Behind the Steel Curtain
Skowroneck doesn’t find himself in the box score often, but he’s made a career doing the dirty work on Sundays.
Whenever the Steelers are widely televised or in primetime, I tend to get more friends messaging me about the game. That was especially true this week. This particular Steelers-Ravens game had a little more juice than some of their more recent matchups. The Steelers haven’t been true contenders the past few years, but despite that, the wins in this rivalry have been lopsided in their favor. A large part of that, we were told, was because the Steelers have seen very little of Lamar Jackson in his career. He’d only faced the Steelers four times, and even though he’d gone 1-3 in those starts, he’s also inarguably improved each year as a pro. This time there was no fluke illness or injury. The game was too early in the calendar for anyone to be resting for the playoffs. With both teams facing a difficult schedule ahead, for the first time in years, this game felt like it could shape what January looks like in the AFC.
This week’s film room started with a simple exchange, but ties into a bigger point on how the Steelers beat the Ravens. On the first play of the Steelers’ second drive, I couldn’t help but notice an old favorite of any film nerds who have watched tape of the Sean McVay offense: Ben Skowronek.
Skowronek is a wide receiver, but what makes him notable is how little of his best work is done out wide or receiving the ball. No, Skowronek is your classic lunch pail guy. He’s a unique skillset in an unusual package. Skowronek has spent time on injured reserve this year and only just returned to action last week in Washington. I’ll admit, he didn’t catch my eye much in that game, but what made me sit up and pay attention to him this week was the following play, when the 6’3, 224-pound receiver lined up as a fullback and ran into the teeth of the defense as a lead blocker.
Shortly after, I received messages from a handful of friends that all essentially asked, “Who the heck is 15?” The answer? A guy who may not fill up the stat sheet, but one a coaching staff loves to have around because of all the dirty work he’ll unselfishly do for a team. Skowronek also plays on special teams, but we’ll stick to offense for this article.
Heading into the matchup, a common refrain was that the Steelers’ offense and the Ravens’ defense presented an intriguing test of strength-versus-strength (Steelers’ run game, Ravens’ rush defense) and weakness-versus-weakness (Steelers’ passing attack, Ravens’ pass defense). The Steelers needed a big game on the ground if they wanted to win, not only because they always want to out-physical the Ravens, but because it would be important to win the time of possession battle and keep Baltimore’s dangerous offense on the sideline as much as...
