Grades: Three Steelers who earned As vs. Raiders

2. Will Allen

Pittsburgh’s secondary has gotten a bad rap this season, and some of that is well-deserved. The unit has suffered some serious lapses in big games and they continue to give up too many explosive plays for comfort.

And yet every week another defensive back seems to step up and come through with a solid game. Last time around it was cornerback Antwon Blake, and this week it was safety Will Allen.

Most of what Allen did on Sunday won’t make it into the box score, but he did a solid job covering Oakland’s very talented wide receivers and he finished the game with three passes defended and five total tackles.