PITTSBURGH — Just three plays into the Pittsburgh Steelers’ first possession, the black-and-gold-clad fans at Acrisure Stadium began booing the offense, which had struggled through the first four games of the season. Yet during the course of 60 minutes, the Ravens’ offense looked every bit as dysfunctional, and dropped passes, turnovers and failed execution added up to a stunning 17-10 Ravens loss here on Oct. 8.
The Ravens (3-2) jumped to a 10-0 lead that should have been more if not for dropped passes in the end zone on consecutive plays before a field goal by Justin Tucker. But they failed to score during the final 42 minutes, and the Steelers rallied with a blocked punt for a safety and then a game-deciding 41-yard touchdown pass from Kenny Pickett to George Pickens with 1:17 left.
That Steelers game-winning drive began after Lamar Jackson was intercepted in the end zone on third-and-goal from the Steelers’ 5-yard line. It was one of three Ravens turnovers, all of which led to Steelers points.
The Ravens had jumped to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter when Justice Hill slashed off tackle for a 14-yard touchdown, and they were on the verge of a second touchdown that could have sent the Steelers and their struggling offense reeling.
But on second-and-goal from the 4-yard line, tight end Mark Andrews couldn’t corral a high pass that sailed incomplete. On third-and-goal, Jackson floated a pass to an open Rashod Bateman in the end zone, but the ball hit Bateman in the hands and fell to the turf. Justin Tucker came on for a 23-yard field goal and a 10-0 lead.
After the Steelers cut the lead to 10-3, the Ravens had a chance to add to the lead just before halftime but a bizarre sequence left the Ravens with no points.
In the final minute of the half, Jackson hit Nelson Agholor for an 8-yard gain to the Steelers’ 23-yard line, leaving the Ravens with fourth-and-2. Rather than bring on Tucker for a field-goal try, the Ravens hurried to the line of scrimmage, then snapped the ball and Jackson, under pressure, rolled out and threw incomplete.
Jackson could only smack his hands on the grass in frustration, a fitting image for a dismal afternoon.
Jackson and the Ravens got no better in the second half, producing no points and two turnovers, looking every bit as punchless as a Steelers offense that has been skewered weekly this year.
Here are five quick impressions of the game, the Ravens’ sixth loss in the past seven games in the series:
1. The wide receivers had a burn-the-tape afternoon.
The problems began on the Ravens’ opening series. Lamar Jackson floated a pass down the middle for an open Zay Flowers, and he dropped it. That was the first of at least six passes dropped by Ravens targets.
Early in the second quarter, tight end Mark Andrews dropped a potential 4-yard touchdown catch. To be fair, Andrews had to elevate, but the ball hit him in the hands and wasn’t as tough as the catch he made for a touchdown in Cleveland last week.
On the next play, Rashod Bateman had no such degree of difficulty. Jackson spied him in the back of the end zone and hit him in the hands, but Bateman couldn’t hold on and the pass fell incomplete. Bateman, expected to be a linchpin of this revamped passing attack, finished with one catch for 8 yards.
Later, Flowers dropped another high pass that hit him in the hands. Nelson Agholor got involved as well. He raced down the right sidelined with a step on his defender, and Jackson put the ball right where it needed to be. Except the ball sailed right through Agholor’s arms and to the turf on what could have been a potential touchdown.
The Ravens also had a potential touchdown midway through the fourth quarter when Jackson rolled out and launched a deep ball for Flowers. But Flowers said he had to slow down to adjust for the wind, and when he did, he lost his footing, stumbled and fell as the ball landed a few yards away.
On that play, and on many of them, the receivers were open. They ran good routes, shook defenders and got separation, all the things receivers are taught to do. They just forgot about the most important one: catching the ball.
“We need to be better,” Andrews said. “Lamar is putting the ball right where it needs to be, and we need to be there for him. … We do that, we win the game.”
2. The receivers were a problem, but Lamar Jackson and Todd Monken deserve scrutiny, too.
Lamar Jackson finished 22-for-38 for 236 yards and one interception and a passer rating of 65.2, though his final statistics surely were sabotaged in part by drops by his targets. But it’s hard to absolve a $250 million quarterback who couldn’t produce any points in the final 47 minutes against the league’s 30th-ranked defense. With the big paycheck comes big expectations.
Jackson committed two turnovers. He threw an end-zone interception on a pass that had no chance of success, and he fumbled yet again. That’s seven fumbles in five games, and another one against Cincinnati was negated by a penalty.
The interception came after the Ravens’ maligned punt team came up with a huge play late in the fourth quarter that could have given the Ravens a two-score lead.
With the Ravens ahead 10-8, Jeremiah Moon forced a fumble on a Steelers punt return, and Kevon Seymour grabbed the ball out of midair and returned it to the Pittsburgh 7-yard line. On third down, Jackson tried to throw a fade route to Odell Beckham Jr. in the right corner of the end zone. But Beckham never had a chance. The ball was underthrown, and Joey Porter Jr., with inside position, made the interception that ultimately set up the Steelers’ go-ahead touchdown drive.
On the Ravens’ next possession, Jackson was sacked and fumbled, and T.J. Watt returned the ball to set up a final Steelers field goal.
To be fair, Jackson was facing one of the league’s premier edge rushers in Watt, and by mid-game the Ravens were down to their third-string right tackle after Patrick Mekari (chest) left the game. He had started in place of injured Morgan Moses (shoulder).
And, to be fair, this isn’t all on Jackson. Offensive coordinator Todd Monken deserves scrutiny, too. The Ravens seem eager to show off their newfangled passing attack, but the receivers didn’t show up in this game. If ever there was a day Monken should have let Jackson take over the game by himself, this was it.
Jackson had a 26-yard scramble on the game’s third play for the Ravens’ longest run from scrimmage, but for the most part, Jackson didn’t try to do much as a runner. He finished with six carries for 45 yards.
Monken has already shown that he likes Jackson’s running ability near the end zone. Jackson operating in space, whether on a rollout, or a draw with the receivers spreading the defense horizontally, has proved to be one of the Ravens’ best red-zone options this season. It’s one reason that Jackson leads the team with four rushing touchdowns.
Yet on third down from the 5, after a timeout, Monken called for an end zone fade route to Beckham, and it failed spectacularly. The fade gives Jackson no chance to create with his legs, no chance for him to deke and juke and let other receivers get open. Granted, the Ravens gave Beckham $15 million to be that guy in that situation and win contested catches in the end zone. Yet Jackson’s dual-threat ability remains this team’s best way to stress a defense, and that is entirely erased on a fade pattern. Jackson’s poor throw exacerbated the issue.
The offensive meltdown in this game goes beyond dropped passes.
3. The end-of-half sequence proved costly.
With the Ravens facing fourth down from the Steelers’ 23-yard line in the closing seconds of the first half, head coach John Harbaugh figured his team would kick a field goal for a 10-point halftime lead. Except he wanted to use as much clock as possible so the Steelers couldn’t have another possession.
The Ravens lined up to go for it on fourth down. It appeared to be a ploy to get the Steelers to try to jump offside. They weren’t going to snap the ball, right? Then they snapped the ball. Jackson rolled out to his right and threw incomplete as Harbaugh and the league’s best kicker watched from the sideline.
The Ravens looked confused and frustrated, and they went into halftime ahead just 10-3.
Harbaugh explained after the game that there was “miscommunication” — a popular word in Baltimore sports this weekend. Center Tyler Linderbaum said he snapped the ball because he thought he saw a Steelers player jump offside. Jackson tried to make something happen, but his pass fell incomplete.
On a day in which points were proving to be at a premium, this was a costly mistake that essentially kept points off the board.
“That’s my fault, not being aware and putting our team in a bad situation,” Linderbaum said.
4. The Ravens made it so the Steelers could win with one play. Which they did.
The “Fire Canada!” chants started early and rained down after nearly every offensive series from Steelers faithful who would like to send offensive coordinator Matt Canada sailing off into the sunset on any one of Pittsburgh’s three rivers.
Yet the Ravens’ litany of miscues — including a blocked punt for a safety — allowed the Steelers to hang around within striking distance. They would need just one good strike to win the game, and that’s what they got.
Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett (18-32, 224 yards) began the decisive drive at the Steelers’ 20-yard line after Lamar Jackson threw an end-zone interception.
Later, Pickett fired to George Pickens (6-130), who went up and over Brandon Stephens for a 21-yard catch. Then Pickett dropped back and threw deep for Pickens, who got behind Marlon Humphrey down the right sideline for a 41-yard score. Humphrey could only hang his head as Pickens raced through the end zone in front of a Terrible-Towel-waving frenzy.
“It was just a throw and catch,” said Humphrey, who appeared to have suffered a shoulder injury earlier in the series. “You kind of get beat sometimes when you blitz the house, and that was one of those times. … Obviously, you don’t want to be on the other end of a game-winner.”
It’s easy to feel for Humphrey, who was playing in his first game of the season after missing four games with a foot injury and appeared to be playing hurt after making a big tackle earlier in that drive. And the Ravens’ defense had kept the Steelers out of the end zone for 58 minutes with typically physical Ravens-Steelers hitting.
Yet as in the Week 3 loss to the Colts, the Ravens couldn’t pull away despite multiple chances, and that left zero margin for error for the defense. In that case, it only takes one play. The ailing Steelers offense wasn’t capable of much more than that, but that proved to be enough.
5. The Ravens know they could be 5-0. But as Bill Parcells said, they are what their record says.
The Ravens completed their monthlong grinder through the AFC North with two wins in three road games, which all things being equal, would have been an agreeable concept in August. But after winning in Cincinnati and Cleveland, they came to Pittsburgh to face a team in offensive disarray with an injured quarterback who had just gotten blown out a week earlier. They were staring at a chance to go 3-0 in the division, all on the road, and take a sizeable step ahead of their rivals in the AFC North.
Instead, much like their receivers in this game, they dropped the ball. Now they sit tied atop the division and technically behind the Steelers based on head-to-head record.
Tight end Mark Andrews said the Ravens are “a sleeping giant. We need to wake up.”
“This team is dangerous,” he added. “We’re good. We’re very good.”
The Ravens easily could be 5-0 and atop the AFC. But as Bill Parcells famously said, “You are what your record says you are.” The Ravens are 3-2. Dangerous? Absolutely. Very good? At times. But also a team whose potential has been muddied by injuries, flaws and poor execution.
Maybe the Ravens will look back in January and dismiss this as an aberration. But if winnable games dissolve in miscues twice in five games, as has been the case with the Ravens, is that an aberration, or is it who they are?
For the Ravens, it’s on to London, where they will face Tennessee next Sunday and hope to quickly move past this loss. But the Ravens only get 17 chances in a season, and the squandered ones can have a long half-life.
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