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Team grade: DQuarterback: After an explosive first half against the Browns, Ben Roethlisberger could not generate much offense for the sixth quarter in a row. He passed for 128 yards in the first half and finished with 217. The offense blew a good chance right off the bat when they had first down at the Ravens 14 and settled for a field goal. His longest completion until the final few minutes was a 19-yard catch-and-run by Le'Veon Bell.
Grade: DRunning backs: Playing without injured Dri Archer (ankle), Le'Veon Bell barely got a breather on a warm, muggy night and didn't seem to mind. He rushed for 56 of his 59 yards in the first half. He added five catches for 48 yards, and his 21-yard run and 19-yard run with a shovel pass on back-to-back plays set up the first field goal. Without him, the offense was non-existent.
Grade: B-Wide receivers: Already playing without Lance Moore (groin), the Steelers lost Antonio Brown (concussion test) for a portion of the first half. But he returned to catch seven passes for 90 yards. Markus Wheaton caught five passes for 38 yards in the first half, but didn't have a catch in the second. Justin Brown, Moore's replacement, fumbled after a 6-yard catch at the Ravens 15, ending the opening 13-play drive.
Grade: C-Offensive line: The protection was shaky at times and even the running game was spotty. The Steelers had 63 yards rushing on 13 attempts in the first half, but 22 yards came on three inside reverses by Brown and Wheaton. It was not a good game for RT Marcus Gilbert, who gave up two more sacks after allowing two against the Browns.
Grade: DDefensive line: After allowing 183 yards rushing and a 6.1-yard average to Cleveland, the defense did a better job in the first half. The Ravens averaged just 2.7 yards per rush and that was with a 13-yard run by Justin Forsett. But they began to wear down in the second half, especially when Forsett ran 41 yards to set up a field goal. The Ravens finished with 157 yards rushing.
Grade: C-Linebackers: There was little inside or outside pressure on Joe Flacco, who wasn't sacked. And the linebackers got victimized on several plays, including when the Steelers were in a 4-6-1 goal-line defense and Terence Garvin missed his coverage on a 2-yard TD to TE Owen Daniels. Ryan Shazier got beat for a 24-yard pass to TE Dennis Pitta on the Ravens' second TD drive.
Grade: DSecondary: Flacco didn't hit any deep passes, but he picked the defense apart methodically by completing 20 of his first 25 passes for 162 yards and two TDs. Flacco was 10 for 10 for 84 yards on both TD drives, which gave the Ravens a 17-6 lead. Cortez Allen's pass-interference penalty on a third-down incompletion kept alive the opening TD drive. And there were four personal fouls against the secondary - two facemask and two unnecessary-roughness penalties.
Grade: DSpecial teams: Shaun Suisham has provided all the points in the past six quarters. He kicked two more field goals of 25 and 43 yards and also didn't give return specialist Jacoby Jones any kickoff return chances. P Brad Wing averaged 45.75 yards on his first four punts, but his 56-yard punt in the fourth quarter resulted in a 33-yard return by Jones, the longest of the game.
Grade: B-Coaching: The Steelers didn't have to worry about preparing for a hurry-up offense because the Ravens rarely used any. The defense did a better job against the run, especially in the first half, but four personal foul penalties in the secondary - two against safety Mike Mitchell - is not a good sign. But the offense has disappeared after the first two quarters against the Browns.
Grade: DPost By http://ift.tt/1lYLLtk