ExtremeRavens Posted 19 hours ago Posted 19 hours ago Here’s what The Baltimore Sun sports staff had to say immediately after the Ravens’ 27-22 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 14 of the NFL season on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore: Brian Wacker, reporter The Ravens (6-7) won’t like the overturning of Isaiah Likely’s touchdown catch, and they have a beef. But there were also plenty of other shortcomings to be frustrated about, most notably their pass defense against a Steelers (7-6) offense led by 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers that has struggled to move the ball. But as often has the case been, Baltimore’s defense proved to be a welcome tonic to an ailing offense. Too many times the Ravens didn’t get pressure on Rodgers and too often it allowed him to find open receivers downfield. Now comes an uphill climb with games against the Bengals’ Joe Burrow, the Patriots’ Drake Maye, the Packers’ Jordan Love and Rodgers again. That’s a tall task and it might be too much to overcome to make the playoffs. Mike Preston, columnist The Ravens made this game closer than most of us expected. The Steelers came into this game reeling and the Ravens had every opportunity to win, but not even the magic of quarterback Lamar Jackson could pull out the victory for Baltimore. Jackson was sacked by Cameron Heyward on the game’s final play in Pittsburgh territory. Sure, there was some questionable officiating in this game, but that’s standard in the NFL. Tight end Isaiah Likely should have tucked the ball, even though he took two steps in the end zone. But Pittsburgh was willing to gamble in the first half and built a nice lead to hold off the Ravens at the end. Regardless, the Ravens are a mess. Their offensive line can’t pass block and the secondary can’t cover. They deserve to be 6-7 at this point. Josh Tolentino, columnist Well, at least Todd Monken got the memo. After abandoning Derrick Henry in the team’s Thanksgiving night loss to the Bengals, Baltimore fed the future Hall of Fame running back to the tune of 25 carries for 94 yards (3.8 average) against Pittsburgh. Henry’s efforts, though, weren’t enough as Zach Orr’s defense failed to record a takeaway against one of the league’s worst offenses, while quarterback Lamar Jackson saw his season interception total rise to five. There have been plenty of disappointing moments this season, but if the Ravens fail to secure a playoff berth, they’ll look back at this Week 14 loss and remember a prime opportunity they flushed down the drain. Baltimore commanded the exact type of game plan it wanted against its division rivals, between dominating time of possession, 33:44 to 26:16, and outgaining the Steelers, 420-318. Yet timely mistakes, along with a questionable reversed touchdown call on Isaiah Likely’s would-be go-ahead score late in the fourth quarter, proved to be detrimental. Sam Cohn, reporter Baltimore’s undoing, on Sunday and perhaps in the greater context of this Ravens season, will be haunted by a few metaphorical kicks squarely to the groin, courtesy of the men wearing stripes. Fair or not, the Ravens were this close. Travis Jones was flagged for unnecessary roughness after breaking through the middle of the line on a Steelers field goal attempt. Gifted a fresh set of downs, Pittsburgh scored a touchdown one play later. Rookie Teddye Buchanan registered the first interception of his career, only for officials to rule Aaron Rodgers down with his hands on the ball upon review. Then, the one that Ravens fans will take to the bars to debate with friends, was Isaiah Likely’s touchdown catch. Officials negated the score, ruling it incomplete. Still, the Ravens had a chance. They got the ball with two minutes left and one timeout. That drive never reached the end zone, ending with the quarterback on the ground. Because of it, Baltimore’s odds to reach the playoffs plummeted. Michael Howes, reporter The immediate chatter postgame will be on the two consequence calls against the Ravens in the final minutes. First, an interception overturned that would’ve moved Baltimore into Pittsburgh territory. Then, another Isaiah Likely touchdown overturned. Did the Ravens deserve to win the game, though? Probably not. An Aaron Rodgers who entered M&T Bank Stadium struggling and looking like a 42-year-old quarterback passed for a season-high 284 yards with a 67.6% completion rate. DK Metcalf torched the recently stout Baltimore secondary for 148 yards and seven catches, both season highs. And there were still chances for Baltimore to win the game. After the Likely score was overturned, the Ravens stalled at the Pittsburgh 8-yard line on fourth down after they couldn’t pick up two yards on third down. The clock ran out on Baltimore on its final drive as Lamar Jackson was sacked. The Ravens’ grasp on the division lead is gone. Will they be able to overcome that adversity in the final four games? C.J. Doon, editor That felt like the Ravens’ entire season wrapped into one game, didn’t it? We saw more mediocre play from quarterback Lamar Jackson, continuing an alarming stretch for the two-time NFL MVP. The offense was just as frustrating as ever, at times sticking to the running game to keep the chains moving but often stalling out in the red zone. (Side note: Keeping Derrick Henry on the sideline for a couple plays here and there in the first half, while curious at the time, might have paid off in the second half.) Some brutal drops didn’t help. There are no trustworthy pass catchers on this team, not even Zay Flowers. DeAndre Hopkins and Rashod Bateman have been MIA. Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely are inconsistent at best. The offensive line is in shambles. Jackson doesn’t have the explosiveness to bail the Ravens out the way he used to. Even a burst from Keaton Mitchell was immediately followed by a trip to the medical tent with a worrying knee injury. Starting 1-5 was a crisis that the Ravens admirably fought through. Now, trailing the division leader by one game with four games left, is another. The Bengals, who embarrassed the Ravens on Thanksgiving and held a late lead at Buffalo on Sunday before collapsing, host Baltimore next week to continue a brutal stretch of games to finish the season. Right now, there isn’t much confidence that it will end with a playoff berth. We thought this was one of the best rosters in Ravens history. Instead, it has all the makings of a historic flop. Tim Schwartz, editor The Ravens have not looked like a legitimate playoff team in months. Sunday was no different. Against a reeling Steelers team that had lost five of its past seven, Pittsburgh brought the juice at M&T Bank Stadium and took control of the AFC North, the NFL’s worst division. The fourth quarter wasn’t without controversy, with a touchdown pass from Lamar Jackson to Isaiah Likely wiped out after being ruled incomplete and a would-be interception of Aaron Rodgers overturned by replay, but Baltimore had plenty of opportunities beyond that. This team will make you rip your hair out. There’s a good chance that ends with the regular-season finale in Pittsburgh. The postseason feels like a long shot. Bennett Conlin, editor The Ravens have reason to be upset with the officials. A pair of crucial late calls both went against Baltimore, including what seemed to be a game-changing interception and a potential go-ahead touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely. The interception reversal felt particularly egregious. Still, Baltimore had chances to win and made a few terrible mistakes. Why is Todd Monken calling for a delayed handoff on third-and-2 on the Ravens’ penultimate drive? It resulted in a 3-yard loss and doomed what should’ve been a touchdown drive. How does the secondary get cooked so badly for the first three quarters against an aging Aaron Rodgers? The ill-timed penalties in the final two minutes essentially killed the team’s final chance at scoring. Losing this game at home is brutal, and it could signal the end of John Harbaugh’s tenure. This doesn’t look like a playoff team despite the roster’s significant individual talent. It’s inexcusable. Have a news tip? Contact sports editor C.J. Doon at cdoon@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/CJDoon. View the full article Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.