With the Baltimore Ravens settled as their playoff opponent, the Pittsburgh Steelers have a tall task in front of them. Last time they played the Ravens, they got run out of M&T Bank Stadium. The Ravens’ rushing attack killed the Steelers, so that should be an area of focus for them this week. Teryl Austin understands that won’t be easy, joking that he wishes he could bend the rules for this game.
“I want to put 12 guys on the field this time,” the Steelers DC said Wednesday via the team’s transcripts. “Would that help? I’ll put 12, 13 guys and see what we can do. No, we just have to do a better job. I’ve got to do a better job of helping our guys get into the right positions, to make sure that we have an opportunity to make plays.
“Sometimes, as we all know, we’re not going to be able to have everybody clean all the time. Sometimes you got to whoop a block, get off a block, and make a tackle. That’s what some of this is going to come down to.”
Austin’s joke is funny because the Steelers certainly could’ve used that extra player in their last game against the Ravens. Derrick Henry rolled through them, running for an astonishing 168 yards. Lamar Jackson didn’t hurt them as much on the ground, but when Henry is playing like that, it’s tough to give anyone else the ball.
The Ravens might also feel more inclined to run the ball because Zay Flowers, their best receiving threat, seems likely to miss this game because of a knee injury. Flowers posted five catches for 100 yards in the last Steelers-Ravens game. Although they still have other playmakers, their passing attack will miss Flowers.
Not that Austin gets much comfort from that.
“We’ve got to do things better than we did the last time out, and that means making sure we shut down the running lanes and we tackle,” he said. “Early in the game, [Henry] got some explosive runs. When he gets explosive runs and gets going, it’s hard, and it makes it hard at that point because now you try to focus on him, and that opens it up for Lamar.”
That’s exactly how the Ravens operate. There’s a reason Jackson is likely going to win his third MVP this year. He’s a sensational player throwing and running the ball. If Henry gets going, then it becomes almost impossible to limit their offense.
Stopping Henry is part of what helped the Steelers beat the Ravens in their first meeting this season. In that game, he only ran for 65 yards. The Steeler shut him down quickly too, forcing him to fumble on the Ravens’ first offensive drive.
That should be the Steelers’ recipe for victory Saturday night. Turnovers and stopping the run will go a long way against the Ravens. We’ve already seen what happens when Henry is allowed to get hot against them. If the Steelers want to finally win a playoff game for the first time in almost 10 years, they can’t let Henry run all over them again. Hopefully, 11 guys can get the job done this time.
