AFC North is Right Again
For one week at least, all was right again in the Steelers universe. Just seven days after “Fire Tomlin” chants echoed through Acrisure Stadium, Mike Tomlin brought his club to Baltimore and walked out victorious after beating the Ravens 27-22 in a typical rough and close battle. The win puts the Steelers alone in first place in the AFC North.
Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith came out with an aggressive mindset, dialing up big plays early that gave the Steelers the lead. Aaron Rodgers, playing with a soft cast after talking the medical staff into letting him play or, as he put it, going “rogue”, had his best game in over a month. He threw for a season-high 284 yards and a touchdown, breaking out the classic discount double-check celebration on his 1-yard touchdown run that opened the scoring.
This was the type of performance the Steelers signed Rodgers for. Despite a less-than-perfect finish, he set the tone immediately with a 52-yard hookup with DK Metcalf on the very first snap.
DK Metcalf had a monster day, pacing the offense with a season-high 148 receiving yards. The passing game clearly clicked, aided by the debuts of new additions Adam Thielen and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Thielen, signed just Tuesday, only had one catch and Valdes-Scantling none, but Rodgers credited their “professionalism” with making a big difference in how well the passing game executed. Metcalf’s explosive plays were enough to carry the receiving corps for the day. Calvin Austin, Ben Skowroneck each chipped in with one catch. Where is Muth??? He had only two catches for nine yards.
While the offense found success through the air, the running game struggled mightily Sunday. The offensive line had a solid day in protection but could never get the running game going. Rodgers was not sacked all game, saying he had “all day” to pick out his receivers.
Their inability to run the ball was glaring when the offense got the ball back with 2:22 left at their own 10-yard line, needing only to run out the clock. Instead, two runs netted 3 yards, and an incomplete pass on third down forced the defense back onto the field.
The Steelers managed to beat the Ravens, but totaling just 34 yards rushing will not be a recipe for success against many other opponents. Kenneth Gainwell led the way with 15 yards on four carries, including a 6-yard touchdown run, Jaylen Warren was held to a miniscule 13 rushing yards.
The Steelers will need to jumpstart the running game for these last four games.
Interestingly, both Gainwell and Warren’s biggest contributions came in the passing game, highlighted by Warren’s massive 38-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter that gave the Steelers a 27-16 lead.
The defense was on the field for an exhausting 77 plays and deserves full marks for pulling out the victory. They delivered an AFC North vintage performance to close the game out.
Alex Highsmith clinched the victory when he blew by Ronnie Stanley to sack Lamar Jackson on the final play, preventing a desperation heave into the end zone. Highsmith finished with seven tackles (three for losses), while T.J. Watt added six, with both players laying the wood on Derrick Henry.
Though the Ravens rushed for 217 yards on 40 carries, it did not feel like the physical dominance of previous seasons. Kudos to Cam Heyward, Yahya Black, and Keeanu Benton for keeping Jackson mostly contained. The defense also overcame losing Malik Harrison early, with Cole Holcomb stepping in to finish with a team-high nine tackles.
The secondary came up huge and made the plays when it was needed most. James Pierre snagged a first-half interception of Jackson, setting up the offense for an early 17-3 lead. Joey Porter Jr. had the defensive play of the game, forcing an incomplete pass on Isaiah Likely’s would-be go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter. It was redemption for Porter who was penalized on two questionable calls. The refs completely missed two holding penalties one on T.J. Watt for a Ravens touchdown from Lamarr and the other on Highsmith on the controversial touchdown call.
The special teams had another up and down week. The kickoff team overall struggled, giving the Ravens good field position. Corliss Waitman rebounded with one of his best games of the season, highlighted by his 53-yard punt with under two minutes left that pinned the Ravens deep in their own territory. That clutch kick forced the Ravens to drive 69 yards, setting the stage for Highsmith’s game-winning sack. Chris Boswell nailed both his field goal attempts.
It was the performance that the team desperately needed and now they control their own destiny.
BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!
My “GAME BEER” goes to: DK Metcalf who put a giant number of 148 yards, this was what everyone was waiting for. It set the tone in the game. Also Considered: Alex Highsmith for the big game winning sack, James Pierre who is playing terrific in a starting role and Aaron Rodgers who had a tremendous performance.
Beer of the Game: Long Ireland Brewing Company; King Keltic Red Ale. It is a solid and strong beer; it also comes in pounders, which is what I prefer when watching the game. KGB went Bud Light Lime.
“Steel the Snacks”: No magic this week on the snacks, although they were outstanding. KGB and our amazing niece did the honors of cooking. We did both “Steel the Snacks” and “Steel Snacks”, which included Crab cake sliders borrowing a page out of Baltimore and Chicken Sliders with spicy Heinz 57 sauce. They absolutely crushed the day, although we didn’t get any magic out of them.
My stat of the week: The Steelers’ win yesterday was the 39th head-to-head meeting between Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh, including the playoffs. With that victory, Mike Tomlin improved his record against John Harbaugh to 22-17. This result also gave Tomlin the most head-to-head wins by one coach over another in the Super Bowl era. They are second in the most games between two head coaches, trailing only George Halas and Curly Lambeau, who faced each other 49 times.
My thoughts on next week: The Steelers return to prime time after
Jersey of the Week: Troy Polamalu #43, Away, White Jersey. We needed big plays, went with the big play jersey!