As we’ve been doing for many years now, we’ll break down the Pittsburgh Steelers’ opponent each week, telling you what to expect from a scheme and individual player standpoint. Like last year, Josh Carney and I will cover the opposing team’s offense. I will focus on the scheme, Josh on the players. Today, our scouting report on the Baltimore Ravens’ offense.
*Important note. For today’s report, we’ll be doing things a little differently. Because the Steelers played the Ravens fairly recently, we’ll have a more abridged version that focuses on the Pittsburgh-Baltimore Week 11 matchup. So this report will be laid out a bit differently and provide a more focused analysis since overall scheme and individual are similar.
Alex’s Scheme Report
Ravens’ Run Game
In the Week 11 game, Baltimore’s running game was muted by its season standards (second in rushing yards per game, fourth in rushing attempts). Against Pittsburgh, the Ravens ran the ball just 19 times for 124 yards and one touchdown. Partially because they played from behind and didn’t possess the ball for very long, under 24 minutes. Their three turnovers didn’t help.
Stud RB Derrick Henry was held in check and often held without the ball. Just 13 carries for 65 yards and one touchdown. After halftime, he had just six carries for 13 yards. Have to think the Ravens are going to make a real effort to get him the football in the rematch.
Baltimore’s plan was to use zone read RPOs and spread things out. With Pittsburgh’s focus on Henry, Lamar Jackson had more freedom and space in the designed run game.
He finished the game with four carries for 46 yards. The Ravens primarily ran the ball on their RPOs; wonder if they will throw a couple early this time around.
Henry’s longest run of the day, a 31-yarder, came off inside zone to the boundary out of 11 personnel with receiver motion. Again, the Ravens’ plan was to space things out and not condense the formation. Eleven personnel here with the tight end out a gap in a two-point stance and blocking like this was going to be a jet run or swing pass. Baltimore runs weakside where the Steelers are light.
They ran power/gap but it had less success, something typically true of offenses that face the Steelers. Henry’s touchdown was a gap run with the backside guard pulling.
Ravens’ Pass Game
Jackson struggled against the Steelers more than he has against any other team this year. He completed under half his passes, 16-of-33 for 207 yards with one touchdown and one pick. He was sacked twice. Pittsburgh sent five or more rushes over half the time and contained him well.
The Ravens threw more than they ran it, which is out of their element. On first down through the first three quarters, they had 10 passes to nine rushes. On the season, they have 152 rushes to 119 passes in such situations. Pittsburgh’s emphasis on taking away the run compelled them to pass.
Still, the Ravens hit some big plays. With so much attention on their running game, it opens up fakes downfield. They hit Isaiah Likely for a huge gain off a fake toss to the boundary.
The most common concept and look were their 3×1 bunches. Tight and loose bunches that did a nice job of flooding Pittsburgh’s zone defenses. Not everything worked but that was an element of the Ravens’ plan. Examples below.
RB Justice Hill didn’t practice Wednesday but if he plays, expect him to be used in the passing game. He’s an underrated component of it and coming off a five-catch, 61-yard, one-touchdown showing against the New York Giants. Knowing Pittsburgh’s issues tackling Philadelphia’s Kenneth Gainwell in space last Sunday, a similarly built running back, I’d expect Baltimore to see if it can match that success. Of course, ILB Payton Wilson was tasked with stopping him in the first matchup and came away with a clutch interception on a curl/wheel route.
Still, Hill gets involved in the screen/swing and designed route game and that was clear throughout the day.
In “and-long” situations, the Ravens kept the tight end and back in initially to chip and had just three receivers out in the pattern.
Josh’s Individual Report
For the second time in 34 days, and their first meeting since Week 11 at Acrisure Stadium, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens are set to do battle once again in AFC North action, this time in Baltimore.
The matchup won’t bring anything new between the two teams. There’s a great level of familiarity there, and not much has changed over the last five weeks.
So, like we did ahead of the Cleveland Browns’ matchup in Week 14, we’re going to look at what the Ravens did well the last time against the Steelers.
On Saturday, it all starts for the Ravens with MVP candidate Lamar Jackson. When he’s on his game, there is really nobody better in the NFL. He’s as dynamic a threat as there is. He has a rocket for an arm, can put the football largely wherever he wants, and can utilize his legs to rip off huge chunk plays.
Problem is, when he plays the Steelers, that seemingly all goes away. Pittsburgh is his kryptonite. It’s rather strange. That was again the case in Week 11 as Jackson started out fast, but then tried to do too much, was off his game and the Ravens couldn’t really recover.
So, he’s going to need to focus on what works. That includes using his tight ends on play-action fakes in the passing game, attacking the middle of the field on in-breaking routes, and utilizing his legs as a runner, something he rarely did in Week 11, but when he did had great success.
Play-action in run situations when the Steelers are in their base personnel is going to be key for the Ravens. Pittsburgh is going to put a heavy emphasis on stopping the run, particularly star running back Derrick Henry. That’s the goal each and every week for the Steelers.
The Ravens know that, so they need to hit on play-action like they did early on in Week 11.
You can see linebackers Elandon Roberts and Patrick Queen come downhill and bite on the fake toss to Henry. That allows tight end Isaiah Likely to slip out into space and rip off a big gain on the throw from Jackson.
That was a ton of room early on in the game off play-action. The Ravens never really came back to it, though.
When they did, they made sure to attack on in-breakers and take advantage of the middle of the field behind the linebackers and in front of the safeties, much like they did here on a 19-yard strike from Jackson to Rashod Bateman.
Late in the game with the Ravens trying to get in position to tie the game, they went back to the well of play-action as Jackson hit an in-breaking Zay Flowers for the score.
The Ravens had some success in that aspect, allowing their receivers to attack the middle of the field with Jackson having the arm strength, accuracy and the willingness to attack in that area of the field, especially off of play-action.
The Steelers really had no answer for it, and with safety DeShon Elliott doubtful for Saturday’s game, and Minkah Fitzpatrick probably needing to play near the line of scrimmage again, the opportunity will be there for Jackson and the Ravens to attack.
How Jackson really needs to attack is with his legs. Against the Steelers in Week 11, Jackson ran just four times. On those four carries, he gained 46 yards. On two of those runs, he had 40 yards, carving up the Steelers on the read-option.
Both of those Jackson runs came with Nick Herbig at outside linebacker where he attacked inside, giving the Ravens a soft edge to attack in the read-option. There has to be more of that from the Ravens on Saturday if they want to help Jackson solve the Steelers’ defense.
And of course, they can’t make the puzzling decision to keep Henry off the field for much of the fourth quarter, even if they’re in comeback mode. This game is going to be tight, and they need to keep Henry involved.
In the last matchup, Henry had just 13 carries for 65 yards and a touchdown. On one of those carries, he ripped off a 31-yarder on a zone run, finding a gap and shooting through it for the big gain.
But in the fourth quarter, Henry didn’t touch the ball once, and wasn’t on the field for the final 2-point conversion try. The Ravens tried to get too cute, and it cost them. They got away from what was working early and let the Steelers drag them into the mud.
That’s worked for Pittsburgh over the last few seasons as it has won eight of the last night matchups against Baltimore.
