On Thursday night, we watched the once-proud Pittsburgh Steelers defense get run on by the Cleveland Browns. Cleveland had a plan and they stuck to it, not concerned about the Steelers vaunted pass rush or big-name stars. With what Pittsburgh has spent on this side of the football, the performance was concerning. Let’s hand out some grades for the defensive positional units.
Defensive line-D+
The Steelers used a seven-man rotation along the defensive line with only Cam Heyward and Larry Ogunjobi getting more than 50 percent of the snaps. The Steelers tried multiple combinations but none of them had the right formula to stop the Browns rushing attack.
Outside linebacker-C
If we look at the primary job of the outside linebackers to rush the passer, they probably get an F. But thanks to Alex Highsmith getting 1.5 sacks and the group being no worse than the rest at stopping the run, this group lands at a C.
Inside linebacker-C+
Even if I give the inside backers something of a pass because of how poorly the defensive line played, this group continues to be a letdown. Myles Jack and Devin Bush were one and two in tackles but often times it was too far downfield.
Cornerback-B-
Ahkello Witherspoon had a rough go of it trying to cover Amari Cooper but it’s a big ask for anyone. Aside from this, the cornerbacks did a nice job keeping the passing game in check when you consider stopping tight end David Njoku wasn’t their responsibility for much of the game.
Safety-C-
This was a tough one because strong safety Terrell Edmunds was awful. The Steelers defensive coaches put Edmunds on Njoku far too much leading to the tight end having his best game of the season. Meanwhile, free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick was quiet, too quiet really for the type of player he is.
