Steelers hoping to beat Ravens without Big Ben for first time
MEMORABLE SERIES MOMENT
Ravens 23, Steelers 20 OT
Oct. 1, 2015 at Heinz Field
Since 2004, the Steelers have hosted the Ravens three times without Ben Roethlisberger聽— and lost every time. The most recent was four years ago when Michael Vick quarterbacked the 2-1 Steelers against the 0-3 Ravens. The Steelers blew a 20-7 lead as kicker Josh Scobee missed fourth-quarter field goals of 49 and 41 yards, and Justin Tucker tied the game for the Ravens with a 42-yard field goal with three seconds left. The Steelers eschewed field goal attempts of 56 and 50 yards in overtime and were stopped both times on fourth-and-short. Tucker then kicked a 52-yarder in overtime for the Ravens win. The Steelers released Scobee and signed Chris Boswell two days later.
TALE OF THE TAPE
“With Terrell Suggs gone, the last vestige of that once-great era of Ravens defense appears to be gone as well. Looking at the tape, there’s nobody there who makes me say, ‘Wow, that’s scary.’ Brandon Williams is a space-eater. He’s a strong guy, a hunker-down dog, but that inside combination with Michael Pierce is no longer potent. And that pass rush is not as hot nor as heavy. They’ve been susceptible to being gashed by the run, which is something you never could say about the Ravens. And big plays over the top have also hurt them. Defensively speaking, this isn’t a team that you sit back and say ‘These guys are scaring me,’ because they’re not that scary on defense.” — Steelers Radio analyst Craig Wolfley.
TOP QUESTION
Can the Steelers stop the Ravens’ inside-outside running threats?
Last year, the Steelers held Ravens reserve QB Lamar Jackson to 27 yards on 9 carries and 12 yards passing in 22 snaps. The Steelers also held then-Saints RB Mark Ingram to 35 yards on 11 carries. But Jackson moved into the Ravens lineup following the second Balt-Pit game and this season is currently averaging an NFL-best 6.6 yards per carry. No. 3 in that category is Ravens RB Ingram at 6.0 yards per carry. They are the heart-and-soul, the inside and outside threats, of the NFL’s No. 1 rushing attack. The young Steelers defense is 22nd against the run but coming off its best game, in which it allowed the Cincinnati Bengals only 73 rushing yards at 3.8 per carry.
THREE QUESTIONS: With CB JOE HADEN
Q: Does their rookie receiver, Marquise Brown, look scary?
JH: “No. Just fast. He’s really fast. We’ve got to make sure we stay over the top of him. I think (Bengals WR John) Ross is faster than him, but he’s still the same kind of guy. Just making sure we keep him in front of us and always knowing where they’re lined up at.”
Q: Ross was pretty quiet against you guys last week. What did you do?
JH: “Same thing. Just always acknowledging, always knowing where he’s at. He was running comebacks and little drags and things that won’t be able to beat us. Just run, run, run and then always maintaining when you’re on the back end, knowing that you’ve got to help if something breaks through because you’ve got to protect the deep passes. So when 15’s in, we’ve got to make sure we always know where he’s at.”
Q: San Francisco had a 4.2 speed guy, too. How did he fit in with the guys you’ve been facing?
JH: “It’s been a track meet lately. All of these dudes are world-class speed guys. Just knowing where they’re at at all times is the biggest thing.”
GAME BREAKDOWN
What to look for from the Steelers at 1 p.m. at Heinz Field
ON OFFENSE:
Why change anything you did last week with the wildcat and short-passing game? The Steelers ran the slow Bengals inside linebackers and behemoth defensive tackles ragged with jet-action and an assortment of plays that threatened the perimeter. The Ravens defense is similar, so expect the Steeler to attack them outside. “Usually we have,” said guard David DeCastro. James Conner will play, but pass-game playmakers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Vance McDonald are questionable. Ravens CB Jimmy Smith has been ruled out.
ON DEFENSE:
The Steelers are healthy and coming off their best game as rookie Devin Bush and newcomers Mark Barron, Steven Nelson and Minkah Fitzpatrick continue to develop into a cohesive unit. The Steelers also welcome back Vince Williams, who was a starter at ILB before losing his job to a hamstring injury. The run-stuffer with pass-rush ability could find himself right in the middle of an eight-man front to help defend the Ravens’ running game. The Ravens could be without center Matt Skura, who’s questionable with a knee injury.
PREDICTION
No, Roethlisberger’s not playing, and that’s not been a good sign for the Steelers in this rivalry. But the Steelers not only need this game more than the Ravens, they’re playing at home in October, a spot in which they’re 19-5 under Mike Tomlin. They’re also 17-4 in the second of back-to-back home games under Tomlin. The intersection of those two spots is 6-0 (avg. score 33-17), so I’m thinking this will be lucky No. 7, even without No. 7. … Steelers, 23-20.
BY THE NUMBERS
7: Snaps in the wildcat formation by Steelers RB Jaylen Samuels last Monday night. They accounted for 46 yards and a 2-yard touchdown run.
17: Number of Ravens who aren’t officially Ravens, per the team’s declared motto that “You’re not a Raven until you beat the Steelers.” Those 17 Ravens who haven’t been active during such a win include eight rookies.
90: Percentage of career field goals made by Ravens K Tucker, an all-time NFL best.
100: Percentage of kicks made this season by Steelers K Boswell, the best September of his four-year career.
103: Career passer rating by third-rounder Rudolph is higher than that of the five first-round QBs selected ahead of him in 2018. Jackson is second at 95.4.
DOWNLOADS
n In four seasons at Oklahoma State, Rudolph connected with James Washington over 200 times for over 4,000 yards and 34 touchdowns. In 15 preseason series on the field together, they connected 5 times for 93 yards and 2 touchdowns. In early practices this season, Rudolph looked for Washington so often that Tomlin mocked his secondary for not knowing it was coming. However, in 27 series together this season, Rudolph has targeted Washington only 6 times. It’s produced 3 catches for 25 yards, and Rudolph only targeted Washington one time, without a catch, last Monday night. Has Rudolph sub-consciously tried to look for other receivers? “That’s what I’m thinking,” said Washington. “That’s what I told him, I said, ‘Teams know our chemistry, so they’re not going to NOT guard me.’ So it could be a reason. You never know. But like they tell him, whoever’s open you’ve got to get him the ball. It doesn’t matter who it is.”
n At one point in the Ravens’ loss last Sunday to the Cleveland Browns, veteran safety Earl Thomas chose not to run after RB Nick Chubb because, he later admitted, he was afraid of injuring his hamstring. That’s why the Baltimore media was surprised that Thomas got into a training-room argument with NT Williams for missing the game with a late-week injury. “We’re on the same page,” Thomas said a few days later. “We talked about it. I just want him out there. He’s a Pro Bowler. We’re better when he’s out there, so I was a little frustrated. I just wanted to see what was going on with him, because I knew he had practiced earlier in the week. I didn’t know. It just kind of hit me out of the blindside, but hopefully he’ll play this week. We’ll get it fixed.”
n The 30-year-old Thomas was a five-time All-Pro with Seattle. He broke his leg last year and missed all but four games before signing a four-year, $55 million contract this offseason with the Ravens. As for the tender hamstring(s), Ravens coach John Harbaugh said, “I want everybody running to the ball every play as much as they can, but it’s pro football. You have to respect a pro athlete in that situation who feels a certain way … I certainly don’t want a hamstring pull right there from our starting safety. So, I take him at his word. You know why I say that? Because I watched the game; I watched how hard he played. The guy was all over the field. He was all over the field and made a bunch of hits, so I respect it. Anything that happens in the locker room, that’s just – I don’t even know. These are grown men. That’s kind of our business.”
n The Ravens this week put rookie linebacker Otaro Alaka on IR and cut linebacker Tim Williams and signed former Steeler L.J. Fort and 30-year-old Josh Bynes. It left only one starter聽— Kenny Young聽— of the four linebackers who started against the Steelers last season. Gone are C.J. Mosley, Terrell Suggs and Za’Darius Smith. They accounted for 25 of 29 tackles and all three tackles-for-loss by Ravens starting LBers in the two games last season against the Steelers. “You have to play the run,” Harbaugh said when asked what he wants in his revamped group. “Just downhill run fits, a little more physicality, a little more experience is what we’re looking for.”
n The signing of Fort doesn’t help or hurt the Steelers’ complicated compensation formula for next draft. When Fort was cut last week by the Philadelphia Eagles, it put the Steelers in position to lose their third-round 2020 comp pick for Le’Veon Bell. The Steelers can still recoup the pick by cutting WR Donte Moncrief before the 10th game. Moncrief dropped five passes in his first two games, one more than he had dropped in 2018. Moncrief struggled with a dislocated middle finger in training camp.
PARTING SHOT
“It wasn’t the bus ride. It was actually, for me, just being on the sideline and watching it. They play that little song (Renegade), and they wave their little flags and stuff, with the little towels around. It was pretty dope. I enjoyed it. I did, I really did.”聽— Ravens QB Lamar Jackson on when he understood the nature of the rivalry.