Baltimore Ravens linebacker Kyle Van Noy isn’t holding back his thoughts on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ game plan or results in Saturday’s Wild Card loss. Recapping his team’s 28-14 victory that vaulted them into the Divisional Round, Van Noy said he felt the Steelers’ desperation from the coin toss, electing to receive the opening kick.
“The first thing I thought when it happened was desperate,” Van Noy told co-host Gerald McCoy on the McCoy and Van Noy podcast about the moment. “That’s when I was like, ‘Oh, we won.’ Desperation, not going with what they always go with. Playing with their defense. That’s what they’re built on there. They were like, we gotta switch it up. We’re 0-4, desperation. That’s what it came off of to me being on the sideline. This is disrespectful. We were all kinda pissed off about that. That, to me, was a huge alarm bell for me.”
In most cases this season, the Steelers kicked off when they won the coin toss under the belief of leading with their best foot forward and playing their defense. Pittsburgh’s change in strategy didn’t produce any better results. The Steelers recorded just one first down on their opening drive before punting the ball away. Baltimore’s offense immediately went downfield and scored to take a 7-0 lead on an impressive 13-play, 95-yard drive to set the tone for the rest of the game.
While it feels over the top for Van Noy to feel disrespected by a coin toss decision, players look for fuel and motivation in big and small ways. He made sure to respond the rest of the game as the Ravens defense shut the Steelers out in the first half, something Pittsburgh hadn’t experienced since the 1996-1997 season.
Offensively, the Ravens ran at will against the Steelers and completely dominated the line of scrimmage.
“It felt like a playoff atmosphere, and we stood on business,” Van Noy said. “It was belt-to-ass. Their defense getting almost 300 yards rushing on them. I’d be pretty embarrassed if that happened to me, especially with all the good players they had.
“I want to see where that goes. What they’re gonna do over there. They have players like Cam Heyward, T.J. Watt, Highsmith, and Minkah. Where are they going, what’s their direction?…For us, it was a really, really good game. And for them, I’m sure it was embarrassing.”
Pittsburgh suffered another playoff defeat that extended their streak to six straight games, tying the Miami Dolphins for the NFL’s longest such streak. Players like Heyward and Watt have little to zero playoff success on their resumes, which is the only negative mark on their careers. For Van Noy, he’s found the right home in Baltimore after bouncing around early in his career. And when he sees Pittsburgh next season, he won’t have forgotten the beatdown the Steelers felt Saturday night. Pittsburgh won’t forget either, though they’ll likely have newer faces after an offseason of change.
