Stillers 30, Seahags 23 ...... Dec 31, 2023 ………Game # 16
Stillers-Seahags Postgame Analysis and Grades
The 8-7 Stillers mosied out to the great NW to take on the 8-7 Seahags. The Stillers led at halftime, 17-14, led by a dominant ground game in which the 2 RBs gained 141 yards on 20 carries. The Stillers managed to pull away in the 4Q and won for the first time in Seattle since Cliff Stoudt guided a win in 1983.
Grades:
QB: Mason R. got the start. Solid 1st half, going 9 of 13 for 120. Finished 18 of 24 for 274 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. 112.2 rating against Seahawks. Several times, he stood tall amid a rush and delivered a decent pass, such as the late deep lob to Pickens that essentially iced the game. Well done. A
RB:
Harris – good power run for a TD, late 2Q. Another good power run for a TD in the 2H. Angrily stiff-armed a DB in the 2H in hilarious fashion. Loved it! Had 27 rushes for 122 and 2 TDs, and woulda had another TD in the final minute, but slid down at the 2. Frankly, up by 7 and less than 1 minute left on the clock, the correct play here would have been to SCORE the TD, not slide. A
Warren – superb first run, throwing TWO stiff arms and gaining 10. Nice 18-yard TD run, late 1Q. Had 13 rushes for 75 yards, plus 4 grabs. Well done. A
FB: never used.
WR:
Dionte – Without being hit, he foolishly BOBBLED and COUGHED up the ball while falling OOB. This was originally ruled a fumble, but thankfully the replay official ruled his foot was OOB a millisecond before he coughed up the ball. Still, what a jackmule. Had a couple big grabs, and finished with 4 grabs for 76. B
Pickens – nice pluck of a high curl pass, late 1Q. Brilliant catch of a deepish lob on 3rd down, 11:00 4Q, for a big gainer. Had a couple other nice gainers in a solid effort. 7 grabs for 131 ain’t too shabby. A
Austin – Again, did nothing in the passing game.
Robinson – only “targeted” once, on a throwaway in the EZ on 3d & goal.
TE:
Pat FryBoy – flagged for illegal motion, 1Q, which negated a 1st down by Dionte. Good RAC on a 25 yard gain, on a 3d & 4 late 2Q. Nice play. Had 3 grabs for 44, which is at least 2 fewer grabs than he oughta get in any game. B
Darnell – chipped in with run blocking.
Con Heyward – limited use.
OL: Overall, the line (Moore, Seumalo, Cole, Daniels, Jones ) had a solid game.
Superb unit blocking on the Warren 18 yard TD run. Plenty of push on numerous runs by Harris and Warren. The pass pro was adequate, with infrequent heavy harassment. Overall unit, A
Jones got wheeled back to the QB on a 3rd down sack deep in SEA territory, 2Q. Very poor.
DL:
Heyward – batted a pass, first series. Chipped in LIGHTLY on the play that Ogunjobi completely blew up, and got a slop assist. This was ALL that he did the entire game. For $16M in salary, no less. D-
Ogunjobi – blew up a 1st down running play, 6:30 3Q.
Watts – had an ankle-nip tackle that saved some big yardage.
Lowdermilk – good chasedown for a solo.
Leal – did not dress.
Benton – Held off the sheet, although he did have some good interior pressures.
LB:
Landon Rob – sat out due to injury.
Myles Jack - tackled a RB after a dumpoff, late 1Q, but the gain was 8 yards. Had an adequate game.
Watt – Chased down a scrambling QB on the OTHER side of the field, late 2Q, to force a punt. Last play of the 3Q, Big TJ Watt gets knocked onto his ass, and Geno Smith takes off on a scramble around the ACRE of room vacated by Watt, good for a 25-yard scamper. Thank you, PJ Watt. Blew up a running play, early 4Q, for a 1 yard loss. Applied a few very-legitimate pressures on the QB. B
Highsmith – On back to back plays, 2Q, Big Alex Highsmith looked and played like asz, first WHIFFING on a RB and then getting MAUL-blocked on the TD run. When SEA took the ball to start the 2H, they ran 2 plays in a row where Big Alex Highsmith will get credited with a "hurry". On BOTH plays, he was COMPLETELY UNBLOCKED (by DESIGN) and SEA easily completed passes on BOTH plays. Applied some light pressure on a 3rd down pass that went INC, 3Q, to force a FG. Did nothing all game long, finishing with (please, hold your laughter) zero solos, zero assists, and zero nothing. A big zero for The Donut Roller, Big Alex Highsmith. F
Herbig – rotted the bench on D all game long. Finally got a snap at ROLB in the 4Q, and voila – he beat a DOUBLE team and stripped the QB and then recovered the pigskin. THIS is what linebacking play looks like, folks. A
Golden – got a “solo tackle” in the 3Q when a poor direct snap to a RB got botched, and the RB had to dive onto the loose ball.
DB
Wallace – surprisingly wasn’t abused or picked on too badly.
Peterson - started at FS. Didn’t make any plays, but wasn’t beaten deep.
Joey Porter Jr. - got abused on multiple plays by Metcalf, in the 2Q. Mid 2Q, got nicked up. Drew a holding flag on Metcalf to negate a 20-some yard run, 3Q. Had an adequate game. B
Kazee – suspended.
Keanu Neal – still on IR.
Minkah - sat out due to injury.
Rowe – started at SS. Dropped an easy INT, late 1Q. Provided some solid, acceptable play. B
Pierre – came in for Porter, and promptly allowed a 12 yard TD pass.
C. Sullivan – hit the WR as the ball arrived, late 2Q, forcing an INC pass. Had a couple crisp tackles.
Spec teams:
Harvin – Only punted once, and for 46 yards. B+
Boswell – booted 3 of 3 FGs. A couple KOs were shallow.
OC: Faulkner and Sullivan oversaw an offense that scored 30 points and punted only once. Not shabby.
I despised the use of 13 personnel (3 TEs) on a 2nd and 10 from the SEA 11, mid 4Q, which was the inevitable line plunge that was stuffed for a 1 yard loss. Up by 4, it made sense to go for the dagger here with PASS plays on both 2d and 3rd downs. As it was, they settled for a FG. With Mason playing well at QB, and with him not being some greenhorn, they didn’t need to take such a babyfied approach here. B+
DC: Austin had some luck, with SEA losing its RT and Center during the game. Of course, Austin had his hands full, getting gashed by Geno and the SEA offense for 14 points in the 2Q after the Steeler offense had chewed up 97% of the clock in the 1st qtr. I wasn’t terribly pleased with the run defense nor the pass coverage. They tightened up a bit in the 2H, although, again, the offense chewed up quite a bit of block in the 2H as well. B
HC: Mike Asslin will be all proud over his 17th straight non-losing season. Gee, how impressive. Now, if only he can win a playoff game. (Ain’t won one since Jan 2017.) B
Synopsis: A big win in a must-win game. Next week, do or die versus Balt (although there is a slight chance the team can lose, and still make the playoffs.) Before everyone starts licking their chops at whupping up on the Ravens' backups next week..... hold yer horses. This PIT team lost twice in 4 days, at HOME, to 2-10 teams. Balt players aren't simply going to roll over & quit. If there's a game of this nature to be lost, Mike Asslin is the coach who can lose it.
Follow Mill on Twitter, at StillMill1