Steelers report card: Grading each position in win against Eagles
By Tommy Jaggi
Defensive line: A
It’s hard to ever give this group a bad grade. Apart from allowing a 74-yard touchdown run to Miles Sanders on a 3rd and long draw play, Pittsburgh’s defensive line swallowed up the run for the remainder of the game.
Against the pass, they harassed quarterback Carson Wentz early and often, as Pittsburgh was credited with 5.0 sacks in this contest to go with 11 quarterback hits.
As usual, it was the ‘big four’ who provided the most pressure. T.J. Watt, Bud Dupree, Stephon Tuitt and Cameron Heyward combined for 4.0 sacks and 9 of their quarterback hits, in addition to providing constant pressure.
Much of this was to be expected as offensive tackles Andre Dillard and Jason Peters were both out in this contest, while former All-Pro tackle, Lane Johnson, left the game in the second half with an injury.
There was a scary moment later in the game when T.J. Watt exited the game, but he came back in for the final drive to harass Wentz once more. It was yet another dominant showing by this group.