Steelers vs Chiefs: Grading Ben Roethlisberger, Dwayne Bowe and Other Players

The Pittsburgh Steelers outlasted the Kansas City Chiefs 13-9 in a defensive battle on Sunday night. 

The play wasn't exactly pretty, but in the end the Steelers took advantage of the inexperienced Tyler Palko with an interception by Keenan Lewis on KC's final drive to seal the victory.

Time to hand out grades for the games' most important players.  

Ben Roethlisberger

Big Ben has transformed the Steelers into one of the more underrated vertical passing teams in the league. 

When you think Steelers, you think defense, a punishing run game and the occasional clutch play from Roethlisberger. But now you have to worry about Mike Wallace, Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown down the field. 

Against the Chiefs, however, Pittsburgh's speedsters couldn't get free on their patented "go-routes."

Roethlisberger had to improvise and he did it to near perfection. Is there anyone better?

I don't think so. 

He finished the game 21 of 31 for 193 yards with a touchdown and an interception. 

That doesn't tell the whole story. He created plays when protection broke down on more than one occasion and did enough to win. 

Grade: B+

Tyler Palko

Palko completed a few throws in tight windows against a stout defense, but when you throw three interceptions without a touchdown pass, it's hard to win. 

He lost a fumble, too. 

The defense provided the offense with a chance to win this game to keep their playoff chances alive, and Palko simply couldn't deliver. 

I'll give him credit for the fourth down connection with Dwayne Bowe while getting smacked by a Steelers' defender, but followed that up with a poor throw that was high and behind Bowe that ended the game. 

Those picks in the first half were awful. 

Bad decisions, bad throws. 

Grade: D+

Rashard Mendenhall

Mendenhall finished the game with 57 yards on 17 carries, not exactly the breakout performance I thought would happen. 

The Chiefs simply have a good all-around defense and their linebackers, especially Derrick Johnson, formulate an extremely underrated group.

Tough to get going when your opponent knows it can stop the passing game down the field. 

Grade: C-

Thomas Jones/Dexter McCluster

Running the football against the Steelers is no easy task. 

If the Chiefs could have established some kind of running attack, that would have certainly benefited Tyler Palko through the air. 

They couldn't really get anything going. 

Thomas Jones averaged 2.8 per carry on 13 carries, and Dexter McCluster had holes but was tripped up after a few lines on more than one occasion.  

They're still one of the top running teams in the NFL, but they're not good enough to impose their will against a good defense like Pittsburgh's. 

Grade: C-

Antonio Brown

Mike Wallace still probably poses the biggest threat for the Steelers, but Antonio Brown has been the most targeted receiver for Pittsburgh over the last month. 

He was the only pass-catcher to get free on the Chiefs stingy secondary, catching four passes for 81 yards on Sunday night. 

Wallace and Sanders were essentially shut down and although Brown wasn't the difference between the win and a loss, he was the most successful wideout. 

Grade: B

Dwayne Bowe

Many analysts were upset with the lack of effort Bowe displayed on the final offensive play for the Chiefs when Palko was intercepted by Keenan Lewis. 

I wasn't as irritated. 

Maybe it was a mis-communication, maybe it wasn't, but it's pretty difficult to jump for a ball then reach behind your body three feet in quadruple coverage and make a play.

Other than that play, Bowe made the most of his 11 targets. He hauled in seven passes for 69 yards and was a matchup nightmare for the Steelers secondary.

Without the rest of his game, the Chiefs aren't even in a position to win the game in the final minute.

Don't forget his fourth down catch.  

Grade: B-

(Both defenses get A- grades, by the way)