The Pittsburgh Steelers lost again, this time to the Baltimore Ravens, 21-14. Meanwhile, the Ravens snapped their four-game losing streak this season, while also taking control of the AFC North.
Now, the Steelers sit in second place in the division, in front of the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns. Looking ahead, the Steelers are going to have a complicated time winning the division, as they have difficult games against the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts and New York Giants.
It’s clear that if the Steelers want to make the playoffs, they can’t play the way they did against the Ravens. Here is how we graded the Steelers against the Ravens. But that’s the future.
For now, here are the grades from Sunday’s game.
Quarterback: The Steelers made a game-time decision to start Ben Roethlisberger over backup Landry Jones. The decision didn’t pay off in the first three quarters, as Roethlisberger was visibly shaky. However, in the fourth quarter, Roethlisberger found Antonio Brown for a touchdown and even rushed into the endzone himself. Still, it wasn’t enough for a victory. Grade: C+
Running Backs: Le’Veon Bell? Hello? Where are you? Bell was virtually absent on Sunday, only rushing for 32 yards on 14 carries. DeAngelo Williams had only one carry for one yard. It was a quiet day from a running back group that needed to have a big day with an injured quarterback taking the snaps. Grade: D
Wide Receivers: Darrius Heyward-Bey deservingly got moved up on the depth chart to the No. 2 wide receiver, opposite Brown. Then, he suffered a right ankle/foot injury.
Outside of Brown’s single touchdown, the wide receivers were under tight coverage from the Ravens’ secondary that make the wideouts virtually absent. One positive player was Eli Rogers, who caught six passes for 103 yards. Grade: B-
Tight Ends: The tight ends were as invisible as the running backs. David Johnson caught one pass for 15 yards, Jesse James caught two passes for 13 yards and Xavier Grimble caught one pass for 10 yards. Grade: D
Offensive Line: The offensive line held together as well as they could against Baltimore. The offensive line suffered when center Maurkice Pouncey went out in the first quarter with a thumb injury. Pouncey returned, but he was officially ruled out of the game later in the fourth quarter. The offensive line gave up two sacks to the Matt Judon and Jerraud Powers. Grade: C+
Defensive Line: Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuitt weren’t able to find Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco for a sack, but they held running backs Terrance West and Kenneth Dixon to a combined 34 yards on a combined 24 carries. Grade: B
Linebackers: James Harrison met up with his old friend Flacco for two sacks, while Ryan Shazier and Anthony Chickillo combined for a sack. Lawrence Timmons led the defense in tackles (7) and had two assisted tackles. Harrison wasn’t far behind, adding six tackles for the defense. Also, Shazier and Harrison recorded forced fumbles. Grade: B+
Secondary: Artie Burns had a day against the Ravens, recording his first career interception in his first career start. Burns did get beat by Mike Wallace for a 95 yard touchdown, but that wasn’t completely on the rookie. Safety Mike Mitchell was in the vicinity, and he should have made the tackle. Despite a solid performance, the secondary did allow Flacco to throw for 241 yards in the air. Grade: B-
Special Teams: As much as I want to give Chris Boswell credit for his two converted extra points and ignore that “onside” kick, it’s not possible. Boswell botched that kick, that’s that. What was worse was Jordan Berry’s blocked punt that was run back for a touchdown by the Ravens’ Chris Moore. Grade: D+
Coaching: I don’t really know what to say here that hasn’t been said by everyone else. The coaching was horrendous, especially on offensive coordinator Todd Haley’s part. Every time the Steelers should have run the ball, they passed, and every time they should have passed the ball, they ran the ball. Mike Tomlin wasn’t much help either on the sideline. Grade: F
What’s Next?
The Steelers return to Heinz Field on Sunday, Nov. 13 to host the Dallas Cowboys at 4:25 p.m. EDT. The Cowboys are being led by rookie sensations Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott.
Image credit: Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun
