The Pittsburgh Steelers got out of the stadium with a win against one of the best teams in the NFL on Sunday. But how sustainable is the 18-16 victory over the Baltimore Ravens? Former Steelers DL Chris Hoke worries that everything went wrong for the Ravens and yet they still only lost by two points.
“With three turnovers created by the Steelers, to have the Ravens still be in this game and only win 18-16 leaves me scratching my head,” Hoke said via KDKA Steelers Extra Point postgame show. “Because when you win the turnover battle and you get the ball in the opponent’s territory twice, you think of a bigger winning margin than the Steelers had today so I think the Steelers were lucky to get away with this win because of all that had taken place in this game, and they didn’t take advantage of it.”
The Steelers won the turnover battle three to one and the penalty battle 12 to seven. The Steelers possessed the ball 36:22 compared to 23:38 for the Ravens. If I told you those three stats before the game, most would have predicted a comfortable Steelers win, not a game that went down to the wire. Is that cause for concern, or just the way this rivalry goes?
Obviously a win is a win, and you can’t take that away from them. The Steelers forced all three of the turnovers; they weren’t just bad plays by the Ravens.
Despite the lopsided time of possession and offensive plays run, the Steelers generated 4.1 yards per play compared to the Ravens’ 6.1, and Russell Wilson took four sacks compared to the Ravens’ two.
One notable area where the Ravens had the edge was explosive plays. The Ravens had five plays for 20 or more yards compared to the Steelers’ three, and one of the Ravens’ was a double-explosive play of over 40 yards. With the explosive plays factored in, the Steelers narrowly lost the turnover and explosive-play differential seven to six, and it could have been worse if sloppy play didn’t negate a couple more explosives for the Ravens.
All that being said, everything went right for the Steelers’ defense, and they still only won 18-16. They won the game without scoring a touchdown, which is unheard of against the league’s top offense. Their red zone scoring percentage continues to be very poor. They ran 14 plays in the red zone and came away with zero touchdowns. When they play the Ravens in Baltimore, or if they end up playing them in the playoffs, that isn’t going to fly.
