In a huge AFC North matchup at Acrisure Stadium, where there would be very little separating the two teams, some of the smaller, basic things within the game would be key in determining the outcome. The Steelers did the little things well, especially in the tackling department, leading to a hard-fought, grind-it-out win over the Ravens to move to 8-2 on the season.
The Steelers were stout again in the tackling battle, recording just five missed tackles in the win. This marks the second straight week the Steelers missed just five tackles. Pittsburgh continues to impress in the tackling department, helping them stack wins.
It’s time for this week’s missed tackles report.
TOTAL MISSED TACKLES VS. RAVENS — 5
Larry Ogunjobi – 2
Nick Herbig – 1
Preston Smith – 1
Cameron Heyward – 1
TOTAL MISSED TACKLES THROUGH 10 WEEKS (9 GAMES) — 58 (6.44 PER GAME)
Patrick Queen – 11 (72 tackles on 83 total attempts, 13.3% miss rate)
Donte Jackson — 8 (26 tackles on 34 total attempts, 23.5% miss rate)
Elandon Roberts – 6 (28 tackles on 34 total attempts, 17.6% miss rate)
Payton Wilson — 6 (two on special teams) (42 tackles on 48 total attempts, 12.5% miss rate)
Joey Porter Jr. – 5 (39 tackles on 44 total attempts, 11.3% miss rate)
T.J. Watt – 5 (36 tackles on 41 total attempts, 12.2% miss rate)
Keeanu Benton — 4 (20 tackles on 24 total attempts, 16.6% miss rate)
Minkah Fitzpatrick — 3 (58 tackles on 61 total attempts, 5% miss rate)
Beanie Bishop Jr. — 3 (32 tackles on 35 total attempts, 8.6% miss rate)
Nick Herbig — 3 (missed sack) (10 tackles on 13 total attempts, 23.1% miss rate)
Larry Ogunjobi — 3 (30 tackles on 33 total attempts, 9.1% miss rate)
Cameron Heyward — 2 (39 tackles on 41 total attempts, 4.8% miss rate)
Alex Highsmith — 1 (missed sack) (19 tackles on 20 total attempts, 5% miss rate)
Montravius Adams — 1 (eight tackles on nine total attempts, 11.1% miss rate)
Isaiahh Loudermilk — 1 (eight tackles on nine total attempts, 11.1% miss rate)
DeShon Elliott — 1 (66 tackles on 67 total attempts, 1.5% miss rate)
Preston Smith — 1 (four tackles on five total attempts, 20% miss rate)
Coming into the Ravens matchup, the Steelers knew it would be a tough task to slow down Derrick Henry in general. But to do so, the Steelers had to tackle well.
They did just that. Henry forced just three missed tackles on the afternoon as the Steelers kept him largely in check. Outside of a 31-yard run, Henry wasn’t all that impactful, especially in the fourth quarter.
That said, the Steelers still missed a few against him.
Defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi missed two tackles, the key one coming early in the game. Ogunjobi won quickly against rookie RT Roger Rosengarten, shooting inside for what should have been a tackle for loss. He just underplayed it a bit and took a rough angle.
It resulted in a miss with an arm tackle attempt on Henry from Ogunjobi. Fortunately, it went for a short gain as the Steelers rallied to the football and quickly got Henry on the ground.
Later in the game, Cameron Heyward missed a tackle, marking the second straight game he missed.
This one wasn’t anywhere near egregious.
Henry did a great job getting off the block from LG Patrick Mekari and getting his hands on Henry. He’s just a very difficult running back to tackle one-on-one in space. Henry is able to step through the tackle attempt from Heyward, but fortunately, there are Steelers defenders around to get the big running back on the ground to limit the missed tackle.
Finally, outside linebacker Nick Herbig missed a tackle in the second half, which came on a play in which he darted inside on the run to Henry.
Herbig does a good job of getting off the block and downhill inside to get to Henry behind the line of scrimmage. But going low and going with an arm tackle attempt isn’t going to work against Henry. He’s able to step through the attempt easily.
However, Henry runs right into a defensive wall, gaining very little on the play.
The Steelers did very well defensively in the tackling department. They played offensively, too, forcing 13 misses by the Ravens. With the 13 forced missed tackles against the Ravens, the Steelers won the tackle battle within the game with a mark of +8, moving to 9-1 on the season.
TOTAL FORCED MISSED TACKLES VS. RAVENS — 13
Najee Harris – 5
George Pickens – 4
Jaylen Warren – 3
Russell Wilson – 1
TOTAL FORCED MISSED TACKLES THROUGH 11 WEEKS (10 GAMES) — 123 (12.3 PER GAME)
Najee Harris – 52
Jaylen Warren – 14
Justin Fields – 12
George Pickens – 10
Calvin Austin III – 10 (eight on special teams)
Cordarrelle Patterson — 6
Darnell Washington — 5
Pat Freiermuth — 5
Van Jefferson — 4
Scotty Miller — 2
Aaron Shampklin — 2 (one on special teams)
Jonathan Ward — 1
Russell Wilson — 1
Najee Harris once again led the Steelers in forced missed tackles with an impressive five against the physical Ravens’ defense, which ranked No. 1 in run defense coming into the matchup.
The story of the day, though, is the work that wide receiver George Pickens did after the catch against Baltimore.
Pickens forced four missed tackles in the game, which is a career-high for him in a single game.
Pickens gets away with a push-off on the play against safety Kyle Hamilton, which drew plenty of attention on social media following the Steelers’ win. However, what is lost in the play is the work Pickens does after the catch.
He forces Hamilton and linebacker Roquan Smith to miss in a phone booth, resulting in a nice gain from the Steelers’ third-year receiver.
Later in the game, with the Steelers needing another offensive spark, Pickens came through in the clutch again with YAC.
Faced with a 2nd and 16, Russell Wilson hit Pickens on a quick stop route to try to give the Steelers some positive yardage. Pickens did the rest, turning upfield to force a missed tackle and turning a short throw into a big gain. This got the Steelers out of a bad spot offensively and back on track on a day in which they needed to possess the football and keep the Ravens’ offense on the sidelines.
