Pro Football Focus hands out the top grades for the Steelers first preseason game

The Pittsburgh Steelers were victorious in Week 1 of the NFL Preseason when they beat the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30-28 at Heinz Field Friday night. There were players who showed out during the contest, and Pro Football Focus (PFF), as always, takes a look at the film and gave out their unique numerical grades for what went right, and what went wrong, during any specific contest.

For preseason, PFF diagnosed the top performers at each main position. Check out the grades in the tweet below (LB = Linebacker, DI = Defensive Interior, ED = EDGE Rusher):

Some fans might be disappointed to see Devin Bush so low in regards to grades, especially when compared to Tyler Matakevich, but they should also realize how the less a player plays, the more stringent the grade can be. For instance, if Matakevich only played 10 snaps and had a strip sack during those plays, his grade would be significantly higher than a player who played the majority of snaps and made more mistakes.

Check out the offensive grades below:

What was truly surprising when looking at the offensive grades was how highly graded rookie tight end Zach Gentry was on the list. Everyone knew Mason Rudolph and James Washington would be up there among the highest graded players, but Gentry must have shown up in multiple areas throughout the first game.

There are some who can’t stand PFF. Since the company doesn’t truly divulge their grading procedures, fans are left scratching their heads wondering if these grades are legitimate, or just a computer generated system to spit out numbers based on specific outcomes of plays.

Either way, let us know what you think about the grades in the comment section below!