Hats off to the Baltimore Ravens. They had a great season. Sincerely. But it didn’t end in a Super Bowl berth. Instead, they’ll be at home on Feb. 11, watching the Big Game from the couch like everyone else.
And Cam Heyward just wants to remind the football world that the Ravens weren’t invincible. With the Steelers the only team to beat Baltimore twice this season, Heyward gave his thoughts on Baltimore coming so close but leaving so far in Sunday’s 17-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
“I like to think the Pittsburgh Steelers and other teams this year have shown how to beat the Baltimore Ravens,” Heyward told co-host Hayden Walsh. “It wasn’t like they were undefeated all year.”
Heyward politely gave credit to the other teams that knocked off the Ravens in 2023. But it’s a short list. The Steelers handed Baltimore half of its four regular-season losses, sweeping the Ravens and continuing their recent dominance against them, winning seven of the AFC North rivals’ last eight contests.
Pittsburgh used a Miles Killebrew blocked punt, Joey Porter Jr. interception, and Kenny Pickett touchdown to pull off the upset in Week Five. While the Steelers were on the lucky end of several Ravens dropped passes, they held Baltimore’s running game in check while keeping the game close down to the end before Pickett hit WR George Pickens for the go-ahead score. T.J. Watt closed out the game with a sack.
The meeting in the finale carried a different set of circumstances. The Ravens had nothing to play for and sat QB Lamar Jackson and other key starters. In the driving rain, Pittsburgh controlled the ball and forced turnovers as the Steelers beat the Ravens again, 17-10.
Handling business against Baltimore isn’t easy. But controlling the clock and winning the turnover battle are two key elements. Kansas City did both yesterday, holding onto the ball for over 37 minutes and finishing plus-three in the turnover battle against a Ravens team that led the league in that category throughout the year at plus-12. In Pittsburgh’s two combined games versus the Ravens, it finished plus-two in the turnover battle and won time of possession.
Heyward was surprised by the Ravens’ pass-happy approach in a close contest, getting away from their run-game roots.
“How do you only get 16 rushes, 10 from Lamar, six from your running back? How do you not run the ball enough?” he said. “You look at this game and it’s a 17-10 game. It’s not like it was out of reach and they were playing catch-up the entire time. This was the type of game that, this favors Baltimore style. You’ve gotta run the ball.”
Jackson threw 37 passes and was sacked another four times, giving him 41 drop backs, not even including his several scrambles on the day. In attempts and sacks alone, they were his third-most of the season, only trailing the Week Five loss to the Steelers and a Week 14 shootout win over the Los Angeles Rams.
While Pittsburgh has provided a blueprint against Jackson, it also helps that the Chiefs are the Chiefs. They play in Super Bowls. That’s what they do. They’ll look to win another one two weeks from now. And when they face off in 2024, the Steelers will look to keep beating the Ravens.
Watch the entire episode below.
