Steelers report card: Grading Pittsburgh after revenge game vs. Browns

With the Steelers' toughest stretch of their schedule still to come, this seemed like a must-win for Pittsburgh if they wanted to stay at the top of the playoff seeding. It was a contest that saw the Black and Gold battling to try to not fall to the Browns twice in one year. This was another small test for the home team to overcome, and luckily for the Steelers, they found a way to win.

Pittsburgh had multiple players out of the lineup at various points in the game like Donte Jackson and Larry Ogunjobi. Meanwhile, George Pickens, who sustained a hamstring injury on Friday, wasn't able to play.

All three had a big impact on the Steelers' starting lineup, but Pittsburgh was still able to emerge victorious. With another win in Week 14, they have positioned themselves nicely going into one of the toughest stretches in all of football.

Steelers offense report card grade: B-

It was a tale of two halves for the Steelers offense for the most part. They struggled in the first half. They seemed to be reeling with George Pickens last-minute inactive status. They couldn't find a reasonable balance to replace him in the lineup. Luckily for them, the defense was able to bail them out and they received significant contributions when it came to field positioning.

The second half seemed to be where Russell Wilson and Pittsburgh's offense started to settle in. They were able to lead two quality drives that resulted in ten points in the second half that didn't require help via field position.

It was an unspectacular game for the offense, but they were able to capitalize on the chances that were granted to them and score 27 points, so hard to give them a bad grade.

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Steelers defense report card grade: A

The defense won this game for Pittsburgh. It was nice to see them bounce back against Cleveland after their questionable performance last time around. The Brown's offense was able to move the ball to a certain degree, but the Steelers' defense was able to deflate their drives. No matter if it was causing turnovers or forcing Cleveland to fail fourth-down conversions, Pittsburgh was on fire.

Make no mistake about it, Pittsburgh's defense was the key cog to victory. They were able to set up their struggling offense in plus territory, which they were able to take advantage of. They were able to slow down the Brown's rushing attack enough and force Jameis Winston into a few turnovers. A nice bounce-back game after the Steelers allowed 38 points the previous week.

Steelers special teams report card grade: A-

Special teams played a big factor in this outcome. It is not every game where you see an effort in the third phase of football make a difference. The Steelers were able to take advantage of some mistakes by the Browns. Cleveland's kicker missed both of his field goal attempts. Add in the dropped punt by Kadarius Toney and it spelled disaster for the away team in this matchup.

Chris Boswell continues to be terrific for the Steelers, and Calvin Austin III had a nice return to set up Pittsburgh's offense in plus territory. Corliss Waitman is an unsung hero here as he had a handful of terrific punts that changed the field position battle. The Steelers didn't get a perfect score because they allowed a huge kick return by the Browns to open the second half.