Winners and losers from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 34-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens Saturday evening.
WINNERS
EDGE Alex Highsmith
Highsmith had his way with talented Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley, starting the game off with a sack/fumble on QB Lamar Jackson that Pittsburgh unfortunately couldn’t recover. But Highsmith was in the backfield throughout the game and showed why he’s getting paid well opposite T.J. Watt.
RB Cordarrelle Patterson/TE MyCole Pruitt
Two unlikely players to find the end zone Saturday. Pruitt was wide open on his catch but still made a nice snag in front of him for the Steelers’ first score of the game. Patterson had a ridiculous catch on a wheel route against LB Malik Harrison to temporarily tie the game at 17.
The eighth and ninth different Steelers to score a touchdown through the air this season, those two took advantage of their chances and made plays.
WR Calvin Austin III
Austin has been the team’s best receiver in George Pickens’ absence and played excellent football since the Week 12 game against the Cleveland Browns. He’s making more difficult and contested catches outside his frame than he’s ever done before. Saturday was highlighted by a twisting 44-yard grab down the left sideline and key third down conversion over the middle. He’s shown real growth to be a top-three receiver on this team for the future. And a clear No. 2 once Pickens returns.
RB Jaylen Warren
Warren ran hard and was explosive in this one while making plays underneath in the passing game. Healthy and spry after getting past early-season injuries, his protection was a little shaky with one missed blitz pickup on a failed third-down conversion but overall, it was a good outing from Warren.
P Corliss Waitman
A nice day for Waitman, who averaged nearly 50 yards on five punts in cold conditions. A long of 58 and two inside the 20 is a pretty box score overall. He still could set the Steelers’ record for best punting average in a season.
LOSERS
QB Russell Wilson
Wilson made some impressive plays in this game, no doubt. He knew there was pressure on him to win the game. But that led to two costly mistakes that defined this game. A great scramble down to the Ravens’ 5-yard-line ended in disaster, Wilson fumbling after trying to cut the ball back to score. Baltimore recovered.
After Minkah Fitzpatrick broke his interception drought, Wilson threw a pick-six to CB Marlon Humphrey off a boot to the flat that saw Pruitt blanketed. Wilson forced the throw, it was behind, and he and the team paid the price. From there, it was just a countdown to a Steelers loss.
With the deck already stacked against them, the Steelers couldn’t afford mistakes. Wilson made two critical ones. The first took seven potential points off Pittsburgh’s board and became a 14-point swing as the Ravens marched 96-yards into the end zone on the ensuing drive. The second was an obvious seven points given to Baltimore.
CB Cory Trice Jr.
Tough spot for Trice, his first game action since Week 3. Called upon early due to CB Joey Porter Jr.’s calf injury, it was clear the Ravens were going after him. Whether it was on third down or putting him in conflict as was the case on Rashod Bateman’s touchdown early in the game. He wasn’t alone in the secondary to have miscues. Beanie Bishop Jr. got burned on a deep pass while Joey Porter Jr. wasn’t making big plays before exiting, but it was a deflating “welcome back” for Trice.
D-Line/Run Defense
The run defense was as bad as it’s been in years similar to how it was several years ago when the d-line was decimated by injuries. DT Larry Ogunjobi sat out this game and the Steelers clearly also missed SS DeShon Elliott. After bottling Derrick Henry up the first matchup, he ran wild in the rematch. Pittsburgh’s run blitzes often didn’t work, missed tackles persisted, and the Ravens’ run game opened up effective first-down play-action.
FOX Broadcast Booth
Maybe I’m just salty off the Steelers’ loss but Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady, FOX’s supposed A-team, were brutal. From Tom Brady calling Najee Harris “Najee Davenport,” to Burkhardt believing CB Cory Trice Jr. was making his debut to later saying the Steelers were going on the road to Kansas City on Christmas, it was a tough group to listen to.
