Last week, Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joe Haden talked about how he’s looking forward to the team’s secondary getting more turnovers in 2021 than the group had in 2020. As part of that statement, Haden talked about how he and a few other members of the secondary dropped a few potential interceptions throughout the season, and how they must correct that in 2021. On the heels of Haden talking about the interception drops the Steeler defense had in 2020, I thought it would be fun to look at them all and see how each might have impacted that particular contest, if at all.
The second dropped interception the Steelers defense had in 2021 came in Week 8 and against the Baltimore Ravens.
2020 Dropped Interception 2 Detailed Info:
Dropper: Joe Haden
Quarter: 2nd
Time: 1:20
Score: Ravens 14, Steelers 7
Down/Distance: 2nd & 6
Line Of Scrimmage: Ravens’ 27
Passer: Lamar Jackson
Target: Miles Boykin
Description: This looks to be a cover-1 man with a five-man pressure that the Steelers defense is running, and it includes safety Minkah Fitzpatrick blitzing and inside linebacker Robert Spillane green dogging. Defensive end Stephon Tuitt does a good job of getting himself into Jackson’s throwing lane and that may have caused the Ravens quarterback to throw behind wide receiver Miles Boykin. With throw off target and behind Boykin, Haden has a chance to pick off the pass. It was initially ruled an interception but a review that followed resulted in the call on the field being overturned.
Had The Interception Happened: Had Haden made this interception cleanly, the Steelers would’ve been set up at the Ravens 32-yardline with a little more than a minute remaining in the first half. The Steelers were down 14-7 at the time and the hope would’ve been that at least, the ensuing position would’ve ended with a field goal, if not a touchdown. On top of that, there’s a good chance the Steelers would have been able to run out the first half time.
Outcome: The dropped interception by Haden set up a 3rd and 6 for the Ravens and they converted on that play via a run by Jackson. After that, the Ravens offense ultimately drove to the Steelers 33 yard-line and kicker Justin Tucker closed out the first half with a 51-yard field goal to put Baltimore ahead 17-7. While that dropped interception resulted in a potential point swing right before the end of the first half, the Steelers did ultimately go on to beat the Ravens 28-24.
Previous Posts In This Series:
Steelers 2020 Dropped Interception Breakdown/Impact: CB Joe Haden — Week 3 — Texans
