Leading up to the AFC Wild Card matchup with the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium, the Pittsburgh Steelers talked quite a big game about wanting a rematch with the Ravens, needing to find a way — by any means — to win a playoff game, and to get back on track in the midst of a four-game losing streak.
Once the game started Saturday night, all that talk went out the window and the Steelers looked like they have for the last month: pitiful.
The Steelers looked soft and unprepared defensively, struggling to do much of anything right against the Ravens’ offense. Baltimore went on a 13-play, 85-yard scoring drive in which it ran the ball on all 13 plays to take a 14-0 lead in the second quarter.
That prompted Amazon Prime color analyst Kirk Herbstreit to rip into the Steelers on the national broadcast.
“If I were a Steelers fan, the thing that would concern me just watching this first half, you’re in the postseason. You’re getting dominated. I don’t see any fight. I don’t see any pushback. It’s one thing to lose against a really talented offense, but where the hell is the fight?” Herbstreit. “This is the Pittsburgh Steelers. There’s nothing. They’re just going through the motions.”
Take a look.
It was tough to hear from a national color analyst like Herbstreit, but it was spot-on.
The Steelers came out Saturday night taking the football offensively. They then quickly punted the football to the Ravens. After that, the defense had no answers for Ravens. QB Lamar Jackson and his legs. The likely NFL MVP (for a third time) crushed the Steelers on the first drive on read-options, taking advantage of Steelers OLB T.J. Watt paying attention to the running back at the mesh point, leaving the corner free for Jackson to take.
He ripped the Steelers up in a big way with the read-option in the first half.
Not only were there issues defensively for the Steelers, there was also some questionable coaching decisions, like Mike Tomlin punting the football on 4th and inches down 7-0 and needing a spark. Ultimately, the Steelers punted the ball, and the Ravens went on that scoring drive featuring all runs to make it a 14-0 game.
That’s what led to Herbstreit’s pointed comments, and he’s not wrong. The Steelers appear to be going through the motions. You never want to question effort, and that’s not what I’m going to attempt to do here, but things appear too easy for the Ravens, and the Steelers’ body language isn’t great on the field.
It’s been this way for the last month or so, and it’s a shame that when it mattered most in the playoffs, that it was more of the same despite the efforts during the week to get things back on track.
