Sorry, it’s a broken record story, another slow start in the first half on the scoreboard. The score was tied at nine at halftime, but fortunately things were stepped up in the second half with big plays in all three phases, bringing the Pittsburgh Steelers’ third straight win (26-18).

In this article, I provide data from Pro Football Focus (PFF) and what I can learn from watching the film.

Offence:

Excellent (90-plus grades):

TE Darnell Washington (92.2 grade, 30 snaps) had the highest grade on offense and overall. Not the volume of the last game as a receiver, but impactful. One target, an explosive 29-yard catch, getting open on a corner route and almost hanging tight on the sideline for a possible homecoming. The first of two consecutive explosive plays on the second drive, but the offense unfortunately stalled on every red zone trip of the game (0-4). Great blocking overall, which PFF agreed with. 81.6 RBLK was the second best of week eight and 74.4 PBLK.

Great (80-plus grades):

WR George Pickens (81.6, 53) caught 4/5 targets for 74 yards, but no touchdowns. Two were near scores, one was negated on the first drive (T Broderick Jones facemask). It would have been refreshing for this slow starting offense and the other that insanely didn’t get two feet down with space in the back of the end zone. I got a great deep throw from Russell Wilson on a corner route for a double-explosive gain of 43 yards, the longest play for the Pittsburgh offense, including YAC. Season-high 29 YAC and 3/4 catches also went for first downs.

Good (70-plus grades):

T Dan Moore (75.6, 65) led the o-line, rightly so IMO. Led the team in week eight with 75.1 RBLK and 70.3 PBLK. Double press, rush and QB hit. Pittsburgh had a tough zone run in the game, and Moore did well in that, along with only a few dropped reps on 30 run block snaps. Definitely more lost replays in Pass Pro. He also took a tag, forcing him to leave, but returned on one play in which backup Calvin Anderson allowed a sack. Knock on wood, continued health after missing his first snap of his solid 2024 campaign.

WR Van Jefferson (74.8, 53) matched or had season highs in targets (five), catches (four), yards (62), yards per catch (15.5), two missed tackles forced, first downs (three) and the longest catch (36 meters). That explosive play was a great catch on an underthrow, which adjusted his back shoulder well to make the contested catch. Also noted an overall strong performance as a blocker, which PFF agreed with (71.9 RBLK). Nice contributions in general.

The bad (less than 50 degrees):

G Mason McCormick (44.5, 66) had the lowest offensive rating. First time at this level in six games played. Not all bad, but negative plays soured his play. Most egregious: Handy in pass pro, sack allowed, holding penalty, multiple turnovers, and poor pass block on Wilson’s fumble. Two notable reps of explosive play: Pickens’ 43-yarder and RB Najee Harris’ 26-yard explosive run. 53.9 RBLK, and abysmal 16.3 PBLK, including two hurries (no sacks). PBLK was feeling down and thought Jones had a worse game.

Defense:

Excellent (90-plus grades):

EDGE TJ Watt (91.7, 69) was the highest-rated defenseman and his usual self. Most notable was a strip sack in the fourth quarter, and he recovered his own forced fumble to correct QB Wilson’s demoralizing fumble from the previous drive late in the game. Seven total tackles, four stops, two TFLs, six pressures and two QB hits that were both sacks (T-NFL best in week eight), and a FF in another star performance. In 2024 93.7 DEF (second), 93.2 RDEF (first) and 90.9 PRSH (fourth). Dominant.

Great (80-plus grades):

Three here. EDGE Alex Highsmith (87.5, 64) had a career-high 12 pressures and a whopping six QB hits, ranking first in the NFL in week eight, four hurries, four total tackles (all stops) and two sacks (T-first) in a monster game. Wreaked havoc for much of the game and took advantage of all the attention Watt was getting. Expected an elite class. So great to see him healthier for another week, compared to a poorer performance in his first game back from injury last week.

The EDGE duo had all four of Pittsburgh’s sacks, all in the second half, and had the top two PRSH numbers of week eight. Wow.

Cam Heyward (86.7, 49) was also strong, creating a three-headed monster from Pittsburgh’s d-line that New York struggled with. Seven total pressures, five hurries, two QB hits, six total tackles and four stops, all against the run. 79.7 PRSH, 73.5 RDEF and 71.1 TACK this game. 91.0 DEF, 84.4 RDEF, 78.1 TACK on the season lead all IDL through week eight, and 87.9 ranks third. Animal.

LB Elandon Roberts (81.3, 24) excelled in his usual fashion in RDEF (81.0) and TACK (79.5). Three tackles in total, all stops in defence, including a TFL showing his great skills in the field, and a chase on another. Over the season 89.9 DEF (third) and 93.3 RDEF (first). Playing his role to a T overall.

Good (70-plus grades):

Two players. CB Joey Porter Jr. (77.4, 72) tied for the team lead in total tackles (eight). I often come down to finish plays out of deep zone coverage (more than my taste, TBH), which amounts to just three stops. Charted for six targets, three catches, for just 16 yards, for a nice score of 56.3 against. Solid playing numbers across the board: 81.4 TACK (sixth league-wide), 76.5 COV, 70.4 RDEF. Overall encouraging, with an asterisk next to some questionable DPI no-calls.

S Minkah Fitzpatrick (76.5, 72) had one particularly enjoyable play in coverage, a 3rd and 3, where he delivered a big hit to the receiver to knock the ball loose for the incompletion. Also four total tackles, two for stops, for his highest individual TACK grade of 78.4. 71.8 COV was also solid, earning a team-high 39.6 rating against that PBU, his only target. Fitzpatrick’s season TACK 90.6 ranks first among safeties and 82.1 ranks fifth.

The bad (less than 50 degrees):

Five here. EDGE Jeremiah Moon (49.1, 7) was up and down and found himself in the bad tier for the third week in a row (four games played). I noticed a few positive reps, including a push on an incompletion, putting the edge in the run defense, and another plus pass rush in the waning moments. Some negatives included being double-teamed against the run and losing on a pass rush. Slightly lower DEF grade than I expected, and PFF’s individual grades were higher than that figure: 57.9 RDEF, 53.7 PRSH.

DL Dean Lowry (44.0, 9) lands here again and does so in 5/6 games in 2024. No pressures or sacks on six pass rush snaps (53.1 PRSH). Noticed he got shoved a few times, but more lost reps. Noticed one plus repeat in run d, but the other was far from desirable. The individual numbers were also all higher than his DEF: 55.0 RDEF, 53.1 PRSH.

DL Keeanu Benton (43.4, 37) was a guilty party in Pittsburgh’s struggles on defense. Pushed back, washed, on the ground, including a 17-yard chunk run, a 3rd and 1 conversion allowed, and a missed run tackle. Only one positive run d rep noted. Pass rushing, while not great, was better. Had an assisted QB hit on a nice swim move, but his only charted pressure. Only one tackle, a stop, following a 3rd and 12 screen, limited to seven yards. Second game on the bad level, fingers crossed for more consistency after the match.

S DeShon Elliott (42.1, 54) had his first bad grade of 2024. Worst 39.4 TACK and 33.8 RDEF. A deflating missed tackle on the Giants’ 45-yard TD run in the fourth quarter cut into Pittsburgh’s previously comfortable 23-9 lead with plenty of time remaining. Another bad corner, with a gaping hole for a stretch of ten yards. Had seven total tackles (T-third on the team) but only two stops, encouragingly without a win. The latter was more common in 2024, with his 83.4 season RDEF ranking fourth among safeties. But in week eight, the bad outweighed the good.

DL Larry Ogunjobi (36.3, 48) was the lowest-ranked defenseman. You guessed it, struggled in run defense and tackling (35.7 RDEF, 30.1 TACK). Also had a missed run tackle, with two particularly bad reps in my notes on chunk 17 and 26 yarders. This, along with the number of double-digit reps lost, was unfortunately painful. There was some good, like a nice TFL on a QB draft, but it needs to be better overall. Pass rush was better, but there were also more losses in my notes. Let’s hope the team’s run defense looks much better after the game.

Special teams:

Excellent (90-plus grades):

NO.

Great (80-plus grades):

Austin (86.9, 4) lands the aforementioned 73-yard punt return TD here, the game’s turning point of joy. This was the first TD for both teams and came late in the third quarter. He also enjoyed a fair bluff catch, with the punt sailing over his head for the touchback. I opted to take one instead of a fair catch, taking a huge hit that was dangerous.

Good (70-plus grades):

Two here. James Pierre (74.4, 22) had a strong performance overall. 24-yard assisted kickoff return tackle, great punt coverage, including a two-yard tackle, a block on Austin’s explosive return and coverage on the Steelers’ final punt that was fairly caught at the seven-yard line. Some opponents were blocked on a long 45-yard kick return and did not land a block on the kick return unit.

Damontae Kazee (74.3, 4) had a great block on Austin’s big punt return, and nice to see PFF taking note of his return after a two-game absence due to injury.

The bad (less than 50 degrees):

NO.

Surprises:

1. Better than expected offensive numbers: Calvin Anderson – 60.0 grade, one snap, one sack allowed, 0.0 PBLK…huh? Although Broderick Jones (56.9) would be in the bad category.
2. Lower than expected offensive numbers: Austin (66.6, namely explosive TD) and RB Najee Harris (63.1) in another great 100 rush yard game, including five plays of more than 10 yards.
3. Beanie Bishop’s COV grade of 64.5 considering his interception on the play. Was charged by PFF for some yardage (of the cleanup variety), and a rub draft earned him a 4th and 2nd conversion. But still lower than I expected.

Who were yours?

STEELERS WEEK 8 VS. GIANTS & TOTAL REGULAR SEASONAL SNAPS:

WEEK 8 SNAP LEADERS:

OUT- B. Jones, M. McCormick, R. McCollum, Ru. Wilson.

DEF M. Fitzpatrick, P. Queen, D. Jackson, J. Porter.

ST- J.Pierre.