…in which two AFC North teams squared off for the 47th time this season.
Okay. It was only the third time. But players for both teams have often cited the familiarity the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens have with one another, as well as mutual animosity. “There’s no love lost between these teams” implies something other than love does exist, and whatever that is is usually on display in ugly, brutal fashion. These games are historically close, tightly-wound affairs, often decided by a late field goal or turnover. Injuries are common in these tilts, as are penalties, presumably from an overexuberance to actually kick the crap out of the other guys.
It’s generally great football theater with multiple storylines and concerns, and fans of the AFC North have been keenly aware of this since the Ravens established their own legacy largely off early bullying of the Steelers, who’d held a degree of dominance of the old AFC Central for decades. The Ravens’ Super Bowl win in 2000 officially broke the Steelers’ hold, and they’ve largely traded the division (and a ton of insults) since.
Saturday evening was, alas, not great theater.
The Ravens, whose recent surge in the standings has been well documented, dominated the first half; mostly with a bit of rushing sleight-of-hand from QB Lamar Jackson (16-21, 175 yards, 2 TDs, 15 carries, 81 yards), who thoroughly confused the Steelers with deft read-option carries between himself and mammoth RB Derrick Henry (26 carries, 186 yards, 2 TDs). The Ravens’ second scoring drive consisted entirely of 13 consecutive rushing plays, which demonstrates a marked lack of respect for a defense, and particularly this defense. The drive ended with a Henry TD, capping the Steelers’ humiliation fully.
Indeed, the Ravens’ passing attack was a repudiation of a common football trope – “teams rush to set up the pass” – whereas the Ravens seem to merely pass to keep defenses from fully committing to the run. Missing Pro Bowl WR Zay Flowers (knee), Baltimore’s leading receiver was TE Isaiah Likely, whose three catches and TD amply demonstrated the casual feel of the passing game much of the evening. Pittsburgh’s overmatched defense simply had no answers to Baltimore’s multi-pronged attack, as witnessed by the complete absence of former Defensive Player of the Year LB T.J. Watt from the stat sheet. The Steelers generated a lot of downfield tackles, including 14 from LB Elandon Roberts and 10 each from DT Cam Heyward and LB Patrick Queen, but otherwise stumbled throughout. They did manage to force four Baltimore punts, but did little else to respond.
The Steelers’ offense had been largely ineffective for a month prior to this game, and their woes continued, at times embarrassingly. QB Russell Wilson (21-29, 270 yards, 2 TDs) moved the ball very well between red zones, but simply couldn’t connect when the team needed points most – a recurring theme during his ill-fated tenure in Denver and now Pittsburgh. The Steelers’ rushing attack managed a paltry 29 yards on 11 total carries, a sign of how thoroughly overmatched the team was early. WR George Pickens (5 catches, 87 yards, 1 TD) was the team’s best offensive skill player outside of Wilson, but he largely disappeared in the fourth quarter, when the Steelers desperately needed him.
Defensive standouts for the Ravens include S Ar’Darius Washington (7 tackles), whose key third down tackle of Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth in the second quarter forced a Pittsburgh punt, effectively killing the lone bit of first-half momentum the Steelers had. LB Roquan Smith added five tackles, and DT Nnamdi Madubuike collected two sacks.
The final score – Steelers 14, Ravens 28 – fit the “not as close as it appeared” cliche quite effectively. Needless to say, these teams are headed in very different directions.
With all sincerity, best of luck to the Steelers and their fans. Y’all are in for some major changes though.
Stay cool.
Next for Ravens: Ravens @ Bills, 1/19, 6:30 pm, CBS
