The Pittsburgh Steelers pulled off a big 20-13 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday and it felt like the Mike McCarthy era kicked off much like the Mike Tomlin era ended. With the defense carrying the team and the offense struggling out of the gate. Here are our grades for the Steelers offensive positional units after the win.
Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers finished with just 221 passing yards on 24-for-40 passing. He had one passing touchdown and didn't throw an interception and he showed a live arm and seemed ready to roll. We give Rodgers a little better grade than the stats would dictate because his skill players let him down.
Grade: B
Running back
Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle combined for just 61 rushing yards on 18 carries. Dowdle was a complete non-factor with just 15
of those yards and Warren had yet another costly fumble.
Grade: D
Wide receivers
It was a forgettable performance for DK Metcalf and the rest of the Steelers receivers. Costly drops, some of which got bailed out by penalties doesn't help this group's case. And star rookie Germie Bernard only played three snaps. This group looked very rusty after little action in the preseason.
Grade: C-
Tight end
It's almost like good things happen when you throw to Pat Freiermuth. Freiermuth was the team's most consistent target in the passing game along with receiver Michael Pittman Jr. but it was the fact Freiermuth led the team in catches gives us hope he can have a breakout season.
Grade: B+
Offensive line
Aside from starting right tackle Dylan Cook giving up two sacks, the offensive line was solid in the first game. They did the run game no favors at times and there is still plenty of work to do but this group was better than we expected.
Grade: C+
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Grading the Steelers offensive positional units after Week One
