Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Atlanta Falcons: Full Report Card Grades for Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Atlanta Falcons 27-20 Sunday and are halfway through the mission they were assigned two weeks ago.
They were in a position to win the AFC North with victories in their last four games. They won the second of those games Sunday, and the task seems more realistic with their remaining games at home against the Kansas City Chiefs (8-6) and Cincinnati Bengals (9-4-1).
Cincinnati remains a half-game ahead of the Steelers with Sunday's 30-0 win at Cleveland, but even if both teams win next week (the Bengals host the Broncos), the Steelers can hurdle the Bengals with a win in Week 17.
The Steelers did not turn the ball over Sunday for the second straight week despite playing the team that's fifth in the NFL with 24 takeaways, according to ESPN Stats and Info.
Pittsburgh forced the game's only turnover when William Gay intercepted Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan and returned it 52 yards for a touchdown and a 13-0 Steelers lead in the second quarter. The Steelers led by at least seven points the rest of the way.
Le'Veon Bell scored the first touchdown by the Steelers offense on a one-yard run to give Pittsburgh a 20-7 halftime lead.
The Falcons kicked two field goals in the third quarter to creep to within seven points, but Bell scored on a 13-yard run to make it 27-13 with 14:11 left in the game.
Atlanta again reduced the Steelers' lead to a touchdown when Ryan threw a four-yard TD pass to Roddy White. But the Falcons went three-and-out and had to punt with less than five minutes remaining, and they didn't get the ball back.
The Steelers made two third-down conversions, the first one aided by an illegal contact penalty, to run out the clock and assure their first winning season since 2011, but that might not be all they accomplish in 2014.
Sunday's report card is in.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Ben Roethlisberger didn't throw any touchdown passes for the first time since Week 2 at Baltimore, but he set up the Steelers' two offensive touchdowns with big plays and didn't throw any interceptions for the second straight week.
Roethlisberger completed a 28-yard pass to Antonio Brown to get the ball to the Falcons 1-yard line late in the second quarter, and Le'Veon Bell ran it in on the next play. He threw a 30-yarder to Markus Wheaton at the Falcons 13 in the fourth quarter, and Bell again found the end zone on the next play.
He completed 27 of 35 passes for 360 yards. He was on the mark on most of his throws, especially when he targeted Antonio Brown and Markus Wheaton, as Ken Laird of TribLive Radio points out:
"Roethlisberger 15 of 15 passing today on passes to Antonio Brown and Markus Wheaton
— Ken Laird (@Ken_Laird) December 14, 2014"
In the fourth quarter, Roethlisberger completed eight of 11 passes for 101 yards. He did a good job of selling play action on a 30-yard completion to Wheaton to open the quarter. The play set up Bell's 13-yard touchdown run, which widened the Steelers' lead to 27-13.
Roethlisberger also executed a perfect play fake on a 25-yard pass to Heath Miller on 3rd-and-1 from the Falcons 39-yard line with two minutes left. The play clinched the win for the Steelers.
Grade: A
Running Back
2 of 10
Another week, another milestone for Le'Veon Bell, via Dom Rinelli of Steelers public relations:
"RB Le’Veon Bell has set the @steelers single-season record for scrimmage yards, surpassing Barry Foster's 2,034 in 1992. Now w/ 2,037
— Dom Rinelli (@drinelli) December 14, 2014"
The Falcons seemed prepared to stop Bell, who ran for just 47 yards on 20 carries after last week's 185-yard performance. But the Steelers running back still made an impact.
He scored on a one-yard run late in the second quarter to restore the Steelers' 13-point lead after the Falcons pulled to within 13-7. He also scored on a 13-yard run early in the fourth quarter to give the Steelers a 27-13 lead.
Bell also has his own Antonio Brown-like streak going. He caught five passes for 72 yards and has caught at least five passes for 50 yards in three straight games.
Grade: B+
Wide Receivers and Tight Ends
3 of 10
There are infinite ways to crunch the plentiful numbers that Antonio Brown is producing.
He caught 10 passes for 123 yards Sunday. It was his 30th straight game with at least five catches for 50 yards, an NFL record.
Also an NFL record is Brown's streak of nine games with a minimum of seven receptions for 70 yards, according to Pro Football Reference.
His 115 catches this season is a Steelers record. He surpassed Hines Ward's previous mark of 112.
The Steelers' first drive of the third quarter stalled when Brown was penalized for taunting, but that was his only blemish.
Markus Wheaton added five catches for 66 yards, and Martavis Bryant showed he's not a one-trick pony, catching three passes for 31 yards, all on intermediate routes.
Heath Miller hauled in four passes for 68 yards, including the 25-yard reception with two minutes left that sewed up the win for the Steelers.
Grade: A-
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
Mike Adams replaced an injured Marcus Gilbert at right tackle for the third straight week, and Ben Roethlisberger was sacked just once.
Roethlisberger has been sacked just twice in the last three games and 32 times this season. He's on pace to be sacked less than 40 times in a full 16-game season for the first time in his career. If he plays the next two games, this would be just the third 16-game season of his career, which is further testimony to the protection the line has provided under offensive line coach Mike Munchak.
Le'Veon Bell averaged just 2.4 yards per carry, but the offensive line paved the way for two touchdowns. Ramon Foster threw the key block on Bell's one-yard scoring run with 31 seconds left in the first half. It gave the Steelers a 20-7 halftime lead.
Grade: B+
Defensive Line
5 of 10
The Steelers have been worse against the run this season, but they've also been better. The Falcons averaged 4.9 yards per carry. They ran for 97 yards on 20 attempts.
Steven Jackson ran for 46 of those yards on 11 carries, and Matt Ryan scrambled three times for 27 yards.
The Falcons trailed 20-10 and reached the red zone late in the third quarter, but Cameron Heyward batted down a pass and was in on a tackle for loss, helping to force a field goal and maintain a one-touchdown lead. Heyward also had a quarterback hit in the game.
Stephon Tuitt made a couple of nice plays while stopping the run in his second career start.
Grade: B-
Linebackers
6 of 10
The Steelers had no sacks in the game, although Jason Worilds had one wiped out when he was called for roughing the passer in the second quarter. The penalty preserved a drive that led to the Falcons' first touchdown.
The linebackers, who were without James Harrison for the second straight week, generated enough pressure to force Matt Ryan into some bad throws. Vince Williams, Jarvis Jones and Worilds had one quarterback hit apiece.
Ryan Shazier, playing for the first time since returning last week from a knee injury, made two tackles on the Falcons' final possession of the first half, preventing them from getting points before halftime.
Sean Spence showed some flashes and made a key play to stall a Falcons drive in the third quarter. He tackled fullback Patrick DiMarco for a two-yard loss after DiMarco recovered Roddy White's fumble. Because of that tackle, the Falcons faced 3rd-and-8 at the Steelers 16 rather than 3rd-and-6, and Harry Douglas caught a pass for six yards on the next play. The Falcons settled for a field goal to narrow the Steelers' lead to 20-13.
Williams led the unit with seven total tackles, including five solo. Lawrence Timmons added five total tackles, with two solo.
Grade: B-
Defensive Backs
7 of 10
William Gay made it a hat trick. He intercepted his third pass of the season, and he's returned all three for touchdowns.
Gay's three interceptions this season are the most by a Steelers cornerback since Ike Taylor had three in 2007, according to NFL.com.
The Steelers settled for field goals and a 6-0 lead on their first two possessions, following the same script as their loss at home to New Orleans two weeks ago. But before the flashbacks could begin, Gay picked off Matt Ryan and ran it back 52 yards for the score and a 13-0 Steelers lead to open the second quarter.
Gay and Antwon Blake tied for the team lead with eight tackles each, all solo. Matt Ryan threw for 310 yards and two touchdowns, but Steelers defensive backs did a good job of preventing yards after the catch and allowed 12 fewer yards through the air than they did last week at Cincinnati.
Mike Mitchell played his best game as a Steeler. He made three touchdown-saving tackles and battled through injuries.
The secondary's job was made easier by Julio Jones' absence, but the group still deserves plenty of credit for this victory.
Grade: A-
Special Teams
8 of 10
The Steelers held Devin Hester, the NFL's all-time leader with 14 punt return touchdowns, to one punt return for seven yards. He did have a 43-yard kickoff return, however.
Shamarko Thomas stood out by tackling Hester twice on kickoff returns. The first time, he tackled him at the 20. The second time, he stopped him at the 16 in the fourth quarter after the Steelers had taken a 27-13 lead.
Antonio Brown showed some life as a punt returner. He returned one punt for 31 yards and astutely ran sideways on a punt return to grind out precious seconds with less than five minutes left in the game and the Steelers leading 27-20.
Shaun Suisham was 2-of-2 on his field-goal attempts, both for 38 yards in the first quarter. Brad Wing averaged 43 yards on three punts. Hester called for fair catches on two of them.
Grade: A-
Coaching
9 of 10
The Steelers weren't afraid to take chances with their play-calling, even when they were nursing their 27-20 lead late in the game.
Atlanta held Le'Veon Bell to 47 yards, so the Steelers weren't going to keep handing it to him to run out the clock like they did in Tennessee. So they mixed in some passes on their final possession, including a 25-yarder to Heath Miller on 3rd-and-1 right after the two-minute warning. The Steelers took a knee after that.
Mike Tomlin's successful challenge led to a touchdown and a 20-7 halftime lead for the Steelers. A 28-yard pass to Antonio Brown originally was ruled incomplete, but replay showed that Brown had both feet inbounds, and the Steelers had a 1st-and-goal at the Falcons 1-yard line with 31 seconds left in the first half. Bell took it in on the next play.
The Steelers avoided a letdown against a team with a losing record and finished 5-3 on the road this season.
Grade: A
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Grade |
| QB | A |
| RB | B+ |
| WR/TE | A- |
| OL | B+ |
| DL | B- |
| LB | B- |
| DB | A- |
| Special Teams | A- |
| Coaching | A |
| Cumulative Grade | A- |
This wasn't an automatic win for the Steelers just because Julio Jones was out. They fell to the Saints two weeks ago despite shutting down Jimmy Graham. Matt Ryan still had plenty of options, but Ben Roethlisberger won the shootout. And the defense performed admirably considering the offense it was up against.
The Steelers earned a road win in December against a team that's also fighting to win its division despite having a 5-9 record. In a way, it was reminiscent of the Steelers' 38-31 win at Green Bay in Week 16 last year. That win kept their playoff hopes alive, even if they ultimately fell short.
The Steelers are alive and well in the playoff hunt this season. Things could have become hairy had they lost this game, but they didn't let that happen.
ESPN.com was used for game statistics unless otherwise noted.
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