The defense gave up 32 points and 538 yards. On the surface if you told me that going in, I’d figure that meant an epic horror film ending in a gory Saints loss. But the unit actually played well. At least as well as they are capable of playing at this point. No it wasn’t pretty and yes the last two drives were inexcusable. Let’s face it, the tackling was a joke. But the fact that they held Le’Veon Bell under 100 yards rushing (he had 95) feels like a Christmas miracle. The fact that they got two turnovers? Pure magic. But many secondaries would’ve walked away with 5 interceptions against Ben Roethlisberger in this game… so there’s still a lot of wasted opportunities to get off the field. Most of all, you have to feel great about a 6 for 14 3rd down conversion rate. As bad as that’s been lately, getting off the field a decent amount gave the offense an opportunity to do what they do. That all said there is still enormous room for improvement. Below are the grades:
Cameron Jordan: A (2.53) It’s been a disappointing season for Jordan but the only way this unit will be able to turn things around enough to give the Saints a shot at winning games is for him to throw the defense on his back and carry them to making some plays. On this day he did exactly that. He did everything. He played the run well, created a good pass rush, deflected passes – you name it. The result? 6 tackles, a sack, 2 tipped balls, one which he then intercepted. He was offsides once and that costs him the A+. What a monster performance by Jordan. His pick gave the offense the ball at the Pittsburgh 15. I can’t remember the last time they started a drive with field position that good. It certainly hasn’t happened this year. They would turn that into an easy touchdown.
Junior Galette: C+ (2.39) It was surprising to see him drop into coverage so often but the Saints were forced into it and tried the give the Steelers different looks too. He finished with 2 tackles and 2 hits on Big Ben. He got some pressure but it was generally a pretty quiet game.
Akiem Hicks: C- (2.28) A very quiet performance from Hicks who finished with 1 tackle. He left the game with an apparent wrist injury but would return. The Saints are extremely thin at tackle so they really can’t afford to lose him. That said, his maddeningly inconsistent season continues. Showed nice hustle chasing Bell downfield at one point, but somehow his big hit didn’t finish off the tackle.
John Jenkins: A- (2.37) He ate space very well and stonewalled the interior many times to help slow down Le’Veon Bell, especially as the game developed. It honestly made me wonder why he hasn’t been starting all season. A terrific performance. His push up the middle on passing downs was impressive too. He had 5 tackles, which for a nose is enormous. If the Saints are ever going to stand a chance at stopping the run, he’ll need to keep playing like this.
Brandon Deaderick: C+ (1.71) He hit Bell for a no gain run on his lone tackle. In limited play it was a better contribution than usual, particularly against the run.
Kasim Edebali: C+ (2.07) His hustle is his main bargaining chip right now for more playing time and I really respect it. He did a good job on special teams catching up to Markus Wheaton on a big kickoff return and his other tackle was 15 yards downfield catching up to Bell. For a defensive end that’s impressive and we saw some of that last week too. If nothing else, you cannot question the effort with Edebali.
Tyrunn Walker: C+ (2.25) Made a nice tackle on Bell at the line of scrimmage on a short pass. Otherwise not much to report but he did get a little pressure.
David Hawthorne: B- (2.46) Tied for the team lead with 10 tackles. He missed some tackles on Bell and made a lot of others around the line of scrimmage. His run defense was a bit feast of famine, either he cleaned up a play making a nice tackle, or he missed a nice opportunity to stop a play dead in its tracks. His coverage was poor overall. Give him credit for tripping up Wheaton just short of the markers on a 4th and 10 to create a turnover on downs.
Curtis Lofton: C+ (2.72) The write up for Hawthorne applies to Lofton in a lot of ways, too. He also led the team in tackles with 10. He was flagged once for defensive holding and struggled manning up on Heath Miller. He was fortunate on one end zone target that Roethlisberger grossly overthrew his open tight end with Lofton covering. Not his best day and the high tackle total was mostly due to tackles at the second level (as oppose to around the line of scrimmage). Still, without his tackling a lot of those plays could’ve turned even uglier.
Parys Haralson: C (2.42) I expected him to play more considering how much the Steelers like to run, but it was a quiet day. He had one tackle on the opening drive. Not much of a contribution.
Ramon Humber: C (2.30) Had one tackle defensively in coverage. Played little.
Keenan Lewis: B- (2.56) He doesn’t look as fast at the moment due to his knee injury but he definitely seems to be feeling better. In general he’s staying with receivers vertically and his coverage looks pretty good. Had good coverage on a deep ball early to Wheaton. He was flagged twice for illegal use of hands. He gave up a score late and had 2 tackles, but overall his coverage was pretty solid. He had a nice blitz and pressure of Big Ben at one point.
Corey White: B- (2.00) Downed a punt inside the 5 on special teams. His coverage overall was excellent. He finished with 6 tackles and a terrific breakup in the end zone on a 3rd down play that forced a field goal attempt. He did have one infuriating play late on a 3rd and 20, though, where his facemask donates an automatic first down. Without that he gets a better grade, but at least he’s back to 2.00.
Patrick Robinson: B (2.37) His coverage was outstanding and he finished with 5 tackles and 3 pass breakups. Unfortunately the 3 pass breakups were all great plays on the ball where he should have come up with an interception. He legitimately dropped 3 fairly routine picks, including the most gifted would be pick six I’ve ever seen. His inability to make the catch was really frustrating because it prevented him from possibly having a game for the ages. Beyond the drops I noticed a couple other tightly contested plays in coverage that easily could have been deemed a pass breakup.
Kenny Vaccaro: B+ (1.97) I’m going to ignore the two personal foul penalties on the meaningless final drive that led to a Steelers touchdown. The truth is I’ve been hard on him all season (largely deserved) and he came out in this game and played with huge effort and emotion. Yes he missed some tackles, yes he got penalized again, and true it wasn’t perfect… but this was a major step in the right direction. 8 tackles, including many solid clean up tackles in run support. Most importantly he comes up with a huge pick in the end zone on a deep ball. It’s nice to see him finally bounce back and have a game like this. Afterwards he said he was playing for Rob Ryan’s job. I hope he keeps doing that. A great day in coverage.
Pierre Warren: C (1.84) His second level tackling was slightly better but still spotty, especially in run support. That’s going to be a concern moving forward. He did show some closing ability on passing plays, though. He had 7 tackles.
Shayne Graham: B- (2.92) Easy day at the office, 5 extra points, all good.
Thomas Morstead: A- (3.03) 48.5 yard average on 6 punts, net of 46, and 2 inside the 20. Completely shut out a dangerous returner in Antonio Brown with good directional punting. Put backspin on both punts and they were downed at the 2 and 5, respectively. In both cases the gunners didn’t get down quick enough and the spin on the ball kept it in the field of play. Pretty impressive. The only negative is Wheaton got a big return on a kickoff because of a short kick, mostly due to the wind. But overall a great day.
Jalen Saunders: C- (2.00) He’s not being aggressive enough running up to field punts. So far dedicating a roster spot to this explosive returner hasn’t offered much. I’d love to see him on kickoffs. I hope this signing will pay off at some point.
Ronald Powell: C+ (2.44) Combined with Fokou for a tackle.
Moise Fokou: B+ (3.17) He’s been a nice specials team addition. He downed a punt at the 5 and he put a nice lick on Wheaton in coverage for his lone tackle. He’s been with the team two weeks and has made an immediate impact in kick coverage.
Brian Dixon: B (1.93) Made an excellent open field tackle on Antonio Brown on a punt return to limit a return that had some potential.
Marcus Ball: C+ (1.86) He prevented two pretty good returns from being any worse with 2 tackles on special teams. Unfortunately he was also flagged once for holding on a return.
Defensive Player of the Game: Cameron Jordan
Special Teams Player of the Game: Thomas Morstead
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