Category: Football

Takeaways, overreactions, and random musings from the Steelers’ second straight loss. 

The Steelers are now on a two-game skid following a 34-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. As always, there are plenty of takeaways to be had.

1. Russell Wilson tried to do too much

For a moment in the first half, it looked like the 36-year-old Russell Wilson had turned back the clock. He was throwing all over the field and extending plays. The Steelers had all the momentum on their side.

Then, on his best scramble of the game, Wilson rushed 19 yards and decided to power towards the goal line instead of sliding in the second quarter. One big Ar’Darius Washington hit later, and the ball popped out. The Ravens drove 96 yards in the other direction, taking a 14-7 lead.

It was a one-off mistake in a promising first half for Wilson. He led a successful two-minute drive not long after to score a field goal ahead of halftime.

But Wilson had two more back-breaking mistakes in the second half. The first was an underthrown fourth-and-six deep shot that went incomplete to Calvin Austin III — who was never that open in the first place. Why risk such a low-percentage throw with just six yards to the sticks?

Then came the play that just about sealed the game for Baltimore: A Wilson pass that was woefully behind MyCole Pruitt, resulting in a Marlon Humphrey pick six that put the Ravens up by two scores in the fourth quarter.

All three plays, to varying degrees, came down to Wilson trying to do too much, forcing plays that weren’t really there. You have to love the competitive spirit, but it didn’t work out in his favor. While there’s plenty more to point fingers at in the Steelers’ Saturday performance, those moments were the difference between Pittsburgh having a real shot at winning, and losing by 17.

Wilson had a bad game. He’s allowed to have one every now and then, even if a potentially division-clinching matchup wasn’t the best time to do so. If there’s a silver lining, it showed just how much Wilson’s play can steer Pittsburgh. We saw what happened when he’s not playing well, sure, but in his best moments on Saturday we saw the opposite.

There’s a reason why the narrative following this game isn’t that the Steelers missed George Pickens (even if they did): When Wilson is hot, the offense can move the ball well, even without its WR1. At his best, Wilson can carry this Steelers team. That’s an encouraging sign, even if he fell short against Baltimore.

2. Getting healthy is the key to postseason success

After a loss, I do my best to avoid making this column sound like a list of postgame excuses. Why did the Steelers lose? Because the Ravens outplayed them. That’s not lost on me.

But it’s hard to take criticism of the Steelers’ secondary seriously when they were without both starting corners and an excellent strong safety in DeShon Elliott for nearly all of the game.

Damontae Kazee had some big hits on Saturday but he’s simply not anywhere close to the presence Elliott is against the run or in coverage. On the boundary, the Steelers had Cory Trice Jr., fresh off of injured reserve and with two just NFL games under his belt, and James Pierre, a depth piece who is largely a special teamer at this point in his career. It’s hardly a shock that coverage was rough against the Ravens.

Add in a clearly not 100% T.J. Watt, no Larry Ogunjobi on a defensive line that needed all hands on deck, and no Pickens on offense, and the Steelers’ struggles aren’t that surprising.

Now, two things can be true here. Every NFL team has injuries and the Steelers are far from the only team with this level of attrition. In fact, Pittsburgh’s inability to succeed with just a few key players missing is one of the main reasons why they’re clearly a tier or two below the NFL’s top contenders — just look at the Lions, with 19, NINETEEN, players on injured reserve, still at 12-2. The Steelers can’t be let off the hook completely.

But the flip side is also true. With all or most of Watt, Elliott, Pickens, Ogunjobi, Joey Porter Jr., and Donte Jackson healthy — maybe even Troy Fautanu returns for the playoffs — the Steelers are a much different roster that can keep up with any non-Buffalo team in the AFC.

The Steelers reaching that status isn’t as huge of a leap as you might think. Again, despite a laundry list of key injuries against Baltimore, Pittsburgh was a few better Russell Wilson plays away from making a game of it.

With just four days of rest between the Steelers’ Saturday loss and a Christmas Day game against the 14-1 Kansas City Chiefs, Pittsburgh’s chances of retaining the AFC North lead look slimmer than ever. Of course, securing that playoff home game remains the top priority, and it should. But the real indicator of playoff chances will be the Steelers’ injury report ahead of Wild Card weekend.

I understand the frustrations of the “Steelers on their way to another first round exit” crowd, but look at the wild momentum swings of the last several Pittsburgh seasons — a lot can still change over the next few games, both good and bad. Health will play the biggest factor.

Right now, it’s bad. Over the last two weeks, we’ve seen the Steelers get pummeled by playoff-bound teams in the second half of games. In its current state, Pittsburgh simply doesn’t have the depth or the talent to last a full 60 minutes of postseason football. That has to change ahead of January 11, but there’s a good chance it will.

3. The Steelers run defense disappoints

If there’s been one fairly constant positive throughout what’s been a late-season regression for the Pittsburgh defense, it’s that the Steeler run defense has been excellent. Even in last week’s loss to the Eagles, the Steelers only allowed 65 yards from NFL rushing leader Saquon Barkley.

Teryl Austin’s unit has its flaws, but generally, when the Pittsburgh defense sells out to stop something this season, they get the job done.

Against Baltimore, that plan fell apart early and often. Pittsburgh did everything it could to stymie the Ravens’ ground game, utilizing plenty of 3-4 base and even some 4-3 packages — extremely rare for the Steelers defense — in an effort to stuff Baltimore at the line of scrimmage.

Credit where it’s due: Lamar Jackson had just 22 rushing yards. The Steelers haven’t completely lost their touch. But Derrick Henry? He had 24 rushes for 162 yards, averaging 6.8 per carry.

Unlike the Pittsburgh secondary, that was a failure that can’t be explained away by injuries. The team’s front seven was a bit banged up but largely healthy, and again, they consistently loaded the box. Instead, Henry and the Ravens’ offensive line played bully ball with resounding success.

It’s an outlier; Henry’s rushing explosion might just be the Spiders Georg of the Steelers’ run defense statistics this year. But the point still stands: For the second straight week, Pittsburgh’s opponent was able to slowly salt away most of the fourth quarter to seal the game.

The Steelers entered the 2024 season with the end goal of being the more physical team in every game they played: O-line investments, heavy packages with lots of tight ends, and a highly-paid defense with stars at every level. It sounds great on paper, but there’s clearly an offseason or two of development still needed for the Steelers to reach that goal.

4. Odds and ends

• A decent amount of the Steelers’ success this season can be attributed to the ball bouncing their way. This game, it definitely didn’t. The Ravens had three fumbles/muffs and recovered each one.
• Alex Highsmith was cooking Ronnie Stanley for most of the game. A really nice day for No. 56.
• Ben Skowronek had two nice catches for 25 yards, while Calvin Austin III had one of the best games of his career, recording 65 yards including a gorgeous, spinning sideline grab on a deep pass. The Steelers receiving corps aren’t completely bereft of talent without Pickens.

• The Steelers decided to feature Jaylen Warren as the primary running back against Baltimore, and it looked like the right decision. Warren’s burst, in not just the run game but also as a dump-off option, was a needed spark for the offense. Najee Harris also showed his value with 4.7 yards per carry, but more Warren early in the game was a good adjustment by the Steelers. However, Warren’s ball security issues reared their head with a nearly-lost fumble. That’s one of the biggest obstacles for him becoming a true lead back in the future.
• Pittsburgh featured some power runs and a few play-action passes that actually resulted in positive plays. There were glimmers of an improved offense on Saturday.
• Miscommunications continue to be an issue in the secondary. They’re likely a symptom of all the new faces, but it’s still inexcusable in professional football. The same can be said of tackling.
• You have to love the effort from Miles Killebrew here:

• Coaching wasn’t perfect against Baltimore but it was far from a problem. That being said, Mike Tomlin’s fourth down decisions were once again puzzling. He went for a midfield fourth-and-six down just one score early in the fourth quarter, but punted down two scores twice later in the game — including a fourth-and-12 at the 50 yard line. The reasoning there just doesn’t make sense.
• Can we stop with the Cordarrelle Patterson complaints now? He might get a few too many carries per game, but not many running backs in the NFL are making the catch below. I’ll continue to defend him as a good signing.

• It was nice to see Minkah Fitzpatrick finally break his turnover drought. The ball was thrown right to him, but it was still an important play for the veteran safety; I’m sure the lack of interceptions was bothering him just as much as it was bothering Steelers fans.

The Steelers don’t have long to recover from Saturday’s loss. Up next is a chance to break their two-game losing streak on Christmas Day against the Chiefs.

What are your takeaways from Steelers vs. Ravens? Agree/disagree with the ones above?Join our Behind The Steel Curtain community and let us know in the comments!

After inking a one-year deal with the Steelers this offseason, Russell Wilson has had a resurgence. If the veteran QB has his way, the partnership will extend beyond the 2024 campaign. During a recent episode of Hard Knocks, Wilson revealed that he’d like to re-sign with the Steelers this offseason.

“Hopefully. I love it here,” Wilson responded to a fan’s question about re-signing (via Bryan DeArdo of CBS Sports). “It’s cool. Hope we can win a Super Bowl.”

Wilson’s first season in Pittsburgh couldn’t have gone much better than it has. Mike Tomlin surprised many when he opted for Wilson atop the depth chart following Justin Fields‘ strong start to the season. Wilson has rewarded his coach’s faith, with the veteran guiding the Steelers to a 6-2 record in his eight starts.

Following a pair of underwhelming seasons in Denver, Wilson has looked more like his old self in Pittsburgh. His interception rate (1.3) and yards-per-game mark (239) represent his best numbers since his Seattle tenure. In total, the 36-year-old has completed 64.7 percent of his passes for 1,912 yards, 13 touchdowns, and three interceptions.

That strong performance has set Wilson up for a sizable pay day this offseason. Considering the lucrative contracts he’s signed throughout his career, Wilson may be willing to settle for a slight discount to stick around Pittsburgh. On the flip side, the Steelers may be willing to slightly pay up on a second contract. Wilson saved the Steelers some cash by inking a $1.2MM minimum contract; he was going to make $39MM regardless thanks to his Broncos release, and the QB had his former squad pick up most of that tab.

Wilson’s performance in the postseason should also inform the team’s approach heading into the offseason, but a successful playoff run would also boost the QB’s market value. Still, as things stand right now, it sounds like Wilson (and presumably the organization) would be interested in extending this relationship beyond one season.