Well, that was quite some football game Sunday at Acrisure Stadium.

The Buffalo Bills thumped the Steelers after halftime, outscoring Pittsburgh 23-0 on the way to a 26-7 win, which saw Pittsburgh Steelers fans rain down boos on the home team, and even mix in chants of “Fire Tomlin!” Oh, and on top of it all, the fans booed the playing of Renegade.

It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day on the North Shore. Nothing went as planned, and now the Steelers are sitting at 6-6 and the season feels like it’s spiraling out of control.

Let’s get to some grades.

QB — F

Aaron Rodgers was supposed to give the Steelers a bit of a boost in his return from injury. Instead, he was like a lead balloon, dragging the rest of the offense down with him in one of the worst showings of the Mike Tomlin era.

The Steelers generated 166 yards of total offense with Rodgers throwing for 117 on just 10-of-21 passing. He misfired on a deep ball early to Roman Wilson in which Wilson had a step. Later, he wasn’t on the same page with Jonnu Smith over the middle. He also took a terrible sack on the first play of the second half, leading to a strip-sack and a Bills scoop and score, which changed the entire game.

Rodgers’ inability to take snaps from under center changed the dynamic of the Steelers’ offense, too, and he just wasn’t able to do much in the passing game. The whole thing is a mess.

After his strip-sack, which left him bloodied on the bridge of his nose, Mason Rudolph came into the game for Rodgers. He skipped his first pass to DK Metcalf and then overthrew Darnell Washington for an interception. Awful stuff.

RB — B-

I sure would have liked to see the Steelers run the football more against one of the worst run defenses in football. But beggars can’t be choosers, I guess. Coming out of the half with a lead and a chance to run the football and keep Josh Allen on the sideline seemed like a great plan for the Steelers. Until they went play-action, and the game changed in the blink of an eye.

Jaylen Warren had some success running the football in the first half, scoring on a 1-yard run to give the Steelers a lead and recording a long of 12 yards. But he finished with just 10 rushes for 35 yards, and he was barely utilized as a receiving back, hauling in just two passes for nine yards.

Kenneth Gainwell had a big splash play early in the game, making a remarkable one-handed catch on a low Rodgers throw out of the backfield. He wasn’t utilized enough, either. Gainwell had just five carries for 20 yards and added just two receptions for 25 yards.

When the offense is operating at a decent level, the running backs are a huge component. Just 19 touches combined isn’t good enough. It starts with play calling.

WR — D

DK Metcalf found himself in a tough matchup against Buffalo cornerback Christian Benford, and he largely failed to deliver. Metcalf finished with just three receptions for 32 yards and was largely invisible throughout the game. His long of 14 yards came when he flashed wide open in the middle of zone coverage.

He continues to get into some battles after the play, too, leading to a penalty after the Steelers’ lone touchdown on the night. There’s a fine line between being aggressive and playing to the whistle and being over the top and hurting your team. Metcalf is dangerously close to falling on the wrong side of that line.

Calvin Austin III was targeted on the first drive of the game on a key third down, but couldn’t come down with the football. He’s just not a contested-catch guy. Roman Wilson stacked his cornerback off the line and won vertically, but Rodgers made a horrendous throw, missing him well outside.

Even Ben Skowronek was targeted, but that target was more notable for him taking out wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni on the sideline in brutal fashion, rather than doing anything with the football itself.

TE — C

It was nice to see Darnell Washington utilized in the passing game in the fourth quarter. He led the Steelers with 45 receiving yards on two catches, including a long of 26 yards up the seam. He’s a matchup nightmare and he continues to prove it. It’s so frustrating that the Steelers can’t get to him early enough in the passing game to really put defenses on their heels.

Jonnu Smith continues to be an absolute zero for the Steelers. He had just one catch for 6 yards and then wasn’t on the same page with Rodgers later in the game on what should have been a big play. He’s not a good blocker, and it’s a shame he continues to take snaps away from Pat Freiermuth.

Speaking of Freiermuth, what the Steelers have done with him this season is beyond absurd. He didn’t see a single target in a game in which the Steelers were getting blown out. They’ve turned him into a glorified blocking tight end, rather using his strengths, which are working in the middle of the field and creating after the catch. It’s coaching malpractice.

OL — C

The Steelers offensive line, down starting left tackle Broderick Jones, did a nice job of protecting the quarterback throughout the game. Though the strip-sack and fumble return was ugly, that wasn’t really on the offensive line. Rodgers just tried to do too much, and the internal clock wasn’t there.

The Steelers allowed just the one sack, and the Bills had just two quarterback hits in total. The Steelers ran the ball well at times, but they were unable to run the football in key short-yardage situations as the Bills loaded things up and weren’t afraid of the passing game.

Zach Frazier had a terrible snap in the second half, too, resulting in a big loss for the Steelers. He’s been a mess at times this season with snaps and flat-out needs to be better.

DL — D

Coming into Sunday, it was all about stopping the run for the Steelers, especially with two Bills backup offensive tackles in the lineup. Safe to say, the Steelers didn’t stop anything. Buffalo rolled to 249 yards on 51 carries, a healthy 5.1 yards per carry.

James Cook III toted the rock 32 times — largely running the same play throughout the game — and gashed the Steelers for 144 yards. Without rookie Derrick Harmon in the lineup due to injury, the Steelers didn’t have much of a chance stopping the run, especially when the Bills ran away from Cameron Heyward.

Heyward flashed at times against the run and helped spill things. He had eight tackles and two tackles for loss and showed up against the run. Rookie Yahya Black had some good moments, too, finishing with nine tackles. But it was too far and few between.

Keeanu Benton was largely a no-show in the middle, recording just one tackle. The Steelers just got pushed around, especially on the back side of zone runs, and they had no answers for it.

LB — F

T.J. Watt had another favorable matchup this week, and he did largely nothing with it. Watt missed at least two tackles, failing to make a play in the backfield on one James Cook run and then failing to sack Josh Allen on another play, allowing the quarterback to escape for a scramble.

He was around the ball quite a bit but did not finish plays. Opposite him, Alex Highsmith had six tackles but didn’t really generate much pressure as a pass rusher. Nick Herbig played limited snaps again and still made plays when on the field. Herbig had three tackles, two tackles for loss and helped force a Cook fumble that set up the Steelers’ lone touchdown.

On the inside, Payton Wilson led the Steelers with 14 tackles. He was around the football a ton, but he made mistakes on the back side of those runs from Cook, leading to cutback lanes. Patrick Queen had some decent moments before leaving the game with an injury. He had a big hit on Allen that shockingly didn’t draw a flag, too. The Steelers had just one quarterback hit on Allen in the pocket, and ironically it was Queen, too.

DB — C-

The Bills didn’t have to do much when it came to throwing the football. Allen attempted just 23 passes, and while he did throw one interception, he had a touchdown pass, too.

Brandin Echols created early splash for the Steelers with a pick on the game’s opening drive. He stepped underneath a Gabe Davis slant route and found a way to hold onto the football. He later had a big pass breakup to force a punt, too.

Joey Porter Jr. had some good moments in space, tackling well 1-on-1. But it was maddening watching him get sucked inside on the zone run, leaving the corner for Cook to exploit. It’s all about eye discipline in those situations and Porter had none of it.

James Pierre exited the game early, giving way to Asante Samuel Jr. to make his Steelers debut. Samuel had three tackles but wasn’t asked to do much.

At safety, Kyle Dugger had some good moments, batting a pass in the backfield that could have gone for an interception. He’s been a welcome addition. But he’s leaving some splash plays out there. Jalen Ramsey had nine tackles and was good coming up to support against the run, but that’s about it.

Special Teams — C-

The Steelers did a nice job of holding the Bills’ kick-return unit in check — but only because they didn’t have to kick off to them but once! All jokes aside, I thought the Steelers’ special teams outside of Corliss Waitman were fine.

Pittsburgh averaged 23 yards on five kickoff returns and Calvin Austin III had a nice 12-yard punt return to give the Steelers some space in their own end.

But Waitman was a disaster for the second straight week. He had a 26-yard punt in the first half, and averaged just 40.3 yards on four punts. He did have a long of 51 yards early in the game, but it was downhill after that. He’s been a real liability, and one has to wonder if the Steelers maybe make a change late in the season.