Stillers 21, Patsies 14 ...... Sep 21, 2025 …………Game # 3
Stillers-Pats Postgame Analysis and Grades
The 1-1 Stillers eked out a thin, uninspiring road win vs an average NE team. Due to being in Europe and with the time difference, this will be a short postgame.
Grades:
QB: Rodgers got the start. Had a couple nice TD passes, along with a reprehensible INT and a variety of sorry plays, including getting striped for a fumble that the offense recovered, yet still a grisly play. 139 yards passing is a hilarity. C+
RB:
Warren – Ok day, with some solid runs and good RAC. But nowhere near good enuf. C+
Kaleb J. - benched, as Mike Asslin benched him for the KO blunder from last week.
Gainwell - had an easy TD run, 1Q.
FB:
WR:
Metcalf – nice TD grab. Only 3 grabs. B-
Austin – grabbed a meaningless 9 yard slant on 3d and 22, 3Q. Had the TD grab on a play in which he pretty much did nothing, with a perfect back shoulder pass on a play where the CB completely missed his jam at the LoS and then provided poor coverage. B
Wilson – did nothing, as usual.
Skowronek – see Big Roman Wilson.
Scott Miller – see Big Roman Wilson.
TE:
Pat FryBoy – 1 grab for 6 yards, for the 8th highest paid TE in the league. C-
Jonnu Smith – had 3 grabs. Had a hideous fumble, 1st play after NE tied the game in 4q, and was saved by an INCH from the NE player recovering the fumble near the sideline.
Darnell - did nothing in the passing game.
Con Heyward – as usual, did nothing.
OL: Overall, the line (Jones, Seumalo, Frazier McCormick, Fautanu) had a mediocre game. The run blocking was spotty for too much of the game. The pass pro was mediocre as well. Rodgers was hit far too many times as he was releasing a pass. C
DL:
Heyward – Scam had the luxury of facing 2 rookies on the left side of the NE o-line. On a play in which he did nothing, 1Q, Scam grabbed at the QB as he lunged forward from the pass rush, for no gain. Of course, The Scammer got credit for a sack, er, a Dong Sack, on this play. Later in 1H, Scam came in untouched and did nothing. Harmon made the play and the stop for the sack, with Scam coming in late and pawing aimlessly, yet somehow Scam got credit for a half sack. Late in the 1H, Scam got the very fingertip of his pinkie on a pass, which didn’t seem to alter the pass much at all. The pass was INT’d, and sure as fuq, you’ll hear about this play from the Scam Heyward hype machine for the next 3 years, if not longer. After the game, the NFL correctly took away the bullshit half sack. In the 3Q, Scam got mauled on a goal line plunge, but managed to at least paw at the ball and it forced a fumble. Let’s not go overboard here, as this wasn’t Derrick Henry or James Conner toting the pill. Rather, it was a scrub named Rhamondre Stevenson, who had already fumbled in the 1H and is hardly the next John Riggins. Scam finished with 3 solos, altho the Pgh media will make it out as tho he had 12 or 13 solos. And again, let’s not forget the luxury of being blocked by rookie greenhorns the entire game. B
Benton – did little.
Ekuale – had a tackle.
Lowdermilk - on IR.
Harmon - made the play to sack the QB, later in 1Q, but Scam unfairly got half the sack. Thankfully this was corrected after the game. Played okay. Wasn’t exactly Aaron Donald out there on the gridiron.
YaYa Black – did little. Anyone remember the preseason, when Big Yaya was being compared to Reggie White while facing 5th string blockers ?
LB:
Queen – actually was far more active than usual. Not great by any means, but at least he looked like he cared, for once. May hav botched the coverage on the 4th and 2 TD pass. B-
Pey Wilson – got a solo on a ground play, 3Q, which gained…..9 yards. The epitome of this guy’s play. May have been guilty on the a4th and 2 TD pass. Still is part of the problem of a defense getting gashed by average RBs as well as average TEs. C+
Watt – finally got a sack, 2Q. Also had a Dong Sack late in the game. Was more active and impactful than he’d been in literally months, causing havoc and wrecking some plays. B
Highsmith – sat out with an ankle.
Holcombe - had a FF in 1Q, altho it was a ground play that would have gained 6 or 7 yards. On a 4th and 1 from the NE 16, 2Q, he whiffed miserably on a quickie pitch that should have been stopped well short of the sticks. C
Herbig – applied some decent pressure, 2Q. Had the huge strip sack in the 4q that probably won the game. Was harvassing the QB all game long. Very solid effort. B+
DB
Joey Porter Jr. - Did not dress.
Slay – did little.
Thornhill – did little.
DeShon Elliot – did not dress.
Jalen Ramsey - did little.
Clark - dropped an INT, early 1Q, tho it woulda been nullified. Had an apparent INT, 2Q, but he muffed it and the ball hit the ground.
Echols - big INT in EZ, with only 7 secs left in the half. Had the big 4th down stop late in the game to seal the W. A-
Peppers - had the big FF and then recovered the loose ball, 3Q.
Spec teams:
Waitman – Punted okay. Poor 26 yard punt that was FC at the 18, 4q, which enraged me. B
Boswell – wasn’t tasked to boot any FGs; a rarity.
OC: Art Smith oversaw another drab, moribund offensive display. Sure, a nice 1Q, followed by sheer vomit. C-
DC: Austin struggled like a complete bitch against Maye and the NE offense. Couldn’t get off the field on 3rd and longs, time and time and time again. At one point, allowed 13 consecutive completions by Maye. Only the carelessness with the pigskin saved Austin from allowing 30 points once again. C
HC: Mike Asslin will be all proud over this one, despite his vaunted defense getting carved up by a greenhorn QB. Had NE not coughed the pigskin time and time and time again, the Pats win this one in a cakewalk. Turnovers can be flukey in terms of actually getting them, and today was a flukey day that won’t happen every week. C
Synopsis: the problems are many with this club. Let’s not sugarcoat that at’all. The defense is overhyped and can’t stop average offenses, which is precisely what they’ve faced in the Jets, Seahawks, and now the Pats. The defense is far too soft, and the offense is far too flimsy, unsustainable, and anemic. I won’t fawn and gloat over eking by a mediocre Pats team in this manner. Next up, a road trip to Ireland against the Dykings. Let’s hope Asslin travels the team earlier than Friday, which is what this boneheaded fool did the last time they played in Europe in circa 2013.
Follow Mill on Twitter, at StillMill1