The good folks at Pro Football Focus went through every team and broke down with player is the kryptonite for each NFL team. This includes the Pittsburgh Steelers. The good news is two Steelers, James Harrison and Ben Roethlisberger made the list as killers for other teams, the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots respectively but we are here to talk about who the Steelers killer was.
And to no one’s surprise, it’s Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. Here’s what they say about Gronk and how he’s owned the Steelers.
Sure to upset the #QBWINZ crowd, Roethlisberger comes out as the top-graded player against the Patriots despite being just 4-8 against Brady and company. The tape shows, however, that the subpar record hasn’t been his fault. Big Ben’s touchdown to interception ratio of 18-to-10 doesn’t overly impress, but his big-time throw to turnover-worthy play ratio of 28:8 is much more impressive. The discrepancy indicates that luck hasn’t been on his side in the matchup, but that doesn’t detract from him playing at a high level.
We’ve all lived through Gronkowski picking the Steelers secondary apart. Pittsburgh has never had a player who could match up with Gronk but in fairness few teams do. Last season the Steelers beat the Patriots in part because of a banged up Gronkowski who was a complete non-factor in the passing game.
PFF grades are somewhat subjective but I think we can all agree Gronkowski has been the player who recently has given the Steelers the most trouble. If you have a player you think deserves it more, leave it in the comments below.
