Baltimore Ravens Dominate Pittsburgh Steelers: Grades, Analysis, Video Highlights
By Brett Foote
Sep 11, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens linebacker Courtney Upshaw (91) is called for roughing the passer on Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) in the first quarter at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports
Defense: A Much like the offense, the defense didn’t rack up crazy stats on Thursday night, but they clearly did what they had to do to win the game. And really, isn’t that what matters? It was clear on the first drive that this unit was fired up after last week’s loss. These guys were swarming around and flowing to the ball fast.
After limiting the Bengals to 76 yards rushing with a 3.0 average on Sunday, the Raven’s D held the Steelers to 99 yards on the ground, albeit with a much better 5.0 yards per carry. The bigger story was what they did to Ben Roethlisberger, which was limit him to 22 of 37 passing for 217 yards, zero touchdowns, and one interception. Big Ben finished the night with a dismal 64.8 rating (29.6 QBR).
Turnovers made the difference in this one. C.J. Mosley recovered one, as did DeAngelo Tyson. Haloti Ngata had a diving interception that must be seen to be believed. And the Steeler’s two biggest weapons – Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell, were held largely in check after having monster performances against the Browns on Sunday.
Next: Special Teams