Steelers vs Ravens Takeaways: Pittsburgh Has Found Their Formula
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The secret sauce for the Pittsburgh Steelers has clicked.
BALTIMORE — The Pittsburgh Steelers season is still alive as the black and gold leave Baltimore with a 16-13 win over the Ravens in Week 17.
It wasn’t pretty up until the final drive, but the Steelers pulled it out. Behind another game-winning drive by rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh will head back home to face the Cleveland Browns.
Everyone will be looking forward to what the Steelers need to happen to find their way into the playoffs in Week 18. But before we leave M&T Bank Stadium, there are plenty of takeaways to run through.
Noah’s Takeaways
Hello, Steelers Run Game
Remember when the Steelers came into the season with the expectations their run game and defense would carry them to the playoffs? Well, it wasn’t a full season, but with their postseason dreams on the line, that’s exactly what’s held them together.
Najee Harris is everything we expected and more coming into the year. Remember when there were questions about whether or not his health was holding him back? Well, we have the answer – and it’s yes, it was.
Between Harris and an offensive line that is clicking, this team looks confident. It’s not the prettiest win in the world, but at this point in the year, nothing else matters besides a W.
Behind a Pro Bowl runner and a starting five worth celebrating, the Steelers find themselves with a chance.
Who’s to Blame for Q1-3
The big topic of debate all game, at least on social media, was whether or not Kenny Pickett or Matt Canada was to blame for the Steelers’ offensive struggles. Well, if you have to pick, it’s both.
Pickett had his issues. Before the final drive, the rookie was 10-22 and just looked rattled in the backfield. Baltimore’s pass rush was effective, and it was causing problems when Pickett dropped back.
At the same time, there was almost no need to throw the ball. Even 22 times before the winning drive felt like too many. Heck, the Steelers averaged 4.8 yards per carry, with Harris and Jaylen Warren averaging above 5 yards per run.
Without going back to watch the film, there might have been just a handful of play-action passes. When you’re running the ball this well, you should know what play-action will do to open up your wide receivers.
So, who’s fault was it? It was both.
The New ILBs
It’s time for the Steelers to begin testing out their next combination of inside linebackers, Robert Spillane and Mark Robinson. Both started, both played a majority of the snaps and both seemed to fit well in what the Steelers were trying to do.
When you face the Ravens, you don’t need much help in pass coverage. The Steelers played a lot of snaps with just one cornerback on the field, so tossing Spillane and Robinson on the inside and letting them rock was the obvious move.
Spillane led the team with nine tackles and Robinson had seven. A pretty good outing for what appears to be the future of the inside linebacker position.
Stephen’s Takeaways
Moments Over Numbers
Kenny Pickett’s recorded just one 300-yard passing game during his brief NFL career. In nine full games played, he has eclipsed 200 passing yards just four times. In just four of his starts has Pickett recorded a positive touchdown-to-interception ratio just four times and has never thrown more than a single touchdown pass in a game.
But none of that matters, because Pickett has passed the toughest tests young quarterbacks face with flying colors. In the absence of gaudy numbers, Pickett has been masterful in the clutch, exemplified most plainly by the two thrilling, game-winning drives he’s engineered in back-to-back weeks. The late-season playoff push the Steelers have made has provided Pickett with the opportunity to show what he is made of when the lights are the brightest.
What Pickett does when the game is on the line matters more than what kind of rookie yardage or touchdown records he sets. As long as the game is close, you can almost throw out completely what Pickett does for the first three quarters because performing in clutch moments is what will set this obviously talented player apart as he progresses in his career.
Steelers vs. Steelers
Against a talented opponent, the Steelers were the only ones to stop themselves. When playing clean football, they were the markedly better team – even when facing a division title contender at their house. All six accepted penalties and the 43 yards they cost the Steelers came at key moments and threatened to sink a team with little margin for error in a game-by-game context and the larger picture of this season.
There is a lot of talent on this team but to be truly elite is to not get in your own way and the Steelers failed to do that against the Ravens. Cam Heyward’s unnecessary roughness penalty cost them seven points directly before halftime and multiple special teams penalties put the struggling offense behind schedule and it was nearly fatal for that unit.
Keep Leaning on Run
The Steeler offense has been effective, if not particularly productive, during this second-half run that has vaulted them into the playoff race. The winning formula is fairly simple – don’t turn the ball over, maintain possession and limit the opportunities for mistakes the rookie quarterback can make while the defense plays at an all-world level.
The run game has aided such a strategy, rushing for more than 150 yards in all six wins and failing to do so in the two losses. While many want to see Pickett air it out like he did on the final drive against Baltimore, that is not the Steelers’ strength and at this moment, that strategy will result in more games like the loss to Buffalo – where Pickett throws for an empty 300 yards and fails to put the ball in the endzone.
The Steelers have plenty of varied ways to run – with Warren and Harris in conventional manners, with Pickett on draws, sneaks and keepers, or with Steven Sims on jet sweeps. Offensive coordinator Matt Canada should continue to use all of them while the passing offense comes of age.
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