6 takeaways from Ravens’ 19-14 loss to Steelers
The Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers finally played their Week 12 game on Wednesday afternoon. However, the end result didn’t go in Baltimore’s favor. The Ravens lost another close game as the Steelers were able to pull out a 19-14 victory in a contest where Baltimore put together a monumental effort, but in the end, was just not enough.
The story of this game came down to the talent Baltimore was missing. The team was playing without quarterback Lamar Jackson, tight end Mark Andrews, wide receiver Willie Snead, defensive end Calais Campbell, outside linebacker Matthew Judon, and many others who were sidelined due to the coronavirus. In total, 17 players were on the Reserve/COVID-19 list by kickoff with 23 players going onto the list over the 10 days prior.
However, despite all of that, the Ravens put together a very solid defensive performance. The offense had their moments too and even special teams got in on the action. Let’s dive into what can be realistically taken away from this game.
The Ravens' success is tied to Lamar Jackson
Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
There are a lot of factors that go into a team winning or losing a football game. One phase of a team can succeed while another struggles. Certain players can play really well while others might not. However, on every team, there are players who make more of an impact than others. For the Ravens, that player is Lamar Jackson. And from what we saw on Wednesday afternoon, he is what makes the gears turn for Baltimore's offense. Backup quarterback Robert Griffin III struggled mightily, completing just 7-of-12 passes for 33 yards and one interception (a pick-six at that). Trace McSorley came into the game in the fourth quarter after Griffin suffered a hamstring injury and completed two of his six passes for 77 yards and a touchdown throw to Marquise Brown. Their performances highlighted just how valuable Jackson is to the Ravens. Jackson offers a threat in both the passing game and running game. By the end of the game Wednesday, the Steelers' defense was stacking the box with seven or eight players in order to stop Baltimore's rushing attack since the passing game wasn't working whatsoever. Whether the lack of throwing beyond five yards was a part of the gameplan or a limitation of Griffin and McSorley is something only the coaching staff and players will know. But when Jackson eventually returns, we should see the Raven's offense be in a much better spot.
The rushing attack missed J.K. Dobbins and Mark Ingram
(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Baltimore's rushing attack was the best part of their offense in Week 12, as the team averaged 4.6 yards-per-carry on the ground, but the final stats are a little misleading. Griffin led the team with seven carries for 68 yards and had a few very impressive runs. With the passing offense ineffective for most of the day, the Ravens had to rely on the running game to drive them down the field. While Griffin was effective and Justice Hill had a decent day on the ground with nine carries for 38 yards, it was clear that the team missed both Dobbins and Ingram. Despite Hill being able to find some room on the ground, his counterpart in Gus Edwards struggled mightily. Edwards finished the day with nine carries for 10 yards in what was an uncharacteristic day for a runner who has averaged over 5.0-yards-per-carry throughout his career. Dobbins would have been a welcome addition with his ability to stay on his feet and bounce off of tacklers while being more of a receiving threat too. While Ingram has struggled running the football this season, he's a good receiver out of the backfield too, and is an above-average pass blocker. With Baltimore relying on the run game so much throughout the game on Wednesday, it would have been nice to have both Dobbins and Ingram in the mix.
Baltimore's defense is still one of the best in the NFL
Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
In what might be considered a bit of a hot take, the Ravens' defense proved that they are still one of the best units in the NFL with their performance on Wednesday against the Steelers. They were able to hold Pittsburgh to just one offensive touchdown while turning them away from the end zone on three of their four red-zone possessions. Baltimore got huge stops throughout the game and prevented Pittsburgh from gaining any real momentum on offense. They did all of that without several star players. Calais Campbell, Brandon Williams, Matthew Judon, Pernell McPhee, Jimmy Smith, and others would have made a huge impact for the Ravens. Despite their absences, Baltimore's defense was still able to contain one of the more efficient offenses in the NFL. Once Baltimore gets the rest of their defense back they should return to playing like an elite unit, much like was seen at the beginning of the 2020 season. Moving forward, it's now important for the unit to put together a good 60 minutes of football and not fizzle out towards the end of games. If they can do that, this defense will be hard to move the ball against and could just be the spark to something special.
The Ravens need to get more pressure on the quarterback
Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Baltimore has had games where they were able to get to and sack the quarterback with ease. Their Week 12 matchup with the Steelers was not one of them. Despite generating a bit of pressure on quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on Wednesday, the Ravens failed to sack him once. While sacks don't mean everything when it comes to generating pressure, there were multiple instances throughout the game where Baltimore sent a heavy blitz and not one person got home to the quarterback, thanks in part to Roethlisberger getting the ball out quickly. The trend of not getting to the quarterback has been a big one in recent weeks. In Week 11, the Ravens were only able to bring down Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill two times. The week prior in Week 10, they only sacked Cam Newton once. It's not as easy as it sounds to generate pressure, especially without your two sack leaders, but in order to win games, the Ravens will have to consistently get more pressure on blitzes they send.
Baltimore's coaching staff needs to be better
(AP Photo/Terrance Williams)
The Ravens have one of the better coaching staffs in the league. Led by John Harbaugh, Don Martindale, Greg Roman, and others; this team has the guidance and smarts behind them to win a lot of games. However, on Wednesday against the Steelers, the coaching staff arguably had their worst game of the 2020 season. Harbaugh brutally misplayed the final 30 seconds of the first half, causing the Ravens to miss out on points going into the end of the first half. While he wasn't helped by the officials, who clearly missed a delay of game penalty as Pittsburgh's defense literally laid on the turf, the fact remains that Baltimore didn't score a single point from Pittsburgh's one-yard line. Roman didn't have his worst game as a play-caller but seemingly couldn't stop running the ball on first down for most of the game, which put the Ravens in a lot of second-and-long situations. Martindale continued to dial up off-coverage and zone looks against an offense that throws more quick passes than any team in the NFL. In turn, the Steelers picked up short gain after short gain to keep drives alive. This coaching staff is extremely intelligent and not every game can be perfect, but this was a rare case of bad in-game adjustments from coaches that have done better before.
The Ravens never give up
(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Despite one of the craziest weeks in team history, the Ravens never quit and never gave up. Multiple COVID-19 cases, game postponements, and lack of practice were all great excuses to roll over and let Pittsburgh pick up an easy win. But the coaches, staff members, and players worked with what they had and made it a very competitive game against an undefeated team. This was a game that barely anyone predicted Baltimore to win. They blocked out the distractions, worked with the players they had, and still put together an overall impressive performance. The Ravens pride themselves on having elite depth at almost every position, and it was tested to the absolute limit on Wednesday. Players in all facets of the game stepped up and likely earned themselves bigger roles moving forward. There might never be a stretch like this for Baltimore again. In fact, they'd probably be ecstatic if there wasn't. Regardless, their performance in Week 12 will be remembered for a long time, even if the end result was a loss.
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