Steelers Vs. Browns Grade Report: Roethlisberger Passes His First Test
It was a picture perfect day for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns as well as for the return of Ben Roethlisberger where he received a warm Pittsburgh welcome.
Behind Roethlisberger, the Steelers beat the Browns for the 12th time in 13 tries and moved into first place in the AFC North.
Roethlisberger, after a rusty start, played well, finishing with three touchdowns and an interception while the Steelers stayed committed to the run.
The 28-10 win was important for Pittsburgh after their loss to Baltimore two weeks ago. They are now sitting atop the division as they head into a tough stretch of road games at Miami, New Orleans and Cincinnati.
Pittsburgh was also able to get Roethlisberger acclimated to the speed of the game as they will have to rely on him over the next month.
Quarterback – B+
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Ben Roethlisberger’s presence in the Steelers lineup was immediately felt as he threw for three touchdowns in the win over the Browns.
However, things did not start as planned.
After successfully moving Pittsburgh down the field, Roethlisberger had a pass sail over Mewelde Moore’s head which was intercepted by Joe Haden and returned into the Steelers zone.
Roethlisberger had a number of other passes go over his receiver’s heads and missed Mike Wallace badly on what would have been a touchdown pass.
But for not playing since the preseason, Roethlisberger played very well and helped the Steelers put points on the board.
Roethlisberger finished 16 for 27 for 257 yards and a passer rating of 112.7.
The first of Roethlisberger’s three touchdowns came in the second quarter on a 29-yard pass to Wallace in which Wallace made a nice leaping catch over the defender.
Roethlisberger then hit Hines Ward on an 8-yard pass in the third quarter and sealed the game with a 14-yard touchdown to Heath Miller late in the fourth.
Beyond his passing, Roethlisberger stood tall in the pocket and took a number of hard hits while still connecting with his receivers. He displayed the talent that makes him one of the best quarterbacks in the game.
Season GPA: 2.28
Running Back – B+
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Rashard Mendenhall was held under 100 yards again, finishing with 84 yards on 27 carries but added another 15 yards on three receptions and had another rushing touchdown.
Isaac Redman had a strong game as the short yardage back and playing fullback with six carries for 31 yards.
Both running backs ran hard and played very physical, putting a pounding on the Browns’ defense.
They helped the team to edge the Browns on time of possession, 31:56 to 28:04, as the Steelers ran for 121 on 35 total carries.
The ball control offense opened up the play action pass for Roethlisberger which hurt the Browns for several big plays.
To Cleveland’s credit, they were able to shut down the Steelers ground game for the most part late so Pittsburgh could not just run out the clock.
Season GPA: 3.34
Wide Receivers – A
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Pittsburgh’s receivers were the direct beneficiaries of Roethlisberger’s return to the lineup.
After averaging just over 130 passing yards per game, Roethlisberger threw for 257 yards, connecting with four different receivers.
Wallace led the way with 90 yards, averaging 30 yards per reception. Once again he demonstrated that he cannot be covered deep. The Roethlisberger-to-Wallace connection should become very dangerous as the season progresses.
Roethlisberger looked to Ward quite often, as he finished with 54 yards on five receptions and a touchdown. It was Ward’s 183rd consecutive game with a reception which ties him with Art Monk for a fourth place tie on the NFL’s all-time list.
It was vintage Ward on his touchdown reception in which Roethlisberger hit him just inside the 5-yard line, and Ward proceeded to break tackles and bounce of defenders before diving into the endzone.
Antwaan Randle El had a nice 11-yard reception and drew a long pass interference penalty while rookie Emmanuel Sanders saw the first action of his career.
Sanders had two third down receptions both resulting in first downs. He had 37 receiving yards and showed that he can become a bigger part of the offense.
As Pittsburgh opens up their offense, their receivers will be dangerous weapons.
Season GPA: 3.28
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Tight Ends – B+
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Heath Miller was not an integral part of the offense, but he came up with two big catches.
The first was a 36-yard reception which set up a touchdown, and the second was a 14-yard touchdown which sealed the game.
As the season progresses, Miller will likely once again become one of Roethlisberger’s safety outlets and his numbers should improve.
Matt Spaeth was targeted once and was overthrown.
David Johnson did not make much of an impact of a blocker as he has earlier in the season.
Neither is vital to the success of the offense, but Miller will need to get more involved as the schedule becomes more demanding over the next few weeks.
Season GPA: 3.14
Offensive Line – B+
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Pittsburgh ran for 121 yards on 35 carries which is only a 3.5 yards per carry average.
Despite the low average, the Steelers were able to effectively control the ball.
There were several occasions in which the Steelers ran on first and second downs and were left with a 3rd-and-long, but they were able to establish the line of scrimmage enough to mix things up offensively.
The line also yielded no sacks, which is a bit of a rarity when Roethlisberger is under center.
Though there were no sacks allowed, Roethlisberger was pressured from the Browns and was hit hard several times. Regardless, the line is improved and has been playing much better this season, in large part because of Maurkice Pouncey’s excellent play in the middle.
Ramon Foster saw time at both left and right guard following injuries to Chris Kemoeatu and Doug Legursky, both of whom returned to the game. On Foster’s first play he had a holding call.
Beyond that, it was an overall good day for the Steelers line playing against a physical Browns defensive front.
Season GPA: 2.88
Defensive Line – A
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The Browns are a physical team up front and have had success running the ball this season, but not this week.
Cleveland was held to 70 yards on 22 carries, including 22 yards on four scrambles by Cleveland quarterback Colt McCoy.
Pittsburgh’s defensive line was a big part of this.
They did not allow Peyton Hillis to get going, holding him to 3.4 yards per carry, his second lowest average of the season.
Aaron Smith led the way with four tackles, and Nick Eason had a half sack.
Pittsburgh played without Brett Keisel for much of the game after he suffered a hamstring injury. He was out of his pads in the second half.
One concern is the lack of plays from Ziggy Hood.
Hood was given ample opportunities on passing downs to rush the passer, which is supposed to be one of his strengths. He did not make any stand out plays as Smith and Eason have done this week and Keisel, Casey Hampton and Chris Hoke have in past weeks.
Eason also missed some action with an injury, and Hoke was shifted to the outside to spell Smith at left end while Hood manned the right end.
Season GPA: 3.68
Linebackers – B
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Lawrence Timmons had two sacks, James Harrison one-and-a-half and LaMarr Woodley had one as the Steelers rattled Colt McCoy.
Though they had four sacks, the Steelers blitzes were picked up as well giving McCoy ample time to make a play.
Pittsburgh’s linebackers also dropped the ball on coverage leaving Cleveland’s running backs to pick up big yardage on screen passes.
They still played well overall.
Harrison was dominant finishing with 11 tackles and two knockouts.
Both Joshua Cribbs and Mohamed Massaquoi were injured on head shots from Harrison.
Though the hits did not appear to be intentional, they will most certainly result in a hefty fine from the NFL.
Timmons also had 11 tackles and an interception while Woodley had two quarterback hits and one near interception.
James Farrior was replaced by Larry Foote for a large portion of the second half.
Season GPA: 3.14
Defensive Backs – D+
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The rookie McCoy finished 23 of 33 passing for 281 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.
Those are terrible numbers for Pittsburgh’s secondary.
At times, McCoy was picking the Steelers apart not because he was making outstanding throws, but instead, because Pittsburgh’s defensive backs were leaving, Cleveland’s receivers run wide open.
This was the case on McCoy’s first career touchdown pass.
Even with four pass defenses and an interception by Ryan Clark, Pittsburgh’s defensive backs were not where they needed to be, and it may have been their worst effort of the season.
Season GPA: 2.72
Special Teams – B
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Jeff Reed kicked knuckle balls to keep the ball away from Josh Cribbs and it worked.
Reed had one touchback, and the Browns kick return team only averaged 20.3 yards per return.
Daniel Sepulveda only averaged 42.8 yards on six punts and had a touchback, but he also had four downed inside the 20.
Pittsburgh’s punt coverage unit also had a fumble recovery which helped lead to a Steelers touchdown.
The return game still needs work as Sanders averaged only 19.0 yards on two kick returns, and Randle El had no punt return yards and muffed one punt.
It may be time for the Steelers to bench Arnaz Battle and insert Antonio Brown into the lineup as a return specialist.
Season GPA: 2.82
Coaching – B
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Pittsburgh maintained their balance on offense, running the ball 35 times to only 27 passes.
While balanced, the Steelers often found themselves in a run-run-pass mode.
This resulted in too many third and longs. However, Pittsburgh was able to convert on seven of 14 third down attempts.
Expect the Steelers to be less predictable next week when they face a tougher opponent in Miami.
Keeping the ball on the ground allowed the Steelers to effectively utilize the play action pass which resulted in big plays.
The five wide receiver formation, though, was seen too much and eliminates any chance of the team running the ball.
Overall, scoring 28 points on offense was a positive for Pittsburgh.
The defensive effort Sunday was strong against the run but disappointing against a rookie quarterback.
McCoy all too often had too much time to throw and wide open receivers to throw to.
Any time that McCoy faced pressure he folded, so it was a wonder why he did not have more defenders in his face.
This is still considering that Pittsburgh had five sacks.
The defense did shut down the Browns most dangerous weapons, Cribbs out of the wildcat formation and Hillis running the ball.
The special teams also prevented any long returns and the team recovered a surprise onside kick attempt in the fourth quarter.
Season GPA: 2.88
Study Up: What Must Improve
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The Steelers will need to continue to get Roethlisberger involved in the offense, using the play action pass and hitting his running backs out of the back field as Mendenhall is a dangerous receiving weapon.
Miller is another player that will need to see more passes go his way as well.
Maintaining an offense balance will be important. This will be defenses guessing and allow the Steelers to dictate the tempo of the game.
Defensively the Steelers will have to sure up the pass defense and continue to find ways to pressure the quarterback.
When they do this, their defense is at their best.
Rookie wide receivers Sanders and Brown should both suit up next week, allowing Sanders to continue to get involved in the offense and Brown to work the return game.
Overall, the Steelers find themselves in good shape in first place in the AFC North, but cannot afford to let up as they face a major hurdle with three straight road games.
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