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 20-10 win over the Saints on Sunday:
QUARTERBACK (B)
Kenny Pickett did enough of what you needed: Taking care of the ball, throwing it away when you needed him to. He was overthrowing and underthrowing early in the game, but finally found his match. He was amazing with his legs.
RUNNING BACKS (A)
Solid all the way across the board between Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris. It wasn't perfect, but that's the running game, especially when it becomes obvious that you're running the ball in a wildcat set. Both guys got chunk plays. I thought it was a great showing by both.
WIDE RECEIVERS / TIGHT ENDS (A-)
They blocked down the field. I thought that was huge as far as those explosive runs. They caught most of the balls that came their way. The tight ends did well in the blocking game. Watching Pat Freiermuth being able to get a few catches, and also the attempt to give Zach Gentry a pass down the field too. They took everything that was given to them. Connor Heyward taking one on the face and still being able to get yards was huge too. George Pickens is our No. 1. Diontae Johnson didn't throw a fit, didn't show any signs of, 'Look, throw me the ball.' I think that's growth. Now moving forward, especially with these groups, tight ends and wide receivers, this is their floor from here on out.
OFFENSIVE LINE (B-)
The dominance in the run game was really good. We actually saw the line of scrimmage change. Mike Tomlin always speaks about blades of grass. They earned that today. There are issues, of course, with Dan Moore getting picked the way he did. I saw Kevin Dotson just get bodied for a one-on-one sack. Cannot allow that. Those quarterback sacks were at six today, but it wasn't just all the offensive line.
DEFENSIVE LINE / OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS (A)
Solid up front. They didn't give New Orleans much on the ground. They controlled the game and made that a one way. When you put the ball in Andy Dalton's hands and make him throw the ball, you will get two interceptions, you will get sacks on him, you will get turnovers and bad decisions. They disrupted that group as much as anybody today. The pressures weren't what I wanted them to be because there were times in which he held the ball and did make some passes down the field. But, in general, they played a guy the way he needed to be played, and that was shutting down the run and forcing him to lose the game for them.
INSIDE LINEBACKERS (C)
Robert Spillane and Devin Bush, for the most part, played the role that you needed them to. I will almost throw Terrell Edmunds in that group because he played close to the line of scrimmage. I thought he should have had one or two tackles for loss whenever they sent him in the run game, and he just did not wrap up. Spillane was not great in the passing game, but did his job. He led the team in tackles. Bush was very solid in his approach. To continue whatever he's going through mentally, he's forcing himself through it.
SECONDARY (A-)
There were opportunities there to where they dropped the ball on some interceptions, but they did get two. I thought their discipline was high today. There wasn't a bunch of crazy penalties. Guys stayed in their zones. They allowed one another to make plays. There was one time Arthur Maulet stripped the ball out of Chris Olave's grip. They got better without Minkah Fitzpatrick. You saw discipline today.
SPECIAL TEAMS (C)
Specifically for Matthew Wright. We were teammates once before. I don't want to call them chip shots, but most pros make those, man, and he did not make them, going 2 for 4. But, of course, contributing six points to this team is always huge. Again, I absolutely love what Steven Sims does in the return game. It's a shame that he always catches a penalty here and there. That really negates the good things that he does. Today, it was our guy, Marcus Allen. Gosh, keep it together in the return game. Watching Pressley Harvin punt, nothing great over the top, but he had a few inside the 20.