In one of the most exciting games of the year, the Pittsburgh Steelers have made clear both the eleventh win of the season and the victory in AFC North. At the 39-38 win over Baltimore Ravens, Ben Roethlisberger threw an incredible 66 passes for over 500 yards. Favourite target Antonio Brown also delivered MVP figures. And yet the Steelers fans had to tremble until the end.
One week after Ryan Shazier’s shock injury and a remarkable comeback win against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Steelers wanted to start the game with a different face. And they did so after the Ravens marched surprisingly easy down the field and Joe Flacco (20/35,269 YDS, 2TD, INT) threw a devastating interception into the hands of Sean Davis.
The Steelers were to take control of the magazine and once again were able to rely on the production of Antonio Brown and Le’ Veon Bell (13 CAR, 48 YDS, 2TD – 9/10,77 YDS, TD). Pittsburgh seemed to move away thanks to two scores from Bell, when defensively and defensively they suddenly gave up too easily again. One of them was a touchdown pass for Chris Moore, where Davis had a rough estimate and two long runs by Alex Collins, which were kept alive by Missed Tackles. And all of a sudden before the break, the Ravens were back on their feet again.
This is where they were able to continue their work. With a much more aggressive defense, the Ravens held the Steelers at fast punts after the break. On the other hand, the offense showed what one had actually missed from her the whole season. The star was Collins. But even with the giant run, which the Ravens put down, the game was far from over.
Ben Roethlisberger (44/66,506 YDS, 2TD) adapted and played from the No-Huddle-Offense. Now it worked in a great way again and the Steelers shortened it twice to one-posession-games. Big Ben threw in more often than ever before and, with Brown’s support, kicked off another remarkable comeback in another great game this Sunday. Although both sides argued with one or the other PI-call, nobody can have seen themselves clearly disadvantaged.
Pittsburgh Steelers (11-2) – Baltimore Ravens (7-6)39:38 (7:0,13:14,0:17,19:7) BOXSCORE
Nothing worked out at all as far as the second half offensive was concerned. The Steelers were defensively overrun and were immediately braked offensively. It was considered necessary to make changes and this should be done through a faster offense. Roethlisberger and the Steelers played in the fourth quarter of the No-Huddle-Offense and saw through the Blitzing formations of the Ravens at numerous Hard Counts. Big Ben sent Brown here several times on slant-routes to the free zones behind the line and Brown converted them into Big Plays. The Steelers marched down the field so quickly and came to the turnaround without losing too much time.
The fact that Ryan Shazier’s abstinence weighs so heavily for the Steelers could still play a major role. Pittsburgh had huge problems filling the defensive line gaps and finishing runs on the second level. Collins could often break far too weak tackles here. The Steelers lack speed and hardness in the lineback position without Shazier.
Never has been a wide receiver in the NFL MVP. However, Brown must at least belong to the smaller circle. He plays a great season and is always there when it matters. The same goes for the Ravens. What AB did in the second half was vital. He accepted One-on-One coverage with thanks. His slants through the center were simply not defensible. He intercepted 11 of the 18 passes in his direction for 218 yards and completed with a wide-receiver rating of 108.1.
Sometimes a personal turnaround is not enough. Davis started his working day in the best possible way and grabbed a simple interception when Flacco threw into no man’s land. Apart from that, the Steelers-Safety had a very bad day. In an uncoordinated secondary he was completely wrong several times in long passes. Missed tackles allowed great yardage and two penalties for Unnecessary Roughness on Running Plays by Collins.