Quarterback: B-

A lot of good was undone with that interception in the final seconds, even if it wasn't entirely Ben Roethlisberger's fault. For the vast majority of the rain-soaked afternoon Sunday, Roethlisberger was sensational. He was better than counterpart Tom Brady, in fact. It had all the makings of being perhaps one of the signature (regular-season) games of a likely Hall-of-Fame career. But the offense's failure to get a first down on its penultimate drive, in addition to the tipped interception in the end zone with 5 seconds left in the game, made sure this won't be a game on Roethlisberger's career highlight reel.

Backs/receivers: A-

The minus falls on Jesse James for just failing to “survive the ground” on what potentially would have been the winning touchdown in the final minute. Outside of that, this group — minus its All-Pro leader for three-quarters of the game — was largely productive, clutch and reliable. Each of the top two running backs had carries of at least 10 yards (Le'Veon Bell totaled 165 yards from scrimmage, arguably the best he's looked all season), all five receivers and both tight ends had at least a catch each. Martavis Bryant and JuJu Smith-Schuster, in particular, had a penchant for coming through with big plays.

Offensive line: C+

Roethlisberger was hit seven times and sacked twice. Bell averaged almost 5 yards per carry and (in a departure from much of the season) had zero carries that netted negative yardage. It wasn't a completely clean effort, but the offense hummed most of the game, and the line was a big part of that. The offensive linemen were flagged three times (Alejandro Villanueva twice in a three-play span), each of which contributed to a drive stalling.

Defensive line: B

It's been too long since Stephon Tuitt was noticeable in making a big play, although he also was stout on a snap-by-snap basis without any big faults. Cameron Heyward had a sack and delivered another hit to Brady, and Javon Hargrave's heavy usage helped limit the Patriots to 77 rushing yards. Overall, the Steelers got more pressure on Brady than they usually do, and the defensive line was the unit most responsible for that.

Linebackers: C

It was as creative a scheme the Steelers have used in terms of deploying their linebackers in a long time, a lot of mixing and matching and subbing personnel packages. Part of that was the continued masking for the loss of Ryan Shazier, and part of it was in an effort to show something different to the Patriots. But the linebackers as a group didn't make many plays. Bud Dupree's sack and Vince Williams' interception might have been the linebackers' only plays of note.

Secondary: C+

This grade was much higher until the Patriots' final drive in which the Steelers proved they had no answer for Rob Gronkowski if and when New England was determined to go to him. Sean Davis often was victimized — and worse, he dropped what could have been a game-clinching interception. Other than Gronkowski, though, the Patriots had just one pass of longer than 13 yards. Just one pass to a wide receiver of more than 12 yards.

Special teams: C-

The kickoff chess match was fascinating — or at least as fascinating as such a thing can be. Both teams elected to pooch, and it was effective (only once did a team begin a drive outside of the 25 after a kickoff, and that was the Patriots at their own 27). Chris Boswell made it four out of five weeks with a 50-plus-yard field goal, and unlike his counterpart Sunday, he was perfect in booting extra points. The kick and punt returning left something to be desired, and the punt coverage allowed a less-than-ideal 11-yard return.

Coaching: B

Personally, I would have liked to have seen Mike Tomlin go for it on fourth-and-1 at the Steelers' 28 with 2 minutes, 16 seconds to play. But I know I'm in the minority on that, so I won't hold it against him. Overall, the Steelers were prepared, and they showed Brady plenty of new wrinkles. The Steelers also weren't intimidated by the mystique that is New England, for which Tomlin should be lauded. But Tomlin putting so much emphasis on this game causes trouble down the road now that the Steelers lost it, that will be a story to be told that will be on him, too.

Overall: B-

Similar to how James failed to complete the catch (“survive the ground” in silly NFL officiating parlance), the Steelers just didn't complete the win. They didn't survive the final Brady onslaught. Up until the final 4 minutes, the Steelers played about as good a game as you can expect. They were inches from victory against the reigning Super Bowl champions, their foil of the past two decades. If they see New England again, they will have to finish.

Chris Adamski is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at cadamski@tribweb.com or via Twitter @C_AdamskiTrib.

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