Stillers 27, Dolts 20…..Nov 2, 2025 ….Game #8
Stillers-Dolts Postgame Analysis and Grades
The 4-3 Stillers hosted the 7-1 Indy Dolts. Indy took a quick 7-0 lead and seemed to be in control, but then 3 rapid-fire turnovers jolted the Dolts, and the Stillers took a 14-7 lead. Boswell’s FG on the final snap of the 1H boosted the lead to 10. The score remained 17-7 at the end of 3, altho PIT had a 1st & G at the 2 when the 4Q started and Warren boosted the lead to 24-7. The Colts added a late TD and FG, but it was too little, too late, and the Stillers prevailed.
Grades:
QB: Rodgers got the start. Mediocre 1H, going 14 of 22 for 108. Obviously, the short field positions created by the 2 turnovers helped immensely. Had an okay 22H, with the offense mostly chewing clock and adding a TD and FG. The numbers don’t pop, but Rodgers was efficient, and didn’t make any of the hideous mistakes that his counterpart with Indy made. B
RB:
Warren – Had a short TD plunge, 2Q. Ran a power pitch in for a 2-yard TD, early 4Q. Had a somewhat rough outing otherwise, with yardage hard to come by. Had 31 yards on 16 rushes, and 2 grabs for minus-2. B-
Kaleb J. – rotted the pine. Ran a toss sweep, 3Q, for 4 yards. Grabbed a short dumpoff and gained 9, 2 plays later.
Gainwell – good RAC on a flare pass, mid 4Q. Had 4 grabs, and is perhaps emerging as the Offenses more popular pass-catching back, albeit Warren is still a beast in pass pro. B
FB: rarely used.
WR:
Metcalf – dropped a short, easy crosser, 2Q. Had 2 grabs for 6 yards, which ain’t nowhere near enough from a WR1 to win games consistently in the NFL C-
Austin – good grab on low crosser, 3d & 10, and got the 1D, 2Q. Grabbed a short in, 3d & 6 later in the drive, and gained about 12. Flagged for a false start, late 2Q, after a timeout. Moron. Solid RAC on a short out, late 3Q, and gained 18. Had 5 grabs for 56, which wasn’t shabby. B+
Wilson – Late in the game with a TEN point lead, this moron decided to play HERO BALL by trying to hurdle a defender after a 0-step hitch, and the ball got poked out for a turnover. What. A. Moh-ron. D
Skowronek – got a fair number of snaps at WR; did nothing.
Scott Miller – sat out due to a finger injury.
TE:
Pat FryBoy – grabbed a short dumpoff, 2Q, and gained about 7. Good grab for a TD, 4:30 2Q. Had 3 grabs for 27. Like DK, this ain’t enough out of a TE1. B-
Jonnu Smith – failed ot haul in pass, 1st play o’ game. Not an easy grab, but not impossible, either. Had a couple short grabs. B-
Darnell – failed to haul in a TD pass, 3d series. On the next play, 4th & goal, the slant pass hit him in the gut, unprepared, and bounced to the ground, Inc. Very poor. Held onto a pass, early 3Q, despite a big hit. Good 11 yard grab, late 3Q, and held on despite a good lick. Had 4 grabs. Had he snared the TD in the 1Q, his grade woulda been higher. B
Con Heyward – ran a QB sneak for 4 yards. Otherwise, did little.
Spence Anderson – had to shift to OG when Seamalo got hurt.
OL: Overall, the line (Jones, Seumalo, Frazier McCormick, Fautanu) had an okay game.
Jones and McCormick both got whipped for a sack, 2d series. Seumalo got injured and did not return. The run blocking mostly sucked. And the Dolts don’t bring the kind of heavy pass pressure that scares anyone. C
DL:
Heyward – got a batted pass, 1st series. Then batted a pass, 2 plays later, as he was unblocked on his rush. Had 0 solos, 2 As, 1H.
Scam got an assist, early 3Q. 14:37 - 3rd Qtr. J.Taylor left guard to IND 35 for 1 yard (Ca.Heyward; K.Benton).
Scam got fawned all over by the TV crew on a 3d down Inc pass at 10:50 4Q, but it was QUEEN, not Scam, who forced the Inc pass. Flagged for offsides late in the game (declined). Finished the game by ROLLING THE DONUT with ZERO solos, and 4 As. Maybe Scam should sit out drills and demand more money. C-
Benton – Got a sack, early 4Q. Was more active than he’d been in weeks. B
Ekuale – injured last week, on IR.
Harmon – got a solo stop of Taylor, on 1 yard run, 2Q. Was decently involved.
LB:
Queen – The Queen had an amazing game for a 3-down, starting ILB, finishing with (hold your laughter, please) ZERO solos, along with 6 As.
Busted up pass near GL, 1st series. Had a half-hearted arm grab on Taylor on 4th & 1, which Taylor easily busted and got the 1D. You can’t play this many snaps as a starting, 3-down ILB and finish with zero solos. D+
Pey Wilson – got a solo on a middle dumpoff, late 1Q. INT’d a short pass, 2Q, on a poorly thrown pass that hit Wilson directly in the chest. Batted a pass on an unblocked blitz, 3Q, which was INT’d by Sawyer. Was active and eager all over the field. Probably his best game of his career. A
Watt – stripped the ball from Jones in the pocket, 2Q, and then recovered the ball for a huge turnover. Applied some other pressure, and blew up a couple running plays. A-
Highsmith – looped around half-hearted block by LT Bernhard Raimann and nabbed Taylor for -1, 2d play of game. Of course, he got injured on the play and left the game at that point. He did return, however. Dropped into coverage, late 2Q, and nipped a pass as it was arriving to the intended receiver, forcing an Inc. Had ONE solo the entire 1H.
Got a Dong Sack, early 3Q, when the QB clumsily dropped BEYOND his pocket, allowing Fraudsmith, who was doing his famous Wide Loop Rush, to simply hit him far behind the LoS. Got a strip sack, 8:00 4Q, for a turnover. An above average game by Bumsmith, although he won’t have the luxury of facing a complete pilo manure LT like Raimann each week at this level. B+
Holcomb – Had some odd midweek illness and did not dress.
Herbig – Mostly rotted the bench, AGAIN. Nabbed Jones on a scramble for a 1-yard gain, 11:10 4Q.
Sawyers – Got a Dong INT, 3Q, when a pass got batted by Wilson and deflected directly into Jack’s lap.
Malik Harrison - got some PT.
DB
Joey Porter Jr. - got scorched on early 3d & 11, by Alec Pearce, for 18. Flagged for PI, early 2Q. Got beaten deep, late 2Q, but the pass was overthrown. Flagged for PIT, 11:33 4Q. Got a Dong INT late in the game on a hideous misfire by Jones. Overall, this wasn’t a terribly good game by Porter. C
Slay – got injured, 1st series. Came back, then got injured early 4Q. With any luck, he’ll be stapled to the bench for the next 10 weeks. C
Thornhill – did not dress
DeShon Elliot – injured last week, on IR.
Jalen Ramsey - shifted to FS with all the safety injuries. Whiffed on RAC by #14, allowed 10 extra yards on 36 yard gainer. Correctly flagged for a blow to the head on Pittman after a reception, late 4Q. B
Clark – did not dress.
Peppers - did not dress.
Duggar - The newly acquired safety got his feet wet and didn’t commit any hideous blunders. B
Echols - got a finger or two on a 3d down pass, busting it up as it arrived to the WR, 4:30 3Q.
Pierre - saw some PT.
Spec teams:
Waitman – punted acceptably. Not shabby. B+
Boswell – booted 2 FGs.
Echols got a fluke fumble recovery on a punt, when the Dolt punt returner allowed the ball to land and bounce and the ball hit him in the chest.
On the last play of the 1Q, Indy faced a 4th & short 1 from their own 25. Danny Smith and his punt return team then got fooled on a fake punt. Quick -- let's zoom in and show Dumbass Danny chewing his gum and looking all befuddled. After all, the cameras ALWAYS zoom in on Big Danny any time his vaunted spec teams do anything of medium mediocrity. Smith got more airtime during today’s broadcast than Aaron Rodgers.
OC: Art Smith had an okay day, esp on paper, but had a variety of struggles.
I despised not getting a snap off just before the 2MW in the 1H. There was ample time to do so, but the offense dawdled on a 1st & 10 on its own 28. Then, cllock management got worse at the end of that half for the Steelers. They had 2 timeouts, yet were saving them for a rainy day. Should’ve called it with 35 seconds left. Would’ve had 3 full plays at the end zone. Instead they get 2 and the field goal.
I wasn’t fond of the timid 3Q drive,which saw line plunges on 2d & 3rd down, and then a punt. And don’t be fooled by the 27 points, as the offense was gifted GOLDEN field position time and time and time again, thanx to Indy turnovers. C
DC: Austin will be crowing after this one, with the defense getting 5 turnovers.
The first series was horrific. 3d & 11, 1st drive, easy pass to Alec Pierce for 18. The Dolts then easily converted a 4th & 1 plunge, and then converted a 4th and inches sneak, easy as pie, for the TD. Before ya knew it, the Dolts were up 7-0, after an easy, 13-play, 79 yard march. Were it not for Indy’s careless, sloppy play on offense, it’s a wonder what the Dolts offense may have further done. B+
HC: Mike Asslin will pound his chest and be all proud after this win. Of course, it’s rather easy to win when the turnover margin is 5, with the Steelers getting 6 and the Dolts getting 1. Even with the hefty turnover margin, this was a thin 7 point win. Asslin loves eating junk calories off turnovers, but the bounces needed for 4 of these turnovers – the punt bounce, the bounce off Peyton Wilson into the arms of Sawyer, and the bounce of strip sacks – was all fortuitous, and not a sustainable approach to consistently winning games at this level of football. Ya didn’t see these lucky bounces in grisly losses to Cinci and GB. Let’s see how The Mighty Tomlin fares the next 2-3 weeks. B+
Synopsis: After the hideous 2-game losing streak, ya take the win. In some respects, a solid win, and in other, the warts are still there. Yeah, the defense “forced” all these turnovers. Actually, the luck of the bounce was far, far more critical. Let’s see this team do this, week in and week out, before getting our hopes up and planning Sup Bowl parades, shall we? Up next, a dreaded road trip to the west coast, to take on the Chargers.