Depleted Ravens lose 19-14 to Steelers in weird Wednesday afternoon bout originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
It was only fitting that the weirdest week of the NFL season coincided with the weirdest Ravens game of the season — and certainly one of the weirdest in franchise history.
In a 19-14 loss to the Steelers at Heinz Field on, of all days, Wednesday, of all times, at 3:40 pm, the Ravens played well to hang around until the fourth quarter, but couldn’t do anything offensively until late as their COVID-depleted lineup fell behind as the game wore on.
The Ravens played admirably, but simply didn’t have the usual firepower they usually do with so many new players. But they sure made a run at it.
Now 6-5, the Ravens have five games left to make a playoff push before the year runs out of time against them.
Here are a few takeaways from the Ravens’ loss:
1. Keeping it close
The Ravens knew they’d have to hang around by any means necessary against the Steelers. And they certainly did.
With a mix of ferocious effort on defense and Steelers mistakes, the Ravens hung around all afternoon. It wasn’t enough in the end, but the defense should be commended for their effort.
They made stops on key plays when they had to, turned the Steelers over in the red zone, and kept the Ravens’ non-existent offense in the game for as long as they could. In the second half, and especially in the fourth quarter, the defense couldn’t hold the Steelers’ offense.
Still, with a depleted defensive line and outside linebacking corps, it was a closer game than many expected, especially with third-string quarterback Trace McSorley’s 70-yard touchdown to Marquise Brown near the end of the fourth quarter. The Ravens were one third down stop away from giving the ball back to the offense as the game wound down, but it wasn’t enough.
2. Non-existent offense — mostly
Again, the Ravens were in a bind without Lamar Jackson, Mark Ingram, J.K. Dobbins, Mark Andrews, Patrick Mekari, Matt Skura, Patrick Ricard and Willie Snead on the offensive side of the ball.
Robert Griffin III, who started the game, went just 7-of-12 for 33 yards passing with an interception. He added 68 yards on the ground on seven carries, but the offense was mostly stagnant all afternoon. Griffin, who was hobbled for nearly three quarters, was replaced by McSorley in the fourth quarter.
In a theme of the afternoon, the Ravens were simply out-manned along too many areas.
Tyre Phillips, fresh off IR, played in his first game since Nov. 1. His reward was a few series at right tackle, where he faced T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree. On at least one occasion, a mixup with running back Gus Edwards in pass protection directly led to a sack.
Without Andrews, the Ravens didn’t have reliable receiving options in the pass game either and needed to spread the ball around. Brown caught a 70-yard touchdown pass late in the game, but it only changed the final score.
3. End of half debacle
Down 12-7 at the end of the first half, the Ravens were set up with an amazing situation to take a lead entering halftime.
Instead, perhaps the game’s biggest debacle happened.
After the Ravens were stopped at the goal line on a 1st down run, they called timeout with just under 30 seconds to go in the half. They ran the ball on second down, but after the Steelers were slow to get up, the clock wound down to just a few ticks left.
So the Ravens ran a play-action pass, which Griffin couldn’t connect with Luke Willson in the end zone as the half expired. In a one-score game, that’s certainly a play to remember moving forward.
4. End of season push
Absent more than a dozen of their starters and key contributors mattered none, as the game still counts in the loss column for the Ravens, no matter who played.
Now, they need to win likely four of their final five games against the Cowboys, Browns, Jaguars, Giants and Bengals to make the playoffs.
By then, they’re scheduled to have everyone off the COVID list.
