The Pittsburgh Steelers avoided scares in their Halloween weekend victory against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, Nov. 1 at Acrisure Stadium.
First-year coach Mike McCarthy’s team jumped out a 20-6 advantage in the first half and stifled Cleveland quarterback Deshaun Watson from there, sacking him eight times en route to a 27-6 triumph.
The offense, meanwhile, piled up rushing yards. Running backs Rico Dowdle and Jaylen Warren combined for 200 yards, which translated to plenty of scoring amid the struggles on the other side.
Here’s a look at some of the highlights and lowlights from the perspective of of Pro Football Focus evaluators, who study every play on
film to grade each player individually. For context, players are graded on a 0-100 scale.
Aaron Rodgers (65.1)
His metrics have simply not been very good during this four-game winning streak, and the Steelers’ success as a team has come largely despite his lack of efficiency.
Between Weeks 5 and 8, his 63.2 overall grade ranks 17th out of 27 quarterbacks with at least 100 drop backs. His two big-time throws – ranked among the best throws in the NFL in a given week by PFF evaluators – put him in a tie for 22nd in that cohort. His average depth of target (ADOT) of 5.3 yards ranks next to last. His 26.3% rate of sacks when pressured ranks second only to Watson, reflecting his general lack of mobility at this stage of his career.
There are some areas where he’s worthy of some grace. Receivers have dropped eight of his passes in this four-week stretch. Only two quarterbacks have been more unlucky. He’s done a reasonably good job of preventing turnovers. His two interceptions were the results of tipped balls that his receivers couldn’t squeeze. And he’s been very decisive, getting the ball out at a league-leading average of 2.34 seconds per play in these past four games. That’s helped him keep defenses off balance and sustain drives at times.
The full tapestry of metrics, however, paints the picture of a guy who’s increasingly becoming a one-note passer – capable of dissecting defenses at the margins, near the line of scrimmage, but limited in his ability to make things happen downfield with consistency. That’s not ideal for this team’s longer-term aspirations of winning its first playoff game in nearly a decade and perhaps making an extended run.
Patrick Queen (75.6)
The veteran linebacker’s ability to be everywhere in some games and nowhere in others is maddening, but defensive coordinator Patrick Graham has him trending in a much more positive direction than anyone has over the course of his three-year Steelers career.
Queen has posted grades of 73.4 or better in four of his past seven games. In those contests, he’s missed just two tackles and generated 13 stops, defined by PFF as plays that result in failure for opposing offenses. In coverage, he’s allowed no more than 56 yards when targeted in any of those standout performances.
In his other four games, he’s missed six tackles and had just five stops. That’s caused his grade for the season to dip to a pedestrian 63.2. The good news: His overall grade a year ago was 43.5. There was a lot more good than bad, so Graham’s ability to get more out of him in 2026 is one of his major achievements so far.
Jaylen Warren (87.5)
The astounding thing about Warren’s production right now is how much of it is coming purely as a result of his power as a runner. Warren generated an incredible 118 yards after contact against Cleveland to average 6.94 yards after being first touched on a given play. He’s averaging 4.14 yards after contact per touch overall this season, which would be a very solid efficiency number even if it was merely his raw yards per carry number. Fully 70% of his 704 rushing yards so far have come after contact. T.J. Watt called him a "bowling ball with teeth" after the game. It’s as apt a description as it is vivid.
Robert Spears-Jennings (71.4)
It’s time to give the 2026 seventh-round draft pick some kudos, because he’s starting to pile up numbers that are not insubstantial within Graham’s defense. Through Sunday against Cleveland, he’s now played 147 coverage snaps and been targeted just eight times. On those plays, he’s allowed just five catches worth 44 yards. He’s missed just one tackle all season and has already secured his first NFL interception against Cleveland back in Week 4. Graham’s defense has been very good at limiting big plays during the four-game winning streak. Spears-Jennings has played a big part in that from his safety position. It’s still early, but that selection is looking like a true gem for general manager Omar Khan.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Aaron Rodgers hasn't been very efficient in Steelers' 4-game winning streak
