. Two of them were intentional delay of game penalties.
On the first of those infractions, the Steelers had the ball at the Texans' 41 on 4th-and-1 early in the third quarter. They led 24-13 at the time and could have taken command of the game with a first down. Instead, they chose to take the delay and punt.
The coaching staff allowed the Steelers to take their foot off the gas pedal again in the fourth quarter. The Texans moved the ball 86 yards in a minute-and-a-half to reduce their deficit to 30-23 with 1:31 left.
Overall, the Steelers bounced back from a horrific performance last week and the coaching staff deserves some credit for that.
Grade: A-
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Overall Grade |
| QB | A- |
| RB | A |
| WR-TE | A- |
| OL | B |
| DL | B- |
| LB | B+ |
| DB | B |
| Special Teams | B+ |
| Coaching | A- |
| Cumulative Grade | B+ |
In their last two games, the Steelers' fortunes turned on a single play. They fell apart in Cleveland after a bad snap on a field goal. But on Monday, Le'Veon Bell's 43-yard catch-and-run energized them.
This wasn't a perfect performance from wire to wire. The Steelers' run defense is still a concern, and they still need to put more pressure on opposing quarterbacks. The defense did provide the offense with two short fields by forcing turnovers, and that helped the Steelers boost their red-zone touchdown percentage. They put the ball in the end zone twice on three trips inside the 20.
After getting hammered by the Browns last week and starting so sluggishly against the Texans, the Steelers showed the resiliency to point their season in the right direction.
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