Kenny Pickett leads the Steelers offensive PFF grades

Nov 30, 2022 - 2:15 PM

<a href= — Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images

The Pittsburgh Steelers got back on the winning track by defeating the Indianapolis Colts 24-17 on Monday Night Football. The offense played strong in three of the four quarters as they bounced back in the fourth for the come-from-behind win. As for the defense, holding a team to zero yards in the first quarter got things started in the right way.

But how did the individual players grade out?

For this exercise, we will be looking at the player grades from Pro Football Focus (PFF) for the Steelers Week 12 performance. Remember, these are just the grades for the Steelers for this past game and not combined with their previous performances. Before going any further, I must give the typical disclaimer that PFF grades are subjective. While some people rely on them heavily, others are quite skeptical of the process in which they are determined. It is completely up to each person as to how much stock they put into PFF’s grades. For me, I often look at the grades to see if my own “eye test” lines up with what others viewed as how a player performed. If nothing more, the grades create a discussion about how accurate, or inaccurate, they are each week.

Instead of looking at the entire team at once, we break up the scores into offense and defense. First up this week is the offense. Included will be the players who played at least one snap (except for Minkah Fitzpatrick who only played in victory formation) and the total snap counts for each player will be included. For reference sake, the Steelers played 69 snaps on offense in Sunday’s game.

Overall

Top 5 (regardless of position)

QB Kenny Pickett: 88.5 (69 snaps)
RB Benny Snell Jr.: 76.8 (28 snaps)
TE Pat Freiermuth: 74.4 (49 snaps)
C Mason Cole: 72.7 (69 snaps)
RB Anthony McFarland Jr.: 71.5 (21 snaps)

Bottom 5 (regardless of position)

TE Zach Gentry: 53.5 (36 snaps)
TE Connor Heyward: 53.4 (10 snaps)
WR Steven Sims: 48.4 (24 snaps)
G James Daniels: 48.4 (69 snaps)
G Kevin Dotson: 47.3 (69 snaps)

Quarterback

QB Kenny Pickett: 88.5 (69 snaps)

There has already been a lot reported about Kenny Pickett‘s PFF score. The Steelers have not seen a score this high by quarterback in several seasons, and it was the second-highest overall score of any quarterback in Week 12 only behind Lamar Jackson (90.9). Pickett had an 86.3 passing score despite not throwing any touchdowns or breaking 175 yards. But it was his efficiency which scored well. He also added a 69.0 running score.

Running Backs

RB Benny Snell Jr.: 76.8 (28 snaps)
RB Anthony McFarland Jr.: 71.5 (21 snaps)
RB Najee Harris: 66.4 (20 snaps)
FB Derek Watt: 59.2 (5 snaps)

Both of the “Juniors” landed in the Steelers top five this week as they each got their first carries of the season. Benny Snell ended up on top thanks to a 75.6 rushing score despite having only an 18.0 pass blocking score, albeit on only two snaps. Najee Harris had a decent performance despite trying to play through injury before he left the game. Regardless of who was getting the ball, it was just great to see effectiveness from all the Steelers running backs.

Receivers

TE Pat Freiermuth: 74.4 (49 snaps)
WR Cody White: 71.1 (10 snaps)
WR George Pickens: 66.6 (54 snaps)
WR Diontae Johnson: 65.9 (66 snaps)
WR Gunner Olszewski: 59.9 (21 snaps)
TE Zach Gentry: 53.5 (36 snaps)
TE Connor Heyward: 53.4 (10 snaps)
WR Steven Sims: 48.4 (24 snaps)

Pat Freiermuth. I just have to say his name to start off each week because he continuously gets a high score each week. Cody White landed as the second-highest score from the position group because of his 86.0 run blocking grade from the wide receiver position. George Pickens and Diontae Johnson finished with scores above the line but some inconsistencies at times kept their scores from creeping to high. It also didn’t help that each of those two receivers was credited with a drop according to PFF.

Offensive Line

C Mason Cole: 72.7 (69 snaps)
OT Dan Moore Jr.: 71.2 (69 snaps)
OT Chuks Okorafor: 55.3 (69 snaps)
G James Daniels: 48.4 (69 snaps)
G Kevin Dotson: 47.3 (69 snaps)

These scores are ones I’m not quite sure about this week as my eye test told me something a little different. Mason Cole was in the top five as he scored over 70 in both blocking categories with a 73.0 pass blocking score and 70.5 run blocking score. Dan Moore Jr. just missed being in the top five as he led the team with a pass blocking score of 86.8 while registering a 61.0 run blocking score. Kevin Dotson came out at the bottom of the offense despite having an 83.3 pass blocking score on 35 of the 69 snaps. But his 32.9 run blocking score brought down his overall grade. James Daniels came in towards the bottom as he was below 50 in both blocking categories. What ultimately didn’t pass the eye test for me this week was the Steelers had very high pass blocking scores overall but not very impressive run blocking scores where I thought they were doing a nice job. But as Geoffrey Benedict said to the BTSC staff, “The Colts had players winning individual matchups in run defense, but the Steelers were still clearing holes and hitting them. It’s the natural problem even if you grade individual players effectively, football is a team sport.”

So, what do you think of the above grades? Do they pass the eye test? Let us know your thoughts on the Steelers’ defensive grades in the comments below.

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