Week 14 Takeaways: Steelers implode in 16-14 loss to Ravens
If fans of the NFL looked at the final score, they might have thought the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens really put together a good battle in an AFC North rivalry game. Battle would be correct; it was a physical game. The score was close, and many games between these division rivals are. This was a game a final score could not define, though. Filled with cringe-worthy moments, the Steelers’ implosion was palpably disappointing.
Things certainly could have gone much differently. The game likely would have remained close, but disaster struck early.
On the Steelers’ first offensive series, quarterback Kenny Pickett was run out of the pocket. After eluding the first defender on the third-and-four play, he was grabbed by Roquan Smith, spun, and slammed to the turf.
The review certainly made it appear that Smith had a hold of Pickett’s helmet during the hit, but the play was not penalized. Pickett reentered the game only to be pulled out and Mitchell Trubisky sent in.
Obviously Smith grabbed Pickett’s face mask, slammed Kenny into the ground and as the video shows, still had a hold of the face mask when Kenny was on the ground.
No penalty.#Steelers #Ravens #NFL pic.twitter.com/6xfriNRXYj
— Obviously (Not) Tomlin (@Tomlin_Sense) December 11, 2022
It was the beginning of the end, or at least it appeared to be.
After the Ravens scored on a short drive made partially possible by a completely muffed 17-yard punt by Pressley Harvin, Trubisky came in and used just five plays – including a nice toss and catch deep that George Pickens handled well – to get Najee Harris a one-yard leap over the pile with the ball outstretched to get the score, 10-7, Baltimore up by a field goal.
Insert audible sigh of relief from Steelers Nation.
That was where the solace ended, however. On back-to-back offensive possessions, Trubisky got the offense moving only to throw the ball right into the hands of Ravens defenders.
The first came after Pittsburgh went run heavy only to have the quarterback give the ball away because he didn’t see a linebacker settled into coverage. The second pick came after Trubisky, again, found Pickens for a nice gain. On the following play, Trubisky threw the ball in the middle of the field and the turnover ended the half.
Trubisky would throw his third interception in the third quarter on a “what is he doing,” type of play that was near the goal line. That made trips into the red zone completely irrelevant.
3 INTs now for Mitchell Trubisky – This one goes to Marcus Williams https://t.co/eamBrxvoia
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) December 11, 2022
Three scoring opportunities wasted.
The Steelers defense held the Ravens to just 16 points. That sounds like a great statistic until you look at the stats sheet and see how Baltimore earned those points.
Entering this game, there was little-to-no doubt that Baltimore was going to run the ball. Their receivers have essentially been invisible this season with Lamar Jackson at quarterback. Things weren’t going to be any different with Tyler Huntley in the game in Jackson’s place.
Despite the preparation and knowledge, Pittsburgh’s defense allowed Baltimore to grab 215 rushing yard on 42 carries.
There will be fans that will point fingers and insist this was poor coaching and scheming. As easy as it is to pass the blame, though, it was players on the field who were out-blocked, unable to adjust, didn’t remain on their assignment or gap, and let six different players run the ball at will, even when Huntley was injured and Anthony Brown entered the game at quarterback.
“Everybody’s got their job, and I don’t know if we executed enough to do that. It’s not just ‘selling out.’ It comes down to everybody staying in their gaps, getting off blocks. When they pull, guys have to get over the top. We weren’t strong enough at the point of attack.” – Cameron Heyward
The nail in the coffin, so to speak, was when the Steelers, down by just two points after a Pat Freiermuth touchdown catch, allowed Gus Edwards to essentially run out amok before the Ravens just knelt down three plays in a row to run the clock.
“All we’re on the field to do is give the ball back to our offense and give them another shot. The game was in reach, and they got the first down when they needed. We didn’t get the stop.” – Myles Jack
The Steelers didn’t give up in this game, they just imploded in a situation where they had decent odds to win – until they didn’t.
