A game that looked all too familiar with a slow 15-6 first half start, the Pittsburgh Steelers turned up the heat in all three phases and suffocated the New York Jets in a 37-15 win.

In this article, I will provide data from Pro Football Focus (PFF) and insights from watching the film.

Attack:

Excellent (90-plus grades):

WR George Pickens was the best offense (90.1, 54 snaps). Some nice catches from QB Russell Wilson in his first Steelers start. Second 100-yard game of the season (111) and also collected his first TD of 2024. Caught 5 of 9 targets for 22.2 yards per catch (season-high), more than any WR prior to Monday Night Football with eight targets or more . Two great, explosive plays, although both were inferior. Double-explosive 44-yarder with an impressive one-handed contested grab and 37-yard circus multi-bobble snag that deflected off the defender. Great overall game.

Great (80-plus grades):

TE Darnell Washington (83.2, 36) was refreshingly involved as a receiver, with a career-high four catches, including two catches over 15. All were shallow routes near the line of scrimmage that were wide open on big gains and were exploited by YAC. The others were high passes with nice catches outside his frame. Led the team with an 88.9 REC and overall good block performance on the day (75.4 PBLK, 63.5 RBLK). I thought the latter would be slightly better as only one repetition was lost in my notes. Nice to see.

Good (grade 70+):

Two players. RB Najee Harris (74.4, 33) fortunately had another 100-yard game (102), with a game-winning 10-yard TD and a great explosive 34-yard run. Healthy 4.9 YPA, season-high eight forced missed tackles (T-1st league-wide), three of 10-plus, two of 15 or more and four first downs. 73.5 RUSH, and the best individual mark was 76.4 PBLK, but a REC of 53.7 was not on him (Wilson flip pass to avoid a sack underthrow). Go ahead, Najee.

TE Pat Freiermuth (71.3, 48) had great chances and both catches were explosive. First a low flanker that Wilson got out well despite the pressure on his face, and Freiermuth ended up providing an explosive YAC and variety over 30 yards. The other was a nice pass and one-handed grab over his head for 21 yards, also with some YAC. 81.3 REC and had some good blocking moments, but his RBLK of 34.0 was severely impacted by a holding penalty (2nd and long throw, why does Pittsburgh do that?).

The Bad (under 50 grades):

Three here. T Broderick Jones (49.8, 68) unfortunately ends up in these rankings for the third week in a row. He was cornered far too often in pass pro, with double-digit reps lost in my notes and a PBLK of 30.1, which is the sixth-worst mark of the week. Three pressures, two hurries and a sack allowed led to a bad hit on a terrible second-and-20 sequence. RBLK fluctuated up and down and faded in my opinion at the end of the game (57.5 RBLK). We keep our fingers crossed that we will see improvements soon.

C Ryan McCollum (48.1, 68) was lower than I expected. He did have a holding penalty where he was beaten badly, but context is key. The third-rounder's last NFL regular-season appearance came way back in 2021, and while he wasn't perfect, he got far more reps than not. Just a pressure and a QB hit, no sacks and movement in the running game. The biggest issues I noticed were blocking during movement (second level, screen, etc.), so that will be interesting to watch.

TE MyCole Pruitt (45.3, 30) had the worst grade on offense. Had several good blocks as a pass blocker – 73.9, but also had a handful of run block losses (49.3). 48.8 REC with no targets, so PFF might not like some of his route running.

Defense:

Excellent (90-plus grades):

DL Keeanu Benton is the only excellent grade (90.2, 37). He made some great situational plays, including two passes defended on the final drive, one on 4th down and one on 5th, to ultimately run out time for the offense. There was also some nice pass rushing and hitting, but there were also some lost reps during the game. Two tackles, both stops, just one pressure, but the passing lanes were compromised throughout and the high-end plays were excellent.

Great (80-plus grades):

EDGE Alex Highsmith (84.3, 42) won consistently. This included a total of three pressures, two hits and one rushing, all of which tied for the team lead, indicating that QB Aaron Rodgers' quick release made it extremely difficult to get to the passer. He made his presence felt with multiple pass rush wins, two tackles and a run stop in the red zone.

Good (grade 70+):

Two here. CB Beanie Bishop Jr. (78.8, 47) had a monster game in what was on paper a weak matchup, highlighted by two interceptions. One was a one-handed puck that beat the route late in the first half, and the second was a drop that bounced off the WR for an explosive 41-yard return to the one-yard line that resulted in a touchdown. Beanie season.

DL Larry Ogunjobi (71.1, 32) ensured the teams only managed a three-and-out on a first drive on 3rd-and-8. Provided he also had other nice pass rush wins, including three QB hits and a TFL, but his run defense wasn't as strong overall. PFF graded him fairly evenly: 72.3 RDEF, 70.2 TACK, 71.8 PRUSH. The latter seems too low overall given his performance and his quick passing situations.

The Bad (under 50 grades):

Six players. Jeremiah Moon (49.7, 14) was a creep on the stat sheet and was beaten in my notes on a handful of reps other than run and pass. The only positive I had was a pass rush in the fourth quarter. 55.0 RDEF and 51.7 PRUSH. No offense, but nice to have Highsmith back.

CB James Pierre (48.4, 35) had to play due to injury and Rodgers picked on him. He was charged with two catches on three targets per PFF, allowing two chunk catches for 35 yards, including an explosive play for 20 yards. Also got hit on a target in the red zone/end zone that luckily went out of bounds in the third quarter. 45.5 COV. Tackled well (77.9), but mostly with chunk plays. The exception was a great run tackle for a loss (64.9 RDEF).

DL Isaiahh Loudermilk (44.8, 4) had a particularly notably poor game, a missed running angle/tackle opportunity on the first 13-yard rushing TD (54.3 RDEF). Goose egg on the stat sheet, even without pressure (58.5 PRUSH).

S Minkah Fitzpatrick (42.5, 56) was on cleanup duty, particularly on big plays and missed tackles by others against RB Breece Hall in the first half. He did have a TD-saving tackle when he caught a 57-yard catch, but he had a missed tackle/angle in the fourth quarter that hurt his grade the most and led to an explosive 27-yard catch. 44.7 COV was his worst individual grade (61.6 RDEF, 58.4 TACK).

DL Dean Lowry (41.3, 8) also had a weak rep on the first 13-yard TD run, but noticed some good reps on the pass rush push. PFF thought differently: 60.0 RDEF, 54.1 PRUSH.

CB Donte Jackson was the lowest-grading defenseman (40.7, 22), and having him leave the game was insult to injury. Aside from a great TFL run with great recognition, it was a bad outing. Two missed tackles, including the 57-yarder with poor technique and angle, and was also beaten on a few Jets mistakes in coverage. 77.4 RDEF, but 31.4 COV and 26.1 TAK were appropriate grades in my opinion.

Special teams:

Excellent (90-plus grades):

Dean Lowry is the highest-graded special teamer and Steeler of Week 7 (93.8, 4). Provided a huge FG block in the third quarter, suppressing a potential momentum shift and keeping the lead at 23-15.

Great (80-plus grades):

Pierre is a much better core special teamer (85.2, 17) than his poor defensive grade. Caused a forced fumble on a 4-yard kick return when he went out of bounds, forced a fair catch as a shooter, and pushed another kick return for his second ST tackle of the night.

Good (grade 70+):

Connor Heyward (73.7, 17) had a nice shot and especially enjoyed his great 25-yard kick return tackle block attempt that hit both hard on the turf. Also had another tackle, but the returner slipped on this one.

The Bad (under 50 grades):

Just one, which wasn't surprising on a fantastic day for the unit: Fitzpatrick (29.5, 5). This was due to a terrible leverage penalty on the punt block team, who literally jumped over the defender without pushing him off, but were still repelled. He showed great punt blocking performances in another one as well, and Pittsburgh really showed high priority and effort to make a splash.

Surprises:

1. QB Russell Wilson (64.1, 68). The first four drives were shaky, but then Wilson managed 249 pass yards (a Steelers-record debut), two pass TDs and a rush TD and five explosive passing plays in a refreshing second straight game of 30-plus points for Pittsburgh's offense. There were issues with accuracy, but another big positive difference with Justin Fields was the game action. I expected a better grade.
2. Several special teams performed worse than expected.
3. LB grades, thought Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson were in the bad class.

Who was yours?

STEELERS WEEK 7 VS. COWBOYS & ALL REGULAR SEASON SNACKS:

WEEK 7 SNAP LEADER:

OUT OF- Ru. Wilson, OL.

DEF J. Porter, D. Elliott.

ST Co. Heyward, J. Pierre, P. Wilson, T. Edmunds, M. Robinson, M. Killebrew, R. Williams.