It’s normal for the grass at Acrisure Stadium to be replaced several times during the course of one season especially between the hash marks. This is due to the beating it takes from games played by the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pitt Panthers and WPIAL Championships. What it doesn’t take into account is the bulldozer that Baltimore brought yesterday to overpower the NFL’s highest-paid defense.
The Ravens were already down to their second-string QB Tyler Huntley before he left with a concussion. Enter Anthony Brown, who has never taken an
NFL snap before and surely the Steelers were headed towards victory right? Wrong. Brown pretty much became the quarterback of a wing-t system where the ball didn’t need to be thrown. The Ravens racked up 215 yards rushing against Teryl Austin’s unit which may or may not resemble Ricardo Montalban at the end of ‘The Naked Gun.’
Baltimore actually attempted 17 passes in the game with just five of them coming from Brown. Frankly, they probably didn’t need to throw any. The cruel irony is that the guy spearheading the rushing attack was center Tyler Linderbaum who was available when the Steelers instead drafted Kenny Pickett. That’s a discussion for another time however… J.K. Dobbins, who was returning from injury, had his way with the Steelers’ defense all afternoon. He carried the ball just 15 times but ran for 115 yards and a score. That’s an average of 8.0 yards per carry and that’s also embarrassing if you’re a Steelers’ fan. Not to be outdone was Gus Edwards who ran 13 times for 66 yards. That’s over five yards per carry if you weren’t sure.
So What in the Hell is the Problem?
Let’s start with age. Tyson Alualu is at the end of his career. The 35-year old has battled valiantly since returning from last year’s broken ankle but he would be the first to tell you he isn’t getting the job done. Younger, quicker and equally as powerful offensive linemen are having their way with him.
Cam Heyward, as much as it pains me to say it, appears to have met Father Time as well. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have his moments of exceptional play but he’s not getting it done on a consistent basis anymore. You could see this perfectly on Dobbins’ long first half run when Heyward was turned by Linderbaum and then driven completely out of the play by right guard Ben Cleveland. The Steelers need youth but they also need players which leads me to the next item.
The Steelers lack a true nose tackle. There isn’t a ‘space eater’ in the mode of a Joel Steed or Casey Hampton and that’s killing the defensive line. When you don’t have to double-team anyone it allows your offensive linemen to get to the second level faster and that’s exactly what the Ravens were doing yesterday. Montravious Adams is more penetrator than he is space eater and that’s affecting what the Steelers can do up front.
But more than that, guys like Isaiahh Loudermilk, Chris Wormley and Larry Ogunjobi just aren’t playing well enough. Loudermilk doesn’t always get a helmet and Wormley and Ogunjobi have been far too inconsistent. What also has to be mentioned here is that with T.J. Watt being a shell of himself at this point due to injuries, the run defense on the edges is also suffering greatly.
In the two weeks prior to this game, both Indianapolis and Atlanta gave the Steelers a massive reprieve. For reasons known only to them, the Colts and Falcons abandoned the run way too often and it cost them both. I said in our game preview ‘The Three-Point Stance,’ that John Harbaugh would not make the same mistake and he didn’t.
When your safeties, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Terrell Edmunds, combine for 20 tackles then you know the front seven aren’t getting the job completed. Devin Bush, Myles Jack and Robert Spillane spent most of the afternoon caught in the wash that was the Ravens’ offensive line.
Perhaps the saddest thing about the Steelers’ woeful performance was that it wasn’t a secret. Baltimore made no effort whatsoever to even pretend that they were going to throw the ball. They lined up and kicked the Steelers’ ass. The scoreboard will say a two-point loss. The pundits will say the interceptions cost the Steelers and make no mistake, they did. And many will also say that giving up 16 points in the NFL should be enough to win. I don’t disagree with that thought at all but it doesn’t take away the fact that the League”s highest-paid defense got run over Sunday.
The natural grass may have to be replaced again if for no other reason than to remove the body outlines from the scene of the Ravens’ crime.
