Steelers top-graded performers vs Chargers are a bit head-scratching

The Pittsburgh Steelers put up a shootout in a loss to the Chargers on Sunday Night Football. Here’s why their list of top-graded performers is surprising. 

We knew that this was going to be an incredibly daunting task for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ben Roethlisberger was cleared to travel to the west coast to face the Chargers just one day before the game, while players like T.J. Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Joe Haden, and Kevin Dotson — among others — were all ruled out for this contest.

It came as no surprise to see the defense struggled the way they did. As a depleted defensive line was down to their second and third-string players for this contest, they were bulldozed on the ground and offered nothing in terms of pass rush.

After rewatching the game, the Steelers had some very impressive performances that stood in a positive light as well as others that really fell short of expectations. However, I can’t say that I wasn’t surprised to learn who the top-graded Pittsburgh players were in this contest.

Recently, Pro Football Focus released their top-five graded Steelers players against the Chargers in Week 11, and a few of the names on this list are a bit head-scratching:

Despite being some of the only bright spots on defense, Cameron Heyward and Cameron Sutton both failed to crack the top-five in terms of their PFF grades this week. But I question a few of the players who made the list ahead of them.

Two Steelers questionable graded out well vs Chargers

I rewatched the Steelers game on Monday morning (many plays I reevaluated 5-10 times). I’ve got to be honest, I’m having a hard time understanding how two names graded out among the best players on the team in Week 11.

The most questionable on this list is defensive lineman Henry Mondeaux. I like Mondeaux’s foot quickness and energy for a player his size, but watching him get steamrolled on the ground and blown off the ball numerous times, I would have expected his grade to be much worse in this contest. In fact, I’m having trouble thinking of a single play of his that stood in a positive light.

In addition, Mondeaux didn’t even crack the box score with so much as a single tackle or hit on the quarterback. Remarkably though, Mondeaux was the fourth-highest-graded player on the team for his efforts against the Chargers.

In the same way, I really thought that rookie OT Dan Moore Jr. struggled at times in this contest. This is to be expected when much of his snaps came against one of the best edge defenders in the league in Joey Bosa. While he was serviceable, I’m having a hard time making sense of how he earned a very respectable 71.2 grade in this game.

Excluded from the list were players like Ben Roethlisberger, Eric Ebron, Cameron Heyward, and Cameron Sutton. While none of them were perfect, I thought these four had strong performances in Week 11.

Pro Football Focus certainly isn’t foolproof, and at least there are plenty of positives to take away from this game. However, some of these grades were head-scratching.