ExtremeRavens Posted yesterday at 12:30 PM Posted yesterday at 12:30 PM In the words of Marlon Humphrey, Sunday night is a “dream scenario.” The veteran Ravens cornerback jokingly applauded NFL script writers for any part they might have played in facilitating this weekend’s game in Pittsburgh, with the AFC North division title on the line. Two hated rivals meeting in the regular season finale — winner earns a playoff bid, loser heads home — will “probably get a little chippy,” Humphrey said. That’s the dream. Kyle Hamilton told the entire Ravens defense that it will be the kind of game that lives on for years to come. This Ravens defense has been shown just about every highlight clip in the rivalry. History lessons have been a theme of this season and a pillar of defensive coordinator Zach Orr’s motivational tactics. “You see the clips all the time,” Hamilton said, invoking the punishing hits and clutch takeaways from Hall of Famers Ray Lewis or Troy Polamalu. “This is gonna be one of those games and we need to make sure we’re on the right side of history.” Over the past month, the Ravens’ defense, particularly the secondary, has covered every nook and cranny, top, bottom and side of history. When the Steelers came to Baltimore, quarterback Aaron Rodgers passed for his season-high 284 yards and a touchdown. Humphrey thought that Rodgers “etched himself into the rivalry” with gusto. A week later in frigid Cincinnati, the Ravens pitched the organization’s first shutout since 2018. Then New England’s Drake Maye torched Baltimore for a career-high 380 yards. And Green Bay backup Malik Willis, albeit in his sixth career start, passed for a personal-best 288 yards. After Maye authored a masterful fourth quarter, Hamilton said that it felt as if the secondary was “taking on water” until the dam finally broke. Willis left the Ravens defense “bleeding” half the night, Hamilton said, switching metaphors, until Baltimore finally got on the same page and helped shut the door on a season-saving win. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said that he picked up on a few changes watching Ravens film of the past few weeks. He noticed Baltimore’s secondary “minimizing” some of its one-on-one matchups to temper explosive plays. More zone, less isolation, was Tomlin’s main takeaway. The Ravens’ defense has certainly taken their lumps. At times, the Ravens have struggled in pass rush and had trouble containing top-tier quarterback-receiver duos. They’ve been at their worst in prime time, and curiously closer to their best on the road. Their secondary has allowed 245.3 yards per game, which is tied for third-worst in the NFL. The Ravens are also bottom three in sack percentage per pass attempt. But on third down, they’re top 10 in the league at getting off the field and top five in the red zone. So the message going into Sunday is one that’s come up throughout the year: “Play smart but not play timid,” Hamilton said. “I think there’s a fine line, especially in this game. You can’t go out there holding any of your bullets in your gun ‘cause it’s win or go home.” In early December, before the first iteration of Ravens versus Steelers, Humphrey said that he’d question the manhood of any defensive player unable to show up for what was also a must-win game. In the rematch, only so much needs to be verbalized about Sunday night’s significance. The Steelers will be without top-end receiver DK Metcalf, who was suspended for the final two games of the regular season for an altercation with a fan in Detroit. That’s a plus for Baltimore considering Metcalf was responsible for 148 yards on seven catches last time they played. The Steelers won’t have tight end Darnell Washington (broken arm) either but could get back speedy playmaker Calvin Austin III, who’s working back from a hamstring injury. Ravens coach John Harbaugh was asked Wednesday what decides games with such slim margins this late in the season. When every team is dealing with some physical and mental ailments in the home stretch of a long season, but both sides are fighting for their playoff lives, what does Harbaugh see as deciding factors? “It’s securing the football, taking the football away,” Harbaugh said, in part. That first meeting with Pittsburgh was the only game since Week 5 that the Ravens failed to force a turnover. Rookie linebacker Teddye Buchanan nearly stole the ball from Rodgers before officials ruled the quarterback down. Then a fourth-down stop was negated for an incorrect unnecessary roughness call against defensive tackle Travis Jones. Still, the Ravens’ defense is set up for a dream scenario of a second chance — both to beat their hated rivals and to atone for what has been perhaps the most disappointing season in franchise history up to this point. “Let it rip at the end of the day,” Hamilton said. “Whatever the outcome, you don’t want to be sitting in the locker room saying you could have done more.” Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn.x.com. View the full article Quote
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