Ravens players agreed they were facing a must-win situation in their Thursday night game against Pittsburgh. Odd as it seems in Week 2 of a 16-game regular season, dropping the first two games is historically a death knell for playoff hopefuls.
A Baltimore loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers would have dropped the team to 0-2 for the first time since 2005. Both of the setbacks would have also come at home against AFC North opponents. Instead, Baltimore responded with a thorough 26-6 victory over the Steelers, bouncing back from the previous loss to the Bengals.
What made the victory over their heated rival Pittsburgh even more impressive was that the Ravens spent most of the week dealing with the fallout from video showing Ray Rice’s domestic violence incident. Baltimore terminated Rice’s contract just hour after the video surfaced showing him assaulting his then-fiancee and the NFL then suspended him indefinitely.
As the national media converged on the team’s practice complex in Owings Mills most of the week to gauge the psyche of the team, the Ravens had to make sure they still focused on football in light of the distractions. They certainly accomplished that goal.
“As a coach and players, we were into (football) all week,” coach John Harbaugh said. “We weren’t involved in that other stuff. I know from the outside looking in, you probably feel like all the media stuff is being generated at the team. And it’s really not. As a football team, we go into our meeting rooms, our locker rooms, our offices and we go to work, especially on a short week like that. We were just working on football. So, we’ve been in that football cocoon and I think that carried us into the game.”
The Ravens now have nine days before traveling to Cleveland.
The offense improved dramatically since last week’s 23-16 loss to the Bengals. Quarterback Joe Flacco completed 21 of 29 passes for 166 yards and threw two touchdown passes to tight end Owen Daniels. Wide receiver Steve Smith had another solid game with six receptions for 71 yards.
There were also questions about the Ravens running game after deciding to cut ties with Rice. Bernard Pierce was benched the previous week for a fumble in the second quarter and the Ravens gave the bulk of the carries to journeyman Justin Forsett. Pierce got the start against Pittsburgh and he rebounded with a solid game. Forsett was also impressive for the second consecutive game.
Pierce had 22 carries for 96 yards (4.4 yard per carry). Forsett finished with 56 yards on eight carries, including a 41-yard run.
“Bernard bounced back,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “That shows you what he’s made of, that shows you his mettle a little bit and he finished it off in the fourth quarter pretty good, as did Justin.”
Defensively, Baltimore held the Steelers without a touchdown and kept quarterback Ben Roethlisberger from making any big plays. Roethlisberger was 22 of 37 for 217 yards with an interception. He was also sacked twice and finished with a 64.8
The Ravens also contained Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell, who had 59 yards on 11 carries and had little room to run. Defensive coordinator Dean Pees was able to put together an effective game plan despite just having four days to prepare.
“Guys were working hard, just being relentless,” said Baltimore linebacker Elvis Dumervil, who had two sacks. “Give credit to Pees with his scheme and the guys in the back end with great coverage. I mean we were just trying to get off the ball and be disruptive. As a rush, you want to be annoying.”
The Ravens now can improve to 2-1 on the season with a win next Sunday against the Browns and possibly trail the first-place Bengals by just one game. That is a scenario they will be glad to take considering the adversity they have dealt with over the past week.
REPORT CARD VS STEELERS
PASSING OFFENSE: A — Quarterback Joe Flacco was effective using play-action against the Steelers and did not commit a turnover. He completed 21 of 29 passes for 166 yards and threw a pair of touchdown passes to tight end Owen Daniels. Flacco was also not hindered by his receivers dropping passes as in the previous game against Bengals. Steve Smith was once again a formidable target, catching six passes for 71 yards. Baltimore was effective in offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak’s two tight-end set. Daniels caught five passes for 28 yards and Dennis Pitta had three catches for 30 yards.
RUSHING OFFENSE: B-plus: Bernard Pierce bounced back after being benched the previous week against the Bengals. Pierce had 22 carries for 96 yards (4.4 yard per carry). He was complemented by veteran Justin Forsett, who finished with 56 yards on eight carries, including a 41-yard run. As a team, Baltimore ran for 157 yards on 36 carries. The running attack provided a perfect balance to the passing game.
PASS DEFENSE: A-minus: Baltimore’s short-handed secondary did not allow Ben Roethlisberger to make any big plays. Asa Jackson got his first start of the season when Lardarius Webb was forced to miss his second consecutive game with a lower back injury. Jackson then suffered a concussion in the second quarter and had to leave the game. Chykie Brown, who was beaten for the winning touchdown last week against the Bengals, filled Jackson’s spot and played effectively. Cornerback Jimmy Smith was solid and made plays all over the field.
RUSH DEFENSE: A: The Ravens defensive line was dominant and held Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell to 59 yards on 11 carries. They were also effective in shutting down Pittsburgh in short-yardage situations. Linebacker Elvis Dumervil had two sacks against Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who faced constant pressure on the night.
SPECIAL TEAMS: A: Kicker Justin Tucker made all four of his field goal attempts, with the longest from 40 yards. Sam Koch only had to punt the ball twice and averaged 55 yards. Baltimore’s coverage teams did not allow any big returns to let the Steelers back in the game. Jacoby Jones returned two punts for 47 yards. In short, the group was not asked to do much and they did not make costly mistakes.
COACHING: A-plus: Baltimore coach John Harbaugh had to deal with numerous distractions involving the Ray Rice domestic violence issue. Dozens of media from around the country hung around the Ravens practice facility all week. Nonetheless, Harbaugh had his team ready to play and they were able to fully focus on beating division rival Pittsburgh. Offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak effectively had quarterback Joe Flacco running play-action to keep the Steelers off-balance. Defensive coordinator Dean Pees was able to put together a solid game plan and the Ravens held the Steelers without a touchdown. Even more impressive was Baltimore managed to accomplish its goals on a short week coming off a divisional loss to the Bengals.
