Behind the Steel Curtain
Takeaways, overreactions, and random musings from the Steelers’ rivalry win.
The Steelers are 8-2 with the AFC North lead following a win over the rival Baltimore Ravens. As always, there are plenty of takeaways to be had:
Sunday’s game was a good one, but not necessarily the most expected outcome. Looking at the trends headed into the matchup, it was slated to be a big day for both offenses. Instead, we got an 18-16 final score.
But in retrospect, everyone should’ve seen this coming, right?
The Steelers-Ravens rivalry is a Bermuda Triangle for offensive excellence; look at the last several years of the matchup — it’s been the exact same game nearly every time.
The Ravens entered Sunday with the NFL’s best offense, averaging over 31 points a game. Against Pittsburgh? They recorded just 16. Derrick Henry never fumbles. Justin Tucker never misses... You can probably guess what happened against the Steelers.
The same was true for the Pittsburgh offense, although the regression wasn't quite as dramatic. The Steelers had six scoring drives and just 18 points to show for it, as well as a red zone trip that ended with a Russell Wilson interception. The Steelers offense had been ascending over the last few weeks but failed to reach the end zone even once on Sunday.
The point? Well, for one, the new kids are alright. The old titans of the rivalry might not be playing anymore, but the new cast of characters hasn’t forgotten the physicality, aggression, and tough defense that make Steelers-Ravens stand out.
For another, don’t panic regarding what was a poor performance for the Pittsburgh offense, and especially Russell Wilson. A good quarterback having a rough day in Steelers-Ravens is hardly a rare occurrence; Lamar Jackson certainly didn’t look like an MVP on Sunday, but that won’t have much of an effect on his awards chances later this season. Wilson can be afforded that sentiment as well. But he will need to step it up on Thursday against the Cleveland Browns.
While the Steelers didn't dominate on Sunday, they certainly got under Baltimore’s skin.
The Ravens are the most penalized team in the NFL, and the Steelers pounced on that lack of discipline. That isn’t to say that Pittsburgh played a flawless game — their seven penalties for 45 yards certainly isn’t ideal — but Baltimore’s 12 for 80 played a much larger role in the final score.
The Steelers were fired up, but Baltimore had it the worst, with frustration building throughout the game.
Meanwhile, Raven-turned-Steeler Patrick Queen had the opposite reaction while playing one of his best games of the season.
The exclamation point on the win was the Steelers successfully running the ball on the Ravens’ top-ranked rushing defense to close out the game in the fourth (I’ll admit the Roquan Smith injury affected this as well).
The Steelers didn’t play their best or win by much, but the...
