Scoring weighs heavily in the Steelers offensive Pro Football Focus grades

The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered another crushing defeat on Sunday, this time to the top team in the NFC. The opening drive for each team was a snapshot of the game as the Steelers lost 7 yards on three plays and punted while the Eagles had a 9-play, 68-yard drive that ended with a 39-yard touchdown pass. The offense still couldn’t put up enough points, and the defense couldn't stop the big plays.

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 the Steelers Week 8 performance. Remember, these are just the grades for the Steelers for this past game and not combined with their previous performances. 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 most of the players who played at least one snap and the total snap counts for each player will be included. Players whose only offensive snap came on the fake punt will not be included. For reference sake, the Steelers played 76 snaps on offense in Sunday game, but it’s officially 77 including the fake punt.

Overall

Top 5 (regardless of position)

FB Derek Watt: 90.4 (3 snaps)
TE Pat Freiermuth: 72.1 (47 snaps)
RB Jaylen Warren: 70.7 (22 snaps)
G Kevin Dotson: 68.1 (76 snaps)
WR Steven Sims: 65.2 (11 snaps)

Bottom 5 (regardless of position)

TE Connor Heyward: 53.6 (7 snaps)
QB Kenny Pickett: 51.9 (76 snaps)
OT Chuks Okorafor: 49.4 (76 snaps)
TE Zach Gentry: 44.7 (29 snaps)
WR George Pickens: 42.5 (65 snaps)

Quarterback

QB Kenny Pickett: 51.9 (76 snaps)

Dropping in score from the previous week, Pickett saw his lowest passing score of the season of 46.1. His previous low passing score of 51.3 came in Week 6 when he only played just over half the game and had a 49.5 overall score. What saved Pickett‘s score somewhat this week was an 80.7 rushing score. When a quarterback throws no touchdowns, runs for no touchdowns, but loses a fumble and throws an interception, the numbers aren’t going to look good.

Running Backs

FB Derek Watt: 90.4 (3 snaps)
RB Jaylen Warren: 70.7 (22 snaps)
RB Najee Harris: 62.7 (54 snaps)

When a fullback only plays three plays and is targeted for passes on two of them and catches them both with one being a touchdown, of course their score is going to go through the roof. But what is also nice is the quality score from Jaylen Warren and his 76.2 pass blocking score which led the entire team. Najee Harris’ score went up just a little bit from the previous week, but he’s still not doing anything overly impressive.

Receivers

TE Pat Freiermuth: 72.1 (47 snaps)
WR Steven Sims: 65.2 (11 snaps)
WR Chase Claypool: 62.4 (61 snaps)
WR Diontae Johnson: 55.2 (72 snaps)
WR Miles Boykin: 54.3 (8 snaps)
TE Connor Heyward: 53.6 (7 snaps)
TE Zach Gentry: 44.7 (29 snaps)
WR George Pickens: 42.5 (65 snaps)

Tight end Pat Freiermuth continues to hang out towards the top of this position group. Steven Sims also turned out a nice score mainly with a 68.9 rushing score as he had two carries for 21 yards in the game. Chase Claypool was the only other player above the 60.0 standard, but his touchdown pass had to help things somewhat. There might be some who won’t agree with George Pickens being at the bottom of all the offense’s scores, but BTSC’s K.T. Smith was at the game and said Pickens was simply well covered for the day.

Offensive Line

G Kevin Dotson: 68.1 (76 snaps)
G James Daniels: 63.5 (76 snaps)
T Trent Scott: 60.0 (1 snap)
C Mason Cole: 57.1 (76 snaps)
OT Dan Moore Jr.: 54.5 (76 snaps)
OT Chuks Okorafor: 49.4 (76 snaps)

Even though Kevin Dotson landed in the top five again, it should be noted that every player’s score from this position group went down this week. Yes, the Eagles’ defensive line is arguably the best in the NFL, but PFF does not take into account quality of opponent. The pass blocking scores by the position group went from barely above 60 down to 47.0 by Chuks Okorafor. The run blocking scores were higher this week with Dotson leading the way at 68.6 down to Dan Moore Jr. and 51.9 for the game.

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.