Can the Steelers make the Ravens’ offense as inefficient as the Commanders’?
Now, hear me out on this one first. I know the Commanders put up 27 points on the Steelers, even with a drive that started in the red zone. Even taking away that one, you still don’t want the Steelers giving up 20 points. And their recipe for beating the Ravens tends to be holding them to under 20 points considering they haven’t scored more than 20 against them for the last seven games yet are 6-1 during that stretch.
But the Commanders also went into this past Sunday’s game scoring over 29 points per game. They averaged 392 yards, rushing for over 160 per game. Additionally, they averaged 6.2 yards per play, went three-and-out on basically one out of every five possessions (while being historically good at protecting the football), and barely punted twice per game. The Steelers held them to much less efficient metrics, and they need to do that to the Ravens, too.
Against the Steelers, the Commanders went three-and-out on five of 12 drives. They managed just 242 yards of offense, rushing for 60, averaging just 4.1 yards per play. While they went three-for-three in the red zone, they only converted on 36 percent of their third downs. And they failed on their lone fourth-down attempt after making every other one this season. The Steelers made them punt six times and controlled the ball for a stunning 36 minutes. Looking at these numbers, it’s almost hard to believe the Commanders managed 27 points.
Now the Steelers have to contend with a Ravens team that is also putting up stupidly good offensive metrics. They are scoring nearly 32 points per game and 440 yards per. Lamar Jackson is putting up elite passing numbers and they are on pace to rush for over 3,000 yards. On third down, they convert over 47 percent of the time, and their red-zone offense is sickeningly efficient. They lead the NFL with a concerning 76.7-percent touchdown rate, scoring on 33-of-43 trips.
In order to win this game, the Steelers need to make this efficient Ravens offense look like the Commanders. The good news is that, like the Commanders, the Ravens don’t have a good defense this year. The fact that they are at .700 while allowing over 25 points per game is nearly unheard of. It’s only happened like twice before in the past 60-plus years. The Steelers will undoubtedly have to put up points to beat the Ravens. But like with the Commanders, if they can control their efficiency and take them out of their game, that seems to be the key. Good luck slowing down Derrick Henry, though, who is making GMs around the league look stupid.
The Steelers’ 2024 season is underway, following another disappointing year ending in a first-round playoff loss. They have had a long offseason since the Buffalo Bills stamped them out of their misery back in January. There are positive signs, but things could jump off the rails any moment.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Is Russell Wilson earning a lucrative new deal next year, and is Justin Fields still in consideration? How will the team continue to address the depth chart, which is surprisingly still in flux?
The regular season is here, following weeks of camp and preseason games. The Steelers made numerous moves through signings and trade—and release. More than usual, they seemed comfortable creating holes, confident they can fill them. Some they managed to fill, others not so much. Now that we have so many pieces of the puzzle, however, we merely have a new set of questions to ask.
