Baltimore Ravens drop game to Pittsburgh Steelers: Good, bad and ugly

A brutal loss was handed to the Baltimore Ravens in a tight 28-24 game with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Time to break down the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The good:

The first half was a strong one for the Baltimore Ravens. The defense was clamping down the Pittsburgh Steelers offense both against the run and against the pass. The Steelers struggled to get any form of rhythm going and the game looked out-of-reach for a while. The pressure was good and the coverage was solid.

The receivers actually had a solid day, highlighted by Willie Snead‘s 104-yard receiving day. Miles Boykin also caught his first touchdown of the season, while Marquise Brown caught his second. Devin Duvernay also had a huge 39-yard catch that helped revive the Ravens offense late in the game.

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The run game looked outstanding for the entirety of the game. Pittsburgh came into this game as one of the best defenses vs. the run and Baltimore had its way with it. On the day, the Ravens racked up a ridiculous 265-yards on the ground, including the first 100-yard rushing game of J.K. Dobbins‘s career. Dobbins and Gus Edwards were a terrific one-two punch for the team, while Lamar Jackson did some damage with his legs, as well.

The bad:

The defense played poorly in the second half of this game. After pitching an offensive shutout in the first half, Baltimore gave up 21 points with some huge blown coverage plays. The pass rush also struggled to get home for sacks. It was an ugly performance that would lead to the team’s downfall.

The offensive line took some major hits, including losing Ronnie Stanley for the rest of the season with an ankle injury. Tyre Phillips also went down early in the game. The line was then shuffled up, with Orlando Brown Jr. moving to left tackle and then seeing D.J. Fluker and Patrick Mekari take over at right tackle and right guard respectively.

The ugly:

Lamar Jackson.

Jackson turned the ball over four times (two interceptions, two fumbles) and was missing the mark on his throws throughout the game. Jackson looked like a shell of his former self. In two career games against the Steelers, Jackson has seven turnovers. That obviously needs to change moving forward.

The entirety of the second half was just bad football. The defense couldn’t get stops and the offense was too inconsistent. You won’t win many football games with that formula.

Overall, the game was a very disappointing performance. There were plenty of bright spots, but the negatives completely outweighed the positives. Thankfully, there’s a lot to take away from this game to build on moving forward. The Baltimore Ravens will face off against the Indianapolis Colts for week nine.