With the Ravens dropping a second straight AFC North home game against Pittsburgh in a 27-22 loss on Sunday afternoon, I’ve offered a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less:
1. The Baltimore defense limited Pittsburgh to 2.0 yards per carry and forced three three-and-outs late, but that’s hollow when allowing four completions of 20-plus air yards against an offense previously having seven all season. This defense has looked ordinary stepping up in opposing quarterback weigh class the last two games.
2. Not only was Steelers running back Jaylen Warren wide open for his 38-yard catch and run for a touchdown on third-and-4, but Pittsburgh tight end Pat Freiermuth was also all alone running down the seam on that play. This was a Ravens defense coming off extra time to prepare too.
3. Though he threw an ugly interception and the offense’s red-zone struggles continued, Lamar Jackson looked more like himself physically for a second straight week, especially in the second half. That’s good news for a team desperately needing its two-time MVP quarterback to be great the rest of the way.
4. The two-minute drill that ended with Jackson being sacked at Pittsburgh’s 38 as time expired was awful. Fifty-six seconds ticked away from the clock from the time Baltimore snapped the ball on first-and-20 from its own 16 to snapping it on third-and-10 on its own 26 — two plays later. Seriously?
5. I have little left to say about the officiating that you’re not already finding elsewhere, but the unnecessary roughness on the field goal was easily the worst of the three controversial calls. That made it unsurprising that the NFL admitted to John Harbaugh that the officials got that one wrong.
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6. Missing the extra point and sending the opening kickoff of the second half out of bounds marked a brutal sequence for Tyler Loop and headlined a bad day for the special teams. The rookie hasn’t been tested much in high leverage to this point, but his kickoffs definitely need improvement.
7. The pass rush gave Aaron Rodgers so much time on the first play of the second half that the whistle would have blown in a 7-on-7 drill for the quarterback not throwing the ball. After showing progress in previous weeks, the Ravens have one sack over the last two games.
8. For all the talk about Jackson’s struggles in recent weeks, receivers not named Zay Flowers aren’t offering a ton of help. Rashod Bateman’s drop on third-and-4 from the 10-yard line early in the fourth quarter was critical and continued Baltimore’s red-zone woes.
9. I’ve abstained from piling on Daniel Faalele too much when Andrew Vorhees has been equally problematic and hasn’t taken nearly as much criticism, but being beaten by a 179-pound nickel for a sack was ugly. The guard play isn’t remotely good enough for a team fancying itself a contender.
10. Pittsburgh losing multiple players Sunday reminded how relatively healthy this team is in December with Nnamdi Madubuike being the only major season-ending loss. Baltimore was already on its way to starting 1-3 when the pre-bye injuries piled up in that Kansas City game and is now 5-5 in Jackson’s starts.
11. Speaking as someone who looked forward to many Ravens-Steelers games as a fan years ago, the lack of buzz and the number of empty seats Sunday were jarring. Even if Baltimore rebounds to take the division, the current fan temperature has to be at least somewhat concerning for the organization.
12. The Ravens clinched their first losing home record since 2015, which is not one of the seasons in franchise history to which you want to be compared. Sunday’s effort certainly wasn’t what fans were expecting, especially with the Super Bowl XXXV team in the house for the 25th anniversary celebration.
