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Receiving: 1 / 0 / 0 on 2 targets
Randle El had one reception in the second quarter where he caught a quick pass but was dropped immediately. In the third, he was hit with a good throw, but ultimately he couldn't come up with the reception. He was the reserve QB in the event that Batch went down and Dixon couldn't return.
Receiving: 1 / 14 / 0 on 1 targets
Obviously with Pittsburgh trying to keep things close to the vest while Roethlisberger is out they are not going to throw it in a 3 and 4 WR set very often. However Randle El was involved in a number of formations and once Roethlisberger returns and Pittsburgh opens up their playbook more he is likely to see an uptick in his receptions. For now though he is a distant 3rd or 4th option in the passing game.
Receiving: 2 / 50 / 0 on 2 targets
Randle El had the two most impactful pass catches for the Steelers in this one. His first came on a 3rd down in the 2nd quarter when he ended up being left one-on-one as a result of a Ravens blitz. Despite it being 3rd-and-short, Batch took a shot, and Randle El was able to leap up and make a big grab at the one yard-line to set up Mendenhall's first TD. His other catch was a 16 yard grab on the Steelers long touchdown drive.
Despite being a guy who many thought might be too old and might lose his job to one of the two rookies drafted by Pittsburgh this past April, Randle El has held on to the #3 WR job and may be relevant again when Roethlisberger returns as the Steelers will be more likely to open things up and throw the ball more with their franchise QB back in the fold. Randle El looked good enough in this game to adjust some of the low expectations on his season.
Receiving: 1 / 13 / 0 on 2 targets
Randle El made a nice early catch, scooping the ball off the turf for a 13 yard gain, but wasn't a factor after that.
Receiving: 3 / 33 / 0 on 6 targets
Randle El continues to be the third receiver for the Steelers, and he was targeted in the game more often than most. This could be a result of a couple things. First, the Saints were missing their starting cornerbacks so Randle El was matched up with #5 on the depth chart. Second, the blitzing was happening so often that deep routes were nearly impossible to execute --- making a slot man more of a weapon. Randle El's impact could have been even higher in this game though. On a play where Roethlisberger avoided edge pressure and stepped up in the pocket, Randle El broke free deep down the left sideline. The ball was underthrown due to Roethlisberger scrambling at the time of release, but Randle El didn't come back enough for it. Had he done so, he still may not have made the catch, but he would have induced pass interference on the face-guarding Malcolm Jenkins, giving the Steelers the ball at the one-yard line.
Passing: 1 - 1, 39 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT
Rushing: 1 / 2 / 0
Receiving: 1 / 10 / 0 on 3 targets
Randle El caught one pass on just three targets in the game. His impact, however, was felt much more than that. The Steelers gave him one carry for two yards on the first play of the third quarter. It was a college-style "jet sweep" handoff to a motioning wideout. It was an otherwise inconsequential two-yard play. On the first play of the fourth quarter, however, the Steelers handed it to a motioning Randle El once more. This time, though, he reversed field back into the middle to give himself a pocket like a QB would have and unleashed a deep pass to the front-right corner of the endzone. Waiting there for it was Mike Wallace, who shielded the defensive back from being able to make a play and hauled it in for a TD. Randle El may never have been a wide receiver that people would consider even among the top 60 at his position, but his ability to return punts and make plays like this are what earned him his massive Dan Snyder-being-overzealous contract in Washington. They also won Pittsburgh a Super Bowl and have contributed to many game-changing plays throughout his career.
Receiving: 5 / 66 / 0 on 9 targets
Randle El's five catches and 66 yards are arguably the most misleading stat line of the game. He was NOT good in this game. He dropped a touchdown on the play directly after the Mike Wallace endzone drop, and failed to make a good enough play on Roethlisberger's miss-thrown slant that led to the Patriots' pick-six. While catching up on Twitter during the game, someone observed, "throwing to Randle El is like throwing the ball away." While that's a bit of exaggeration, Randle El's value comes from his ability to execute trick plays and be a complimentary slot receiver. Once Ward was out for the game, Randle El was needed to be a bigger contributor, and that's the role in which he's not at his best.
Randle El was only used as a decoy on one play where he took a handoff, but handed it to Wallace on a reverse for a big gain. ARE was in on a couple five WR sets, but did not have a catch.
Receiving: 2 / 19 / 0 on 2 targets
Randle El is clearly this team's 5th WR now. He only got into the game after Sanders' injury, but when he did, he made the play of the game by snagging a high Roethlisberger pass with one hand to set up the Steelers' field goal before halftime.
Passing: 1 - 1, 3 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT
Receiving: 2 / 21 / 0 on 3 targets
Randle El has fallen down the wide receiver depth chart, but he continues to offer the Steelers a weapon on gadget plays. In what can only be described as a curious call, the Steelers called a gadget play on 3rd-and-goal from Cleveland's 3 yard line while up 31-3. It was essentially the same play they used to score a long touchdown at Cincinnati on Monday Night Football earlier in the year. The only problem with using Randle El on these plays is that he's rarely ever on the field anymore --- having fallen below Sanders and perhaps even Antonio Brown --- so when he's on, teams will certainly be alerted to the possibility of him handling (and perhaps throwing) the football.
Randle-el had a few moments of Super Bowl glory, including a 37-yard catch and run to give the Steelers a pulse when they had just fallen behind by 18 points and a two-point conversion on an option toss from Roethlisberger.