OTL: Philly Exposes Steelers – Can Ravens Finally Overcome?

That, ladies and gentlemen, was a Sunday.

Not only did the Ravens trounce the New York Giants like it was a mere walk in the park, but the Pittsburgh Steelers fell to the Philadelphia Eagles. If you look up to the very top of the bright blue sky this morning, that’s how high the stakes are for the Ravens’ upcoming Saturday battle with the Steelers. We’ve got an awful lot to talk about today.

C.J. Doon of the Baltimore Sun reports that if the Ravens beat the Steelers we could be running towards a crazy finish where tie-breakers could decide the division champion:

With a Baltimore win Saturday, the Ravens and Steelers would split the season series and have identical 10-5 records entering the final two games of the regular season. If both teams finish with the same record, the next tiebreaker would be best win-loss-tied percentage in games played within the division.

Pittsburgh ends its season with home games against the Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals, while the Ravens play at the Houston Texans and host the Cleveland Browns. There’s the added twist of both Baltimore and Pittsburgh playing on Christmas Day, with Steelers vs. Chiefs kicking off at 1 p.m. and Ravens vs. Texans to follow at 4:30 p.m. in a first-of-its-kind doubleheader on Netflix.

It could get crazier than that according to Doon, but this is a good framework for discussion’s sake. Both teams have a challenging road in front of them. The injury to Patrick Mahomes, which is reportedly a week-to-week thing, could have come at the right time for the Steelers ahead of their showdown hosting the Chiefs on Christmas. The Chiefs still have a strong defense and the experience of a champion, while in Week 18 the Bengals have the ability to make any game a shootout. The Steelers could realistically lose any of their remaining games.

It does however come with the rub that the Ravens have the same level of threat in front of them. Baltimore just has to handle their business here. Remember they have to beat a Steelers team that has had their number for a long stretch just to make this conversation relevant. If the Ravens five losses show us anything, it’s that no game can be taken for granted. Those hard to fathom losses against the Raiders and the Browns look pretty bad down the stretch, don’t they? The moral of the story is that the Ravens have to control what they can control and it starts with all important battle with the Steelers.

The Ravens had their way with the New York Giants. The reactions to their 35-14 victory are in. Here’s what Stephen Bopst from Baltimore Beatdown had to say:

The Ravens expectedly handled business today in New York. Lamar Jackson had another near perfect passing day with 5 touchdowns and 290 yards as the Baltimore offense walked up and down the field against a decimated Giants defense. This was a good tune up game for the Ravens coming out of the bye as a battle with the first place Steelers waits in the wings. While the Ravens won this one easily, they simply haven’t been able to fix the penalty issue. Baltimore finished with 11 penalties for 107 yards and continue to lead the league in that category. Brandon Stephens committed multiple pass interference penalties, struggling to locate the football once again.

The penalties are the big thing that puts a damper on this win. The Ravens were inevitably going to beat the Giants because let’s face it, they’re terrible. The penalties don’t end up mattering in a contest like this but they do in a divisional showdown right before Christmas. The Ravens have had a pattern of getting hurt by the yellow flags and Bopst accurately identifies Stephens as a top culprit. I think some of it is a little ridiculous. You can see just by watching the game that a lot of these calls (especially pass interference) are subjective and the Ravens don’t get the benefit of the doubt with the officials.

Complaining about the officiating though, is something the entire league can do, and John Harbaugh has to find a way to get his squad to play a clean game. There is no reason the Ravens have to stand out like a sore thumb in the penalty department. Harbaugh has been coaching the Ravens since I was a Junior in high school, which is my way of reminding you it’s been a very long time. I expect a tenured coach such as Harbaugh to reel in his team because more important football games are coming.

John Breech of CBS Sports gave the Ravens an A for their performance in his gradebook:

For some reason, Lamar Jackson became the forgotten man in the MVP race heading into Week 15, but that won’t be the case after this game. With the Giants bottling up Derrick Henry, the Ravens needed Jackson to carry the offense and he answered the call. The Ravens QB threw for 290 yards and FIVE touchdowns while also adding 65 rushing yards. It was a nearly flawless performance from a QB who’s now had six games this year with a passer rating above 130. The blowout win allowed the Ravens to bench their starters for the final half of the fourth quarter, which was huge, considering Baltimore has to turn around and play on a short week with a showdown against the Steelers on Saturday.

I like the way Breech calls Jackson the forgotten man in the MVP race. It shows you that the MVP talk is such a fickle thing and that it’s modulated by situation more than anything. The Ravens got another Jackson 5 and Jackson once again is at least showing that he is on the level of the MVP consideration. Josh Allen certainly didn’t lose momentum in his surgical evisceration of the Super Bowl contending Detroit Lions, but Jackson remains in the conversation down the stretch. I’d argue that this was a complete team victory though, the defense had some impressive moments of their own. I also wish Rashod Bateman was getting more attention for his two-touchdown performance and his continued strong season.

BIG PLAY BATEpic.twitter.com/Vc4jtxfSgi

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 15, 2024

Breech had some very harsh words to accompany his D for the Steelers:

The Steelers haven’t won a game in Philadelphia since 1965 and their nightmare continued Sunday. Going up against a Super Bowl contender, the Steelers got punched in the mouth and didn’t respond. The offense couldn’t move the ball on the ground or through air. When that happens, the Steelers defense can usually keep things close, but on Sunday, the defense got torched for more than 400 yards. The Steelers only had the ball for less than six minutes in the second half, and if you don’t have the ball, you can’t score, and if you can’t score, you’re not going to win. Unfortunately for the Steelers, things won’t be getting any easier with the Ravens (Saturday) and Chiefs (Dec. 25) on deck over the next 10 days.

This shows you that the Steelers defense is vulnerable to an elite offense. The Eagles had their way with Pittsburgh. The Ravens don’t have an excuse to make this another frustrating game that comes down to a last second field goal in a low-scoring affair. The Eagles elite offense was able to shred the Steelers. If the Ravens are for real, and their offensive laurels are legitimate, they will put up numbers against the Steelers. The last showdown with the Steelers felt like a psychologically driven loss. The Steelers may or may not be in their heads, but the Ravens have to finally show up on offense in this matchup. The Steelers just saw the Eagles’ offense control the entire flow of the game. The Ravens need to take note.

Just another absurd stat line from Lamar:
– 21/25
– 355 total yards
– 5 pass TDs@Ravens | @FedEx pic.twitter.com/JfwditKDHW

— NFL (@NFL) December 15, 2024

I love this tweet by the NFL. Just another absurd stat line is the perfect way to say it. At this point, you should never bet against Lamar Jackson and his crazy performances are becoming his standard operating procedure. I have a genuine question for you Baltimore: Has there ever been an athlete this fun to watch? Maybe Ed Reed. I don’t know, this is just special. For the Ravens’ sake I hope we’re saying the same thing after the big battle at the Bank with the Steelers.

The Ravens are 1-0 since Lamar Jackson’s mom cussed him out pic.twitter.com/vXZ57MZSad

— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) December 15, 2024

We have to give some credit to Jackson’s Mom. To steal a line from Kevin Durant, she may be the real MVP!

One thing is for sure: the MVP quarterback loves his favorite tight end. Jackson had some high praise for Mark Andrews, who just became the franchise leader in touchdowns:

Lamar Jackson following Mark Andrews’ record-setting 48th TD as a Raven:

“People were talking about… we need to trade Mark… I didn’t forget that and I know he didn’t forget that.”#RavensFlock @FOXBaltimore pic.twitter.com/KCINaGJwVj

— AJ Gersh (@AJGershTV) December 15, 2024

Go forth and Monday Baltimore! It’s beat the dang Steelers week, let’s do this!

The post OTL: Philly Exposes Steelers – Can Ravens Finally Overcome? appeared first on Russell Street Report.