Positional Grades: Steelers vs. Broncos

For the second week in a row, the Pittsburgh Steelers found themselves embroiled in an ugly game, this time on the road against the Denver Broncos.

Once again, the Steelers found a way to win, moving to 2-0 on the season with a 13-6 victory over the Broncos. After jumping out to a 10-0 halftime lead, the Steelers held on late, picking off rookie quarterback Bo Nix on the final play of the game to seal the win. They found a way to come out on top in a game which they were called for 10 penalties, some of which wiped out key plays for the Steelers.

But, a win is a win. That’s all that matters.

Things need cleaned up and figured out, but the Steelers are doing that all while winning games, leaning on an elite-level defense.

Let’s get to some grades.

QB — B-

Another week, another underwhelming statistical performance from Justin Fields. But his stats don’t tell anywhere close to the full story in the win over the Broncos.

Fields finished 13-of-20 for 117 yards and a touchdown in the win and added eight carries for 27 yards. Penalties took away some big plays from Fields in the passing game, including an absurd 51-yard strike to George Pickens on the play that was negated by a Broderick Jones holding penalty.

He should have had a second touchdown pass on the day, too, but his touchdown to Pickens late in the first half was negated by an offensive pass interference penalty, leading to the Steelers calling on Chris Boswell for a field goal.

Fields attacked downfield quite a bit, drawing one pass interference call on the Broncos and a personal foul later in the game, too. Overall, he didn’t make any bad decisions in the passing game, outside of taking a bad sack in the red zone off play-action. He made up for it two plays later though with perfect ball placement to tight end Darnell Washington for a 5-yard touchdown. 

As a runner, Fields had a nice 16-yard scramble on the scoring drive in the first half. But he was limited overall after that as the Broncos did well to mostly contain him.

RB — B+

The Steelers did a nice job overall running the football on the day. Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren combined for 111 yards on 26 touches. That’s good for 4.3 yards per carry. They had quite a bit of success on the day and could have had better days overall if not for some penalties.

Harris started off strong, running hard and finding some big lanes. Warren looked fully healthy with no restrictions and was shot out of a cannon. Harris is the real thunder between the tackles and Warren brings the lightning.

There’s a clear formula there for the Steelers, and it worked well on Sunday. It’s disappointing they couldn’t be rewarded further for it, though.

In the passing game, Warren had two catches for 19 yards, including a key 12-yard catch and run to move the chains with the Steelers deep in their own territory. Harris had a 5-yard catch on the afternoon.

Behind Harris and Warren, Cordarrelle Patterson had two carries for three yards as the Steelers tried to work him in some.

WR — C-

Entering the game against the Broncos, the matchup between Pickens and Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II was a big one to watch. Pickens, to his credit, had a great deal of success against Surtain.

Two catches for 29 yards might not be much to be happy about, but he had a touchdown wiped off the board on an offensive pass interference penalty on Van Jefferson that was questionable. He also had a 51-yard catch over Surtain wiped out due to a holding call on Broderick Jones.

Pickens did draw a key pass interference on Surtain later in the game, too. He should have had bigger numbers if not for penalties, which is frustrating for him.

Jefferson had that questionable call go against him. He didn’t appear to do anything wrong, but it did take a touchdown away. He also had just two catches for 14 yards, though he drew a key pass interference penalty on Broncos corner Riley Moss.

Calvin Austin III had a nice 6-yard catch to convert a third down in the first half and later took a huge hit from Denver safety P.J. Locke to pick up a first down, but he was largely invisible as a receiver.

This team really needs another option at receiver. Hopefully Roman Wilson gets a helmet in Week 3.

TE — C+

It was great to see Darnell Washington get some work as a receiving tight end, showing off great body control to haul in a back-shoulder throw from Fields for the game’s only touchdown. He was split out wide and won easily on the back-shoulder fade, which was really encouraging.

He also had a great block earlier in the drive, combining with Dan Moore Jr. to collapse that side of the Broncos’ defense and spring Jaylen Warren for an 11-yard run.

Pat Freiermuth hauled in four passes for 39 yards and got some work in the middle of the field, which was encouraging.

Outside of that though, the tight ends were rather quiet and didn’t seem to have a huge impact in the run game, especially in the second half.

OL — D+

Penalties, penalties, penalties.

If not for the penalties, this was a solid outing for the offensive line. Pittsburgh ran the ball well, grinding out roughly 4.0 yards per carry. At one point, the offense was taking it to Denver.

But the penalties were a real problem.

Dan Moore Jr. had a holding call wipe out a first-down conversion from Fields to Austin. Broderick Jones had three penalties in one drive, leading to his benching 

Troy Fautanu played well in his NFL debut while Zach Frazier really got after things in the run game, too. But overall the penalties really hurt this team, and especially in big spots. Hard to overlook those.

DL — A-

The Steelers held the Broncos to just 64 rushing yards on 19 carries, making them entirely one-dimensional late in the first half and never looking back.

Cameron Heyward had a strong game once again and continues to be a rock against the run. He had three tackles in the win and also had three quarterback hits, including generating a key pressure on Bo Nix’s critical end-zone interception to keep points off the board.

Keeanu Benton also had three tackles and a quarterback hit and was much better against the run compared to last week in Atlanta.

Larry Ogunjobi had a quiet night but did draw a holding call against Mike McGlinchey, and Isaiahh Loudermilk had a key batted pass at the line of scrimmage in the red zone to force a field goal. Also great to see Montravius Adams producing once again, generating a pressure and finishing with two tackles.

LB — A

Coming into the game, I expected Alex Highsmith and T.J. Watt to have big games. They did just that, combining for two sacks, four tackles for loss and seven total tackles.

Highsmith was a force going against Garett Bolles while Watt had his way with Mike McGlinchey. Neither were rewarded with some penalties, either, as officiating let Denver get away with quite a bit.

But in the end, the two made plays.

Nick Herbig drew a key holding call on Bolles in the second half, winning inside quickly and forcing Bolles to grab hold of him and hang on. That trio, when rolling, is hard to deal with. Denver and Bo Nix found that out.

Inside, Patrick Queen had a nice bounce back from a tough Week 1. He had four tackles, broke up a key pass on fourth down, nearly intercepting it, and was around the ball throughout the game. Elandon Roberts had two tackles and again split time with Payton Wilson, who did not record a tackle but was all over the field.

DB — B-

If not for some penalties against Joey Porter Jr., this would be a bit higher of a grade.

Porter was called twice for penalties in coverage, including one weak holding call against Courtland Sutton that gave the Broncos new life on a drive.

But outside of that, the Steelers’ secondary was very good.

DeShon Elliott was outstanding, leading the Steelers with nine tackles, recording a huge tackle for loss on a third and short to force a punt. Minkah Fitzpatrick had a great game, too, recording seven tackles, playing downhill quickly to try and jump routes as the Steelers kept almost everything in front of them.

Donte Jackson battled injury throughout the game, but he had a great tackle for loss against the run, flying downhill to take out the legs of the Denver ball carrier in picture-perfect fashion.

Cory Trice Jr. had the play of the day, jumping a pass in the end zone from Bo Nix for the interception, making a play on the first snap in the game for the injured Jackson. It was a great read-and-react play in zone coverage and he stepped up in a big way.

Damontae Kazee got beat deep on the 49-yard pass from Nix to Josh Reynolds on a trick play, but he sealed the win with an interception on the final play.

Special Teams — C-

Chris Boswell was clutch once again, drilling both field goals, including a 53-yarder in the Mile High City. When called upon, he’s money. He proved that again Sunday.

Stepping in for the injured Cameron Johnston, Corliss Waitman had a really good game. Waitman punted the ball eight times in his return to Denver and averaged 53 yards. He had three touchbacks and two punts downed inside the 20-yard line.

His last punt of the game was huge as it hung up long enough, allowing the Steelers to get downfield and limit Marvin Mims Jr. to just a 9-yard gain, draining some time off the clock, too. Gunner Ben Skowronek had a nice game in that role, making the tackle on the final punt, and also drew a holding call earlier in the game as he was getting mugged throughout.

Darius Rush had a bad play early on special teams, getting fooled by Mims on a Waitman punt and failing to chase the ball, resulting in a touchback. It appeared that he wasn’t the gunner in the second half and was replaced by Cordarrelle Patterson, but I’ll have to take a further look at that.

Calvin Austin III had some success in the return game, returning five punts for 27 yards, but he would have had a bigger day if not for some penalties that negated strong returns. Jaylen Warren had a muffed kickoff, resulting in a short 13-yard return that put the Steelers in a tough spot offensively.

Miles Killebrew nearly blocked the first punt of the game, which would have been quite the statement from the All-Pro special teamer.