Ravens vs. Steelers final score recap: Everything you need to know
With a large chunk of the team on the Reserve/COVID-19 list and this game being played on a Wednesday afternoon, the Baltimore Ravens fought hard against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Unfortunately, it was too much to overcome, dropping to 6-5 after a 19-14 loss in Week 12.
The Ravens made the Steelers sweat for a good portion of the game, actually leading after the first quarter and keeping the score within five points until the fourth quarter when Pittsburgh was able to jump out to a 12-point lead. But with a change at quarterback and a big touchdown, Baltimore once again made the Steelers fight until the final whistle for their 11th win.
You aren’t likely going to see a game quite like this one ever again, so let’s take a closer look at all of the most important bits from the Ravens vs. Steelers Week 12 game.
Final score:
1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Total | |
Ravens | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
Steelers | 6 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 19 |
It was over when . . .
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James Washington caught a clutch third-down pass. With about 2-and-a-half minutes on the clock on a third-and-six, Baltimore just needed to get the stop to get the ball back with good field position and a chance to win this game. But Washington -- covered by three defenders -- secured the catch for 16 yards. It wasn't necessarily the end of the game itself but the defense looked broken after that. They allowed runs of 13 and 7 yards in the subsequent plays, ticking valuable time off the clock and eating up valuable yards. The Ravens would never get the ball back, seeing the Steelers run out the clock on the drive and eking out a close win.
Key stats:
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25%: That was Pittsburgh's success rate both in the red zone and in goal-to-go situations. Despite being handicapped with the loss of big-name players like Calais Campbell and Brandon Williams entering this game and the injuries to Marcus Peters and Jimmy Smith, Baltimore's defense did an admirable job against a very tough Steelers offense. The gameplan was clearly to not get beat deep, come up and make tackles on underneath throws, and tighten up in the red zone. The Ravens' defense did exactly that, forcing Pittsburgh to kick two field goals and securing an interception in the end zone. 18: That was the total number of pass attempts by the Ravens in this game. While it's nice to see the run outpace the pass by a wide margin, Pittsburgh was pretty clearly loading up the line of scrimmage, daring Baltimore to beat them through the air. Both Robert Griffin III and Trace McSorley had games they'd probably like to forget but the Ravens' pass catchers didn't do enough to get open and offensive coordinator Greg Roman could have done more to attack that style of defense with quick strikes. 3: This is the number of first downs Pittsburgh had on their final drive, holding onto the ball for the remaining time and not giving Baltimore a chance to win the game. While the Ravens' defense was solid on third down as a whole -- allowing a 43% success rate -- the final drive is where they needed to step it up. Letting up the initial first down hurt but then two more first downs on the ground added insult to injury.
Quote of the game:
AP Photo/Chris Szagola
"They're doing well. There's a lot of challenges with this thing and it hits different guys different ways. I don't feel like anybody's been really hit with the type of things that are serious -- it's all serious but in the kind of a way that you'd really be worried." -- Coach John Harbaugh
With 23 players heading to the Reserve/COVID-19 list over the last 10 days, this is absolutely the most important question that needed to be asked and answered. While football is a serious business, the health of the players, staff members, and their respective families should always come first. According to Harbaugh and offensive lineman Bradley Bozeman, it seems as if the people that tested positive for COVID-19 are having relatively mild symptoms thus far. That's great news on a personal level and it also hopefully means a quicker return to football for these guys.
What's next?
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Barring any more games getting rescheduled and any more COVID-19 outbreaks, the Ravens will face the Dallas Cowboys on Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 8:05 p.m. ET. It'll be a revenge/reunion game for wide receiver Dez Bryant, who last played an NFL game with Dallas before sitting out of football for the 2018 and 2019 seasons. It could also be the potential return for several of Baltimore's players from the Reserve/COVID-19 list. Regardless of who plays and what it means to them personally, the Ravens are officially in must-win mode if they want to guarantee themselves a spot in the playoffs. At 6-5, the margin for error is razor-thin but winning out to an 11-5 record should get the job done without the need for outside help.
