After four weeks, the Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves in third place in the AFC North, holding a tiebreaker over the Cincinnati Bengals, who lost on Sunday to the Jacksonville Jaguars. It makes it that much more frustrating that the Steelers were unable to take care of their own business and get to 3-1. Instead, Pittsburgh dropped their Week 4 game to Cleveland 27-24 on Thursday.
With Week 4 wrapped up, we give our grades for the Steelers. Let’s dive in.
Aaron Rodgers
Jarrett Bailey: It was a mixed bag for Rodgers.
On one hand, he had a great fourth quarter that featured two touchdown passes. On the other hand, he failed to pull the trigger on a pair of throws that would have changed the outcome. DK Metcalf got behind the Browns defense for what would have been an easy score, but Rodgers didn’t see it. Metcalf was also open on the Steelers’ final play in regulation that could have put them in range for a potential game-tying field goal. He also held the ball too long, which made him responsible for more than one of the five sacks he took. Grade: C+
Joey Bray: This is a very tough grade for me. On the one hand, Rodgers brought the team all the way back down 14 in the 4th quarter by making one impressive throw after another. His quarterback sneak on the 2-point conversion attempt late in the contest capped off one of the best quarters of football Rodgers has played in a Steelers uniform. With that being said, it was quite obvious throughout this game that Rodgers’ lack of mobility put the Steelers in tough situations too often. The veteran quarterback was sacked 5 times and took 10 hits. While some of that is on the offensive line, the lack of mobility makes Rodgers an easy target for teams that love to blitz like Cleveland. There is only so much Rodgers can do at his age, as he is simultaneously digging the Steelers out of holes that he puts them in. Grade: C
Offensive Line
Jarrett Bailey: The offensive line wasn’t perfect. Max Iheanachor made Sam Williams look like Lawrence Taylor, and Rodgers was sacked five times. However, the fault can’t all go on the shoulders of the guys up front. The Steelers’ receivers couldn’t gain any separation, which led to Rodgers having to try and create. When you hold the ball longer all night, naturally more sacks will happen. They could have been better, but could have been worse, as well. Grade: C+
Joey Bray: After an impressive game from the offensive line with Max Iheanachor and Brock Hoffman making their Steelers debuts, it was a bit of a different story in Week 4. As we talked about with Rodgers, I think it is more than fair to say the offensive line is responsible for some of the sacks and quarterback hits that Rodgers endured. However, Rodgers’ immobility does his line absolutely no favors. The run blocking was more than fine, as the Steelers averaged just under five yards per gain. The important thing to keep in mind is that this offensive line is incredibly young and still gelling together. There will be plenty of ups and downs with this unit in the early stages of the season. Grade: C
Jaylen Warren
Jarrett Bailey: Warren continues to show that the offense should run through him by putting up a second consecutive game of 100+ scrimmage yards. He averaged 5.5 yards per carry and continues to be a strong receiver out of the backfield. More of No. 30 will lead to more wins. Grade: A-
Joey Bray: Are you kidding me? Jaylen Warren is having a career year in 2026. With fellow back Rico Dowdle still nursing a toe injury, Warren once again took care of the Steelers’ rushing duties. Coming fresh off a game in which Warren averaged over seven yards per carry, the running back once again proved why he deserves to be the Steelers’ feature back even when Dowdle is fully healthy. Warren used his 17 carries to pick up 93 yards and added 33 yards on three receptions. He should, and will continue to be, the engine of the Steelers offense. Grade: A+
Pass Coverage
Jarrett Bailey: If only the Steelers gave a fair contract offer to their good press-man cornerback and didn’t lowball him on guaranteed money. For a group that came into the year very deep, they are all of a sudden very thin, and struggled immensely to slow down the Browns passing game. With Jamel Dean dealing with an ankle injury, they need to bring in someone from the outside. Grade: D-
Joey Bray: This secondary desperately needs a bump. I find it hard to be on Daylen Everette like most are right now, given the fact that the play in which Denzel Boston ran by him for a chunk gain downfield was a miscommunication and not all on the rookie corner. Jaylen Ramsey came into the contest playing on a broken wrist on just three days’ rest, and Jamel Dean aggravated an ankle injury that kept him out for most of the contest. All of that said, this is not a strong unit right now, but they are nowhere near healthy. However, this was a rough showing from them. Deshaun Watson was quite efficient, with a 94.0 passer rating, but he was far from perfect. There were often receivers open downfield as Watson extended the play. There is a little bit of hope, as safety DeShon Elliott is eligible to come off of injured reserve as early as next week, which would be a massive boost to a secondary that needs help fast. Grade: D
Pass Rush
Jarrett Bailey: The Steelers had the seventh-worst pressure percentage in Week 4 entering Monday before the Saints and Falcons could be considered. That said, when they did get pressure, they got to Watson quick, ranking seventh in time to pressure. I don’t blame the pass rushers for a largely down night as much as I blame the lack of blitzes. The Steelers only sent five or more rushes on 18.9 percent of snaps, and the Browns got rid of the ball in an average of 2.42 seconds, which was the fifth-fastest rate in the league in Week 4. Grade: C+
Joey Bray: I thought the pass rush got home and pressured Watson quite a bit on Thursday, but Watson’s legs allowed him to escape more often than not. TJ Watt continued his Defensive Player of the Year-caliber start to the season with a sack and a forced fumble in the contest. Jack Sawyer got his hand on a pass that ended up causing an interception. I am becoming just a tad worried about Nick Herbig, who has yet to record a sack this season after signing a massive extension in the offseason. Herbig did make several plays in the run game on Thursday Night, so there is no real reason to panic just yet. Grade: B-
Tackling
Jarrett Bailey: A big part of waiting to put out our grades was because I wanted to see where the Steelers ranked in terms of miss tackles in Week 4. Entering Sunday night, they missed the most tackles of any team with 14. Inexcusable performance from the defense. Grade: F
Joey Bray: According to Pro Football Focus, the Steelers missed 14 tackles in Week 4. Comparatively, the unit missed seven tackles in their Week 3 contest against the Bengals. This was not an isolated issue for one position group, as just about every unit on the defense missed several opportunities to bring Cleveland down at some point in the game. This was an overall poor showing from the defense who is still struggling with basic things like communication and tackling. Grade: F
Let us know what you think in the comments. Be sure to bookmark Behind the Steel Curtain for all the latest news, breakdowns, and more!
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