HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. -- Welcome to my new written feature at DK Pittsburgh Sports!

After each game the Steelers play, I'll grade their performance, overall and by positional groups, and here I go with the 29-17 loss to the Browns on Thursday night:

QUARTERBACK (C-)

Play was solid. Some miscues down the field before the first half. Loved the fact that the tempo allowed Mitch Trubisky to be creative with his legs and move the pocket to let the his wide receivers to her open. Looked like a player who felt pressure to perform but not a panic. His rushing touchdown was good for him and his attributes. Can’t allow yourself to fall off down the stretch. Some passing into triple coverage and high balls in the second half. Mitch has to find a way to sustain good play from the beginning of the game til the end of it. We have yet to get a whole game.

RUNNING BACK (C-)

More intent in their run paths. Took all of the yards there were given. Even though Najee Harris' skip running technique is still there, he hit the hole better. Jaylen Warren, I tweeted that I really like you and how you run the ball…BUT HOLD ONTO IT. Warren is going to shorten his career if protecting the ball isn’t a priority to him.

WIDE RECEIVER (C-)

Got open at a steady rate early. Allowed Mitch to see them down the field. The catch by “always open” George Pickens can be career defining, but I think we have a lot more of those to come. You can say this, this team has a way of finding the next guy all the time. Over the course of the game, Mitch threw good some good passes and the guys didn’t bring them in. Can’t complain about passes down the field and not bring them in. The issue is, I’m not sure Mitch knows who his No. 1 wide receiver is. And none of them have really separated themselves to claim that spot.

TIGHT END (B)

Not a lot of activity at this position in the first half. They helped in protections and a huge lead block on the Warren run. No targets to Pat Freiermuth in the first three quarters says Matt Canada just needed to please the wide receivers. That’s neglect.

OFFENSIVE LINE (B-)

Blocked well in the passing game and run game. That’s all that needs to be said. Tempo again, same as the quarterback, helped assist with production. But they stayed on blocks, cleaned up and help the person next to them. I thought it was very creative to have Najee and Pat on the line of scrimmage to help with Myles Garrett. That’s team protection. When the Browns went up by nine, protection was all that was asked of this group. And they did that. When the game plan changed to passing mostly, there wasn’t much leakage.

DEFENSIVE FRONT (C)

Still finding that steady path to the quarterback, but a lot of folks say sacks are overrated. Jacoby Brissett got the ball out quickly for most of the night. The Cleveland offensive line is one of the best ones in the league so it’s expected to be challenging. They still made tackles for loss and got pressure in spurts. Batted passes, Larry Ogunjobi with the sack was a nice sight to see, considering the helmet thing. The universe is full circle now. This group is clearly getting worn down over the course of games. Stopping the run up front seems to deteriorate over the last couple weeks.

LINEBACKERS (D)

Have to be able to smack running backs in the face and bring them down on the first contact. Too many times on Thursday, the Browns running backs ran through their arms or they were dragged down from the side. Filling the gap on the QB sneaks, gotta be able to punish quarterbacks in these moments. David Njoku somewhat bullied this group.

SECONDARY (D)

They picked on Terrell Edmunds. I hated to see it but he’s gotta find a way to address his pass coverage issues. It’s necessary for the success of this defense. Film travels week to week. With Terrell is also Ahkello Witherspoon, sheesh! Shaky early and shaky late. Someone send help!

SPECIAL TEAMS (B+)

Solid enough for this group. The wind really took Chris Boswell's field goal bad. Not really an excuse but it was spot on. Not a whole lot of splash to be made from this group.

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