Steelers offensive Pro Football Focus grades in Week 13 show quality scores from all position groups

The Pittsburgh Steelers bounced back from the poor performance in Week 12 to have a big divisional win in Week 13. While the offense couldn’t put much on the board early, the defense did enough to keep the Steelers within one score the entire game. Hanging around through three quarters, the offense really got rolling the the final period to come back and take the lead while the defense got the big stop they needed on one play to determine the winner.

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 13 performance. These scores are just from Sunday’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. First up this week is the offense. Included will be all the players who played at least one snap (except Minkah Fitzpatrick who was used for one snap on the kneel down play) and the total snap counts for each player will be included. For reference sake, the Steelers played 59 snaps on offense in Week 13.

Overall

Top 5 (regardless of position)

WR Diontae Johnson: 85.7 (56 snaps)
G Trai Turner: 84.1 (59 snaps)
TE Zach Gentry: 77.4 (29 snaps)
QB Ben Roethlisberger: 75.3 (59 snaps)
OT Chuks Okorafor: 74.1 (59 snaps)

Bottom 5 (regardless of position)

3 players with 60.0 and 1 snap played
G B.J. Finney: 59.2 (3 snaps)
FB Derek Watt: 57.0 (6 snaps)
WR Ray-Ray McCloud: 50.1 (39 snaps)
WR James Washington: 46.2 (22 snaps)

Quarterback

QB Ben Roethlisberger: 75.3 (59 snaps)

Landing in the top five for the offense, Roethlisberger had his second-highest score of the 2021 NFL season only behind his Week 5 performance against the Denver Broncos. Based on his 111.8 rating, it’s appropriate that Roethlisberger had a grade which put him in the top seven of NFL quarterbacks for the week excluding Monday night’s game.

Running Backs

RB Benny Snell Jr.: 71.8 (2 snaps)
RB Najee Harris: 71.3 (57 snaps)
FB Derek Watt: 57.0 (6 snaps)

The fact that Snell ended up slightly head of Harris is not really a big deal, what’s important is that the Steelers got quality play from whatever running back was on the field. Specifically for Najee Harris, it was his second-highest score of the 2021 NFL season coming in only behind Week 4 against the Green Bay Packers. Harris’ 79.1 passing score was his highest of his young career.

Receivers

WR Diontae Johnson: 85.7 (56 snaps)
TE Zach Gentry: 77.4 (29 snaps)
WR Chase Claypool: 66.9 (37 snaps)
TE Pat Freiermuth: 65.4 (44 snaps)
WR Cody White: 60.0 (1 snap)
TE Kevin Rader: 60.0 (1 snap)
WR Ray-Ray McCloud: 50.1 (39 snaps)
WR James Washington: 46.2 (22 snaps)

Despite his early touchdown drop, Diontae Johnson once again was the highest score for the Pittsburgh Steelers and remains the top overall grade for the offense on the season with an 80.0 score. Zach Gentry’s run blocking score of 71.8 helped elevate him into the top five as well.

Offensive Line

G Trai Turner: 84.1 (59 snaps)
OT Chuks Okorafor: 74.1 (59 snaps)
OT Dan Moore Jr.: 69.9 (58 snaps)
G John Leglue: 68.8 (56 snaps)
C Kendrick Green: 60.8 (59 snaps)
OT Zach Banner: 60.0 (1 snap)
G B.J. Finney: 59.2 (3 snaps)

The offensive line really came together for the Steelers in Week 13. Trai Turner’s 84.1 overall score was his best since Week 1 of the 2017 season. Turner also lead the way for the Steelers in run blocking with a score of 79.9. Leading the way in the pass blocking department was rookie Dan Moore Jr. who had the sixth-best pass blocking score of any offensive lineman in the league for Week 13 excluding the Monday night game. With John Leglue seeing his first NFL snaps, he filled in admirably and had an 81.1 pass blocking score which tied him for second on the team with Turner. If this is the performance the Steelers are going to get from their young offensive line every week, the offense will have a much greater chance for success.

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.