Troy Polamalu, Jason Worilds receive top marks in win over Cleveland

With proper credence given to the fact the Browns were stuck in passing mode for the entire fourth quarter, the Steelers moved Troy Polamalu back to safety in their 27-11 win over Cleveland Sunday.

The result was the best performance Polamalu has had in a few weeks.

Having a less structured role, Polamalu flew around the ball, and made plays. He forced two fumbles, nearly caused a third, and was a big part of the Steelers' best defensive performance this season.

Pro Football Focus, a football play evaluation web site, gave Polamalu a +5.6 grade, the highest on the team, for his efforts. He led all defensive players, a full two points ahead of Jason Worilds - his +3.3 is a career-high.

These grades should be taken in a more general sense, as PFF often re-grades them upon receiving access to the all-22 film from the NFL. However, having watched the game, it seems likely Polamalu's and Worilds's scores will remain close to where they are now.

Offensively, Heath Miller, Antonio Brown and David DeCastro led the offense with +1.3 grades. Ben Roethlisberger and Fernando Velasco receiving +1.2 grades.

Marcus Gilbert was the low man on offense, scoring a -2.5 (which seems like something that will increase upon a second viewing).

Jarvis Jones (-3.8) and Ike Taylor (-2.5) were the low men on defense, and Cameron Heyward received a -1.3. It will be interesting to see how Heyward's grade fluctuates, because more than the others, that doesn't seem accurate.

Incidentally, Browns right tackle Mitchell Schwartz received a positive grade of +0.6 for his performance. It's unclear how that's possible, but upon review, we expect that to change.

More from Behind the Steel Curtain:

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