Game 15 Report Card: Steelers vs. Ravens
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STEELERSVS.RAVENSgrades the Steelers' effort in the 31-7 loss to the Ravens yesterday at Heinz Field. The report is broken down into defensive and offensive positions and coaching.
QUARTERBACK
Ben Roethlisberger had trouble converting third downs (1 of 10), had five passes deflected at the line and generally couldn't get the ball to his receivers. He completed 15 of 31 attempts and was intercepted twice in the fourth quarter. The lone bright spot came when he zinged a 1-yard touchdown at the end of the first half.
GRADE: F
RUNNING BACK
It's not a good game when Roethlisberger is the team's leading rusher. Willie Parker was a non-factor, finishing with 29 yards on 13 carries, his third-lowest output of the season and lowest at home. But his biggest gaffe was a fumble at the Ravens' 3 when the Steelers could have cut the deficit to 21-14.
GRADE: F
RECEIVERS
It's hard to fault the receivers when they had difficulty getting the ball. Hines Ward had eight catches for 79 yards, including a diving 17-yarder on the sideline. And Santonio Holmes had the longest play with a 31-yard catch on a desperation heave along the sideline. TE Heath Miller made tough back-to-back catches to produce a 1-yard touchdown at the end of the first half.
GRADE: C
OFFENSIVE LINE
There wasn't much room to run and Roethlisberger was feeling lots of pressure, even if there wasn't any. The Steelers finished with 63 yards rushing on 18 attempts, and their longest gain was a 20-yard scramble by Roethlisberger. RT Willie Colon was serviceable in his first NFL start. His biggest play was drawing a personal foul penalty on the drive that produced the only touchdown.
GRADE: F
DEFENSIVE LINE
The Ravens did not post gaudy numbers -- 103 yards on 33 carries -- but they controlled the pace of the game with timely runs. Jamal Lewis had 77 yards on 24 carries and FB Ovie Mughelli hurt them again with a couple of inside runs, including a 12-yarder to set up a touchdown.
GRADE: C+
LINEBACKERS
Steve McNair kept making plays and was masterful at keeping the linebackers off balance. Lewis ran over ILB Larry Foote on a dump pass and ran around James Harrison on a 14-yard run that set up the second touchdown. Joey Porter couldn't even take advantage of a backup left tackle and put no pressure on McNair, who wasn't sacked.
GRADE: D
SECONDARY
There was so much attention on stopping TE Todd Heap and WR Derrick Mason that DBs forgot about Mark Clayton, who had six of his seven catches in the first half. SS Troy Polamalu looked as though he were rusty from a three-game layoff, getting beat for touchdowns of 35 and 25 yards. CB Deshea Townsend made two big plays, intercepting a deflected pass to set up a late touchdown in the first half and forcing a fumble in the third quarter. But it didn't matter.
GRADE: D
SPECIAL TEAMS
In a game such as this, the Steelers never received the kind of big play they desperately needed from the special teams. It didn't matter that Najeh Davenport averaged 28.3 yards on three kick returns or the Ravens averaged just 16 yards on two returns.
GRADE: C
COACHING
If this were Bill Cowher's final home game, it will be one he will want to forget. The Steelers were as pitiful as their first performance against the Ravens and never did figure out how to beat them. In two games, they converted just 3 of 26 third-down opportunities against the Ravens.
GRADE: F
First Published December 25, 2006 12:00 am
