Saints vs. Steelers: Full Report Card Grades for Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh Steelers once again fell on their face against an opponent with a losing record.
The New Orleans Saints defeated the Steelers, 35-32, Sunday at Heinz Field in what might be one of the most one-sided three-point games in the history of football.
Unlike other underdogs that have bested the Steelers this season, the Saints (5-7) had something to play for. They came into the game tied for first place in the NFC South, where every team had been at least three games under .500.
The Steelers (7-5) had some help, sort of, from the San Diego Chargers and Buffalo Bills. The Chargers defeated the Baltimore Ravens, 34-33, and the Bills topped the Cleveland Browns, 26-10. On the other hand, the Chargers improved to 8-4, and the Bills improved to 7-5. That's two more teams that stand in the way of a wild-card spot.
Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Cleveland all fell to 7-5, and the AFC North-leading Cincinnati Bengals beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 14-13, to gain a game on all of them and improve to 8-3-1.
The Steelers still have two games against the Bengals, including next week at Cincinnati. Two wins over the Bengals could alter the AFC North race. But that's a tall order the way the Steelers looked on Sunday.
Since going 3-0 on their three-game homestand and improving to 6-3, the Steelers have lost to the New York Jets (2-9), beaten the Tennessee Titans (2-10) by just three points and trailed the Saints (5-7) by three touchdowns in the fourth quarter before a too-little, too-late comeback.
It's becoming apparent the Steelers looked better during their three-game winning streak than they really are.
Let's see what the report card says.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Ben Roethlisberger whacked his hand on the arm of a Saints defender in the first quarter, so he might have been affected by that, but he struggled before that happened.
Roethlisberger completed three of his first nine passes and was intercepted twice in the game. If the Saints didn't drop interceptions, he could have been picked as many as five times.
The first of Roethlisberger's many bad passes came on the first play of the game when he overthrew Markus Wheaton on a deep route. He also opened the fourth quarter by overthrowing Le'Veon Bell on third down from the Saints' 30-yard line. The Steelers had to settle for a field goal, which trimmed the Saints' lead to 28-16, still a two-score game.
Roethlisberger's first interception came on a pass intended for Darrius Heyward-Bey in the end zone after the Saints had taken a 7-6 lead in the second quarter. The Saints turned that into a touchdown and a 14-6 lead. Roethlisberger's other interception squashed the Steelers' first possession of the third quarter.
For the game, Roethlisberger was 32-of-58 for 435 yards with two touchdowns and those two interceptions. The two touchdown passes to Antonio Brown came with less than three minutes left in the game. The Saints had the game won and didn't mind allowing completions while the clock kept ticking.
More should be expected from a quarterback who threw 12 touchdown passes in two games earlier this season when he is playing the league's 23rd-ranked passing defense.
If it weren't for his hand problem, Roethlisberger would get a failing grade.
Grade: D-
Running Backs
2 of 10
Le'Veon Bell ran for 95 yards on 21 carries (4.5 yards per carry) and scored a touchdown on a one-yard run to bring the Steelers to within 21-13 in the third quarter.
Bell also caught eight passes for a career-high 159 yards, but he dropped a third-down pass with the Steelers leading, 6-0, in the second quarter. The Saints took the lead on their next possession and extended the lead to 14-6 at halftime.
Only 24 of Bell's rushing yards came after the first quarter.
Rookie Dri Archer had one carry, gaining nothing on 2nd-and-1 in the third quarter.
Grade: B-
Wide Receivers and Tight Ends
3 of 10
Antonio Brown caught eight passes for 97 yards with two inconsequential touchdowns after most of the crowd had left. He's caught at least seven passes for 70 yards in seven straight games.
Heath Miller caught eight passes for 82 yards. He out-shined the league's top pass-catching tight end, Jimmy Graham, who wasn't targeted once.
Markus Wheaton added five receptions for 61 yards.
The receivers were partially culpable for Ben Roethlisberger's bad game. They could have come up with a few of his incomplete passes, and Martavis Bryant, who caught just one pass, should have had a touchdown on a ball thrown to him early in the second quarter. The Steelers had to settle for a field goal.
Roethlisberger found Miller for a touchdown pass in the second half, but Miller fell before he could get to where the ball was going.
Grade: C
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Offensive Line
4 of 10
Ben Roethlisberger was sacked just once, and he had decent time to throw on many of his passes.
However, the most damaging failure of the line didn't come on a sack, but on an interception. The Steelers trailed, 14-6, on their first possession of the second half when Cameron Jordan beat Mike Adams, batted a pass into the air and intercepted it at the Steelers' 21-yard line. The Saints converted that turnover into a touchdown and a 21-6 lead.
Adams was replacing injured right tackle Marcus Gilbert.
The Steelers ran for just 32 yards on 11 carries after the first quarter, an average of less than three yards a carry, and the offensive line committed two false starts and a holding penalty in the game.
Grade: C-
Defensive Line
5 of 10
The game turned when Mark Ingram gained 64 yards on nine carries in the second quarter, helping the Saints turn a 6-0 deficit into a 14-6 lead. Many of his yards came up the gut of the Steelers defense as the Saints controlled the line of scrimmage.
Ingram ran for 122 yards on 23 carries, and the Saints ran for 143 yards as a team. It was the sixth time this season the Steelers allowed more than 130 rushing yards.
Cameron Heyward was the only bright spot on the defensive line, with a tackle for loss and a batted pass.
The Steelers couldn't stop the run, and that starts with the defensive line.
Brett Keisel left the game in the second half with a triceps injury, and his season could be over. Considering he's 36, his career could be over, too.
That seems to be the consensus in the locker room, according to Dale Lolley of the Observer-Reporter of Washington, Pennsylvania:
"Many players saying Keisel's injury is a season-ender for the #Steelers defensive lineman
— Dale Lolley (@dlolleyor) November 30, 2014 "
That's a bad break for the Steelers, and it doesn't bode well for the rest of the season. But the defensive line was performing poorly before Keisel's injury.
Grade: F
Linebackers
6 of 10
Jason Worilds led the Steelers with 10 total tackles. He also had a sack, two tackles for loss and a quarterback hit.
But Worilds was the only Steelers linebacker with a sack or a hit on Drew Brees.
The linebackers did their part stopping Jimmy Graham. He entered the game as the top tight end in the NFL with 65 receptions. Brees didn't throw the ball his way once. But the linebackers didn't pressure Brees enough to keep him from throwing the ball to plenty of other people.
Of Brees' five touchdown passes, one went to tight end Benjamin Watson, and the other went to fullback Erik Lorig. Linebackers usually are involved in the coverage against those positions.
Grade: D
Defensive Backs
7 of 10
Drew Brees threw five touchdown passes, three of them to wide receivers. He spread the ball to nine different players.
Kenny Stills was the only Saint to catch more than three passes. He hauled in five balls for 162 yards and a touchdown. He burned William Gay on a 44-yard reception to help set up the Saints' first touchdown in the second quarter. In the third quarter, Stills beat Ike Taylor, who returned after missing eight games with a broken forearm, for a 69-yard touchdown that increased the Saints' lead to 28-13.
Brice McCain was the only Steelers defensive back who broke up a pass, but he left with a hamstring injury early in the game, according to Bob Labriola of Steelers.com:
"Brice McCain out for now with a right hamstring injury. Antwon Blake moves up to No. 3 cornerback
— Bob Labriola (@BobLabriola) November 30, 2014"
Antwon Blake took McCain's place. In the fourth quarter, he negated a sack with a defensive holding penalty on third down. The kept alive a drive in which the Saints expanded their lead to 35-16.
Grade: F
Special Teams
8 of 10
Shaun Suisham made field goals from 49, 31 and 47 yards, but he missed a 54-yard attempt at the end of the first half.
Antonio Brown returned two of six punts for a total of 15 yards, and Markus Wheaton averaged 29 yards on three kickoff returns.
Brad Wing punted twice for a 37.5-yard average.
Grade: C
Coaching
9 of 10
There were some questionable play calls during the game, including the decision to throw to Darrius Heyward-Bey in the end zone after the Steelers had fallen behind, 7-6, in the second quarter. Heyward-Bey has three receptions this season. He's not exactly a go-to guy. Kenny Vaccaro intercepted the pass, and the Saints turned it into a touchdown and a 14-6 lead.
In the third quarter, with the Steelers trying to come back from a 21-6 deficit, disappointing rookie Dri Archer got the ball on 2nd-and-1, all 5'7", 173 pounds of him. He was stopped for no gain. The Steelers scored a touchdown on the drive, but it took them seven precious minutes.
Unlike their losses to the Buccaneers and Jets, the Steelers seemed ready to play at the start of the game. They established the run early against the NFL's 23-ranked run defense, which was a solid game plan. However, the Steelers came off their bye and had one more week to prepare for this game than the Saints did. They failed to take advantage of that extra time.
Grade: D
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Grade |
| QB | D- |
| RB | B- |
| WR/TD | C |
| OL | C- |
| DL | F |
| LB | D |
| DB | F |
| Special Teams | C |
| Coaching | D |
| Cumulative Grade | F |
The Steelers' overall performance is a failure because they essentially lost by double digits at home to a team that was three games under .500. The Steelers put lipstick on a pig with those two late touchdowns.
The script of this game was similar to that of their 31-10 loss at Cleveland in Week 6. The Steelers led, 3-0, after one quarter in that game, then allowed 21 points in the second quarter and fell behind, 21-3, at halftime.
On Sunday, the Steelers again had to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns early in the game, and it came back to haunt them when the Saints answered their 3s with 7s.
It looked like the Steelers had turned the corner with their 27-24 win at Tennessee and could be relied upon to take care of weaker competition, especially at home.
Now they probably have to win the rest of their games to have a shot at the playoffs.
ESPN.com was used for game statistics, unless otherwise noted.
Follow @Steel_Tweets
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
