Ravens vs Steelers: reflection

By: Jake Rajala

The Pittsburgh Steelers unsurprisingly fell off a cliff this season after achieving a winning record. For some odd reason, it’s too often that Mike Tomlin struggles to win meaningful games late in the season. Their latest struggle was against the Baltimore Ravens in the wild-card game. They lost by a score of 28-14. With that said, I’m going to untwine five things we learned from the Ravens vs Steelers showdown.

Running game

The difference in the running game between the teams was the biggest difference in the game. Derrick Henry ran angry for 186 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, Najee Harris ran for 17 yards on six carries. Henry stiff armed a couple of Ravens defensive backs to hell. Lamar Jackson even joined in on the fun by running for 81 yards!

George Pickens

The biggest bright spot on the Steelers offense has to be George Pickens. He is one of the best young wideouts in the league. Against the Ravens, he hauled in 87 yards and a touchdown. The Steelers could have an upgrade at QB in 2025 – which will only help Pickens.

Where was T.J. Watt?

In the biggest game of the season, T.J. Watt decided to not show up on the stat sheet. Watt is regularly a DPOY candidate. Yet, he showed that he can’t excel against double teams, unlike Aaron Donald who flashed greatness in his last Super Bowl show-down. T.J. may be a first ballot Hall of Famer, but he still needs to separate himself from other HOF defenders by winning a Lombardi trophy.

Isaiah Likely

The top Ravens target of the game wasn’t Rashod Bateman or Mark Andrews. Rather Isaiah Likely had the most receptions (3) and receiving yards (53) on the night. It’s important that back-up skill players can step up when the key names are being double teamed.

Nnamdi Madubuike

Nnamdi Madubuike witnessed Kyle Van Noy get erased by the Steelers game plan, so Nnamdi Madubuike elevated his game by notching a pair of sacks! Nnamdi had his best game of the season, to say the least. He showed his 2023 form – where he scooped up 13 sacks! The Ravens need Nnamdi to show up in a likely showdown against the Chiefs.

Honorable Mention:

Steelers QBs

The Steelers have a mighty question on their hands: who will be the Steelers QB1 in 2025? Russell Wilson isn’t an elite QB or 4th quarter magician. Wilson isn’t even the same scrambler that he once was. Furthermore, Justin Fields isn’t as consistent as a Pro Bowl QB. I’d love to see Kirk Cousins or Derek Carr get acquired by the Steelers.