Despite benching, Chase Claypool leads Steelers offensive Pro Football Focus grades in Week 14

The Pittsburgh Steelers showed their “Jekyll and Hyde” nature in 2021 in one game in prime time on a short week. Unfortunately it was the Steelers struggles on both side of the ball which appeared for 2/3 of the game with their strong performance only coming out the final third of the game. The offense couldn’t sustain drives and the defense couldn’t get off the field as they trailed 29-0 until the end of the third quarter. A late rally made the outcome in doubt until the final seconds, but it proved to be too much for both sides of the ball to overcome in order to complete the comeback.

But how did the individual players grade out?

For this exercise, we will be looking at the player grades from Pro Football Focus (PFF) for their Week 14 performance. These scores are just from Thursday’s game and not for the entire season. Before going any further, I must give the typical disclaimer that PFF grades are subjective. While some people rely on them heavily, others are quite skeptical of the process in which they are determined. It is completely up to each person as to how much stock they put into PFF’s grades. For me, I often look at the grades to see if my own “eye test” lines up with what others viewed as how a player performed. If nothing more, the grades create a discussion about how accurate, or inaccurate, they are each week.

Instead of looking at the entire team at once, we break up the scores into offense and defense. Next up this week is the offense. Included will be all the players who played at least one snap and the total snap counts for each player will be included. For reference sake, the Steelers played 74 snaps on offense in Week 14.

Overall

Top 5 (regardless of position)

WR Chase Claypool: 81.5 (44 snaps)
WR James Washington: 79.2 (30 snaps)
OT Chuks Okorafor: 76.7 (74 snaps)
QB Ben Roethlisberger: 71.1 (74 snaps)
OT Dan Moore Jr.: 66.7 (74 snaps)

Bottom 5 (regardless of position)

RB Benny Snell Jr.: 58.3 (3 snaps)
TE Zach Gentry: 57.9 (26 snaps)
TE Pat Freiermuth: 49.8 (55 snaps)
C Kendrick Green: 44.2 (74 snaps)
G John Leglue: 42.8 (72 snaps)

Quarterback

QB Ben Roethlisberger: 71.1 (74 snaps)

For the second-straight week Roethlisberger lands in the top five of the offensive scores. Leading the Steelers on a furious come back which came up just short, Roethlisberger likely would have had a much better score if he had run the offense that efficiently the entire game.

Running Backs

FB Derek Watt: 66.0 (5 snaps)
RB Najee Harris: 60.0 (71 snaps)
RB Benny Snell Jr.: 58.3 (3 snaps)

Despite going over 100 all purpose yards and having two combined touchdowns, Najee Harris found himself with an exactly average score. The biggest thing bringing him down was a 26.4 pass blocking grade as he struggled at times picking up blitzes in pass protection.

Receivers

WR Chase Claypool: 81.5 (44 snaps)
WR James Washington: 79.2 (30 snaps)
WR Diontae Johnson: 64.0 (72 snaps)
TE Kevin Rader: 60.0 (1 snap)
WR Ray-Ray McCloud: 59.8 (63 snaps)
TE Zach Gentry: 57.9 (26 snaps)
TE Pat Freiermuth: 49.8 (55 snaps)

That’s right, Chase Claypool has the highest score on the Steelers offense for what he was able to do from the snap of the ball to the whistle. PFF looks as if they did not grade Claypool on his other questionable decisions when plays were over, but what he did in the passing game which earned him an 86.0 score in that regard should be noted. What should also be noted is James Washington jumping from the bottom of the list to the top with a 75.0 passing grade and a team-high 86.2 run blocking grade.

Offensive Line

OT Chuks Okorafor: 76.7 (74 snaps)
OT Dan Moore Jr.: 66.7 (74 snaps)
G Trai Turner: 64.4 (74 snaps)
G Rashaad Coward: 60.0 (2 snaps)
C Kendrick Green: 44.2 (74 snaps)
G John Leglue: 42.8 (72 snaps)

It seems as if Chuks Okorafor has settled in more on the top of the list after holding a spot on the bottom for so much the season. With Dan Moore Jr. not far behind, particularly because of his pass blocking score of 76.3, the tackle positions are leading the way on the line. Once again, there was a curious numerical anomaly with Kendrick Green an John Leglue at the bottom of the list. Green has a higher overall score, despite having a lower pass blocking (25.5) and run blocking (51.3) score than Leglue (33.4 and 54.6 respectively). The only explanation would be two penalties attributed to Leglue, but one was given to him as they pointed out his number and it was actually multiple players.

So, what do you think of the above grades? Do they pass the eye test? Let us know your thoughts on the Steelers’ defensive grades in the comments below.