The ugly:
The worst part of this game was the officiating. Walt Coleman’s crew threw flag after flag in this game. There were a total of 22 penalties in the game, with each team being penalized 11 times. The officiating was very much part of the story of this game, it really impacted the way this game went. The officials were calling the game very tight, and many of the flags seemed like frivolous and over board.
On one drive, Brandon Carr got a pass interference penalty despite not even contacting the Steelers’ receiver. On that same drive an obvious incomplete pass was ruled a catch and a fumble out of bounds. This let the Steelers score a touchdown instead of settling for a field goal. There were calls against both teams however the Ravens were on the wrong side of the major calls from the referees.
The Ravens defense had some unforgivable moments in this game. Mason Rudolph was 13-20 passing before a scary hit took him out of the game. Devlin Hodges was 7-9 for 68 yards and there were a couple plays where it looked like he had an entire afternoon to throw the football. Pernell McPhee recorded the one and only sack for the defense.The Ravens weren’t giving up plays to Ben Roethlisberger. They were getting carved up by a backup and his backup.
In overtime the Steelers won the coin toss and elected to play defense first. They basically bet that Lamar Jackson wouldn’t beat them and a stop would give them great field position. The Ravens rewarded Mike Tomlin’s faith that they would screw it up. If it weren’t for a great play by Marlon Humphrey, this could have been a loss.