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With the 9-2 Steelers traveling to Cincy to face their nasty rival, the faculty and staff at BTSC filled out report cards based on the team's performance in a nasty game. Join us and see just how well they graded out.
Offense: B
Valedictorian: Mike Tomlin
Honor Roll: Le'Veon Bell, Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Martavis Bryant, Chris Boswell
Detention: Nobody
The Steelers never got started. Ben was on the run and didn't look sharp. There were some key drops by AB and Martavis. Bad penalties persisted and they were flat. The second half came around and Mike Tomlin gave this group perspective. Ben plain led, got time and seemed to carve up Cincy. The receiving brigade of Brown, Bryant, James and JJSS made key grabs. Bryant had a kick return called back, but it was still big enough to send a message to him and Cincy. Bell was electric and a physical force. JuJu got penalized but sent a message and continued to block and Bos was money.
Defense: B
Granted, the Steelers lost their leading tackler and played with heavy hearts and worry. The secondary struggled, but the front-seven tried to keep them in the game in the first half. Tomlin brought these guys back together and made the bold change from Sensabaugh to Sutton. They gave up three points in the second half and out-physicaled Cincy in the second half. Heyward and Vince Williams led with heart and soul. Artie Burns shut dudes down as well. This was huge.
Valedictorian: Mike Tomlin
Honor Roll: Vince Williams, Cam Heyward, Bud Dupree, Artie Burns
Detention: Nobody
Overall: A
The circumstances surrounding the injury and the ugly landscape and atmosphere provided by the Bengals made this ugly. The Steelers overcame a 17-point deficit and buckled down after the half. Mike Tomlin kept them together and regrouped them at the half. They followed their leader and won a huge game.