Last Saturday, the Baltimore Ravens ended the Pittsburgh Steelers’ season, and the game was not particularly close. Although the Steelers only lost by 14 points, it felt like they got dominated from start to finish. They showed a few signs of life in the second half, but nothing serious enough to get back into the game. Some people have accused players of quitting on the team, not looking like they wanted to be there. Former NFL wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. doesn’t believe that was the case, though.
“I don’t believe those guys went in there and just quit,” Smith said recently on his 89-Steve Smith Sr. YouTube channel. “I think they just got outplayed. That [the Ravens] were running the football, it was 18 degrees, it was cold. They were pounding the football. They were running the football. You could see that they had a mission to run the football.”
Smith is correct that the Ravens did look like the more physical team. That doesn’t necessarily mean the Steelers quit. They were just the worse team. That was evident in both their games against the Ravens in Baltimore.
Just look at the Ravens’ second touchdown drive in the playoff game. They ran the ball 13 straight times, driving 85 yards to make the score 14-0. It felt like that drive snuffed out any fire the Steelers had. It was so surprising and awful that it felt like they quit, but really, they just got bullied up front.
It’s unfortunate, but it’s true. The Ravens went into that game and basically did whatever they wanted. While the Steelers’ offense had been their biggest problem for most of the year, their defense became more unreliable down the stretch. That’s part of the reason they lost their last five games.
That was AFC North football, and the Steelers failed to reach the Ravens’ level. Part of that is because of the personnel both teams have. Najee Harris isn’t a bad player, but trying to tackle Derrick Henry for 60 minutes in the cold is just different. It wears players down.
The truth is the Steelers had more than just one problem. Coaches, players, and everything in between doomed the Steelers to another early playoff exit. Saying they quit would be giving them an excuse. The Steelers have bigger issues that they can actually fix.
