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

After each game the Steelers play, I'll grade their performance by positional groups ... and here I go with the 24-13 win over the Panthers on Sunday:

QUARTERBACKS (B) 

Solid enough today. Mitch Trubisky did have a couple of passes that you would love to have back. No turnovers. Only one sack on the day, nothing he could do about that. Very solid role for him today.

RUNNING BACKS (A) 

Even though it wasn't over 100 for anybody as far as individual numbers, Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren were efficient. They hit the gaps as well as they needed to. And I will go on record saying if this can become Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard, the Steelers are in for a good run here moving forward.

TIGHT ENDS (B)

They were good. Blocked solid. Didn't really flash much at all. They did the job in blocking, played their roles well and didn't take away from the offense.

WIDE RECEIVERS (A-)

Diontae Johnson moved forward as much as he possibly could. George Pickens is special. I need more out of him. Even the splash of Steven Sims at moments was good.

OFFENSIVE LINE (A-)  

The one sack, Brian Burns is good. Sometimes a bear gets you in that situation. But, you're consistently seeing the pocket move forward on the run, and they're protecting the quarterback better and better each week.

DEFENSIVE LINE / OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS (A)

They got pressure. They got after the quarterback. I always say that rush and coverage work hand-in-hand. The rush was there. The coverage wasn't.

INSIDE LINEBACKERS (B-)

Robert Spillane got worked a little bit in the passing game. He's deficient there. But overall, they were good against the run. No big splash plays on the ground from anybody. They also helped assist the front line with the run game.

SECONDARY (D+)

A D-plus, but minus Minkah Fitzpatrick. Too many penalties. Not enough man to a man, as far as getting their receiver down. There's just too many gaps in the secondary at times. Although, I love having Terrell Edmunds inside the line of scrimmage. He is good there. I will say that. But, you take away Minkah and Terrell, I mean, this group today gets a pure F. I mean, nobody is giving you much out of the secondary.

SPECIAL TEAMS (A)

Chris Boswell was clutch. Good when you need him to be. Pressley Harvin, I thought he bounced back for the most part. And those guys were laying wood on the punt return and kickoff coverage too.

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