As a head coach in the NFL with a long history as a former special teams coordinator, the Baltimore Ravens’ John Harbaugh takes a great deal of pride in the performances of his special teams units.
He’s not pleased with the showing his special teams had on Sunday at Acrisure Stadium against the rival Pittsburgh Steelers — particularly on the blocked punt from special teams captain Miles Killebrew with 11:12 left in the fourth quarter.
Killebrew, who has blocked a number of punts in his career, knifed through the A gap on the punt block call from special teams coordinator Danny Smith, getting his right hand on the punt from Baltimore’s Jordan Stout. That led to a safety, flipping the momentum to Pittsburgh’s side, leading to an eventual 17-1o win for the Steelers.
“Just an A-gap rush. We didn’t block the guy we were supposed to block,” Harbaugh said to reporters after the game, according to video via the Ravens’ Twitter page. “Just another situation where we can’t…to me that’s kind of an example of the whole game right there. We did not do the things we need to do in certain situations that we’re capable of doing.
“We will do going forward, but we didn’t do ’em today.”
Execution was a problem for the Ravens against the Steelers. Three plays prior to Killebrew’s massive punt block, which practice squad-elevation tight end Rodney Williams nearly recovered for a touchdown before being ruled out of bounds for a safety, the Ravens were called for a holding on Patrick Ricard, setting up a 1st and 20.
That allowed the Steelers to pin their ears back and get after Lamar Jackson with Baltimore behind the chains, forcing the three-and-out.
With the ball on Baltimore’s 14-yard line, it was a perfect spot for Smith and the Steelers’ special teams to put on the block call. Killebrew made it pay off, getting home with ease to block the punt, making it a 10-5 game.
That gave the Steelers life and eventually helped them claw back into the game and win the AFC North showdown.
