And just like that, the Steelers are back in business in the AFC North’s first place spot after a nail-biting 27-22 win over the Baltimore Ravens. As always, there are plenty of takeaways to be had:
1. Football can still be fun, guys
The
week leading up to Steelers-Ravens was full of a doomsday attitude — from both sides, believe it or not— but especially on Pittsburgh’s end of things. I wrote my fair share of articles with a dismal tone. That Buffalo loss was a rough one.
And no, Sunday’s win over Baltimore doesn’t change much if anything for me. The Steelers remain who we thought they were. Beating an also struggling 6-6 team is what they have always been capable of.
But in a week where it seemed some wanted to press the “fast forward to offseason” button from “Madden,” Sunday’s game served as a reminder that every win — even in an underwhelming season — has something to enjoy.
For much of the game, quarterback Aaron Rodgers turned back the clock with his play, even going as far back as the “discount double check” celebration. The Steelers had several chunk plays on offense. And in classic Steelers-Ravens fashion, there were big hits, some controversy, and a nail-biting final quarter that went down to the last play.
Needless to say, I was entertained by this one.
The game mattered, as well. The winner, Pittsburgh, now enters the home stretch of the season with the AFC North lead. And Baltimore might have an even tougher slate of games remaining (Steelers play Miami, Detroit, Cleveland, Baltimore; Ravens have Cincinnati, New England, Green Bay, Pittsburgh).
Let’s not talk about how the AFC North winner will fare once the postseason begins, but Sunday’s battle for that spot was a good one. And I won’t be surprised if the Week 18 rematch has even bigger stakes.
I highly doubt I’ve written my last gripe this season regarding Mike Tomlin, the Steelers’ quarterback play, or the roster construction. But in the oft-used words of Pittsburgh’s head coach: “Keep watching.”
2. The D.K. Metcalf trade was better than the consensus seems to think
Aaron Rodgers remembered how to throw deep on Sunday, and lo and behold, the Steelers’ trade for one of the league’s better speed threats suddenly looks alright again.
Look, George Pickens’ explosion into one of the NFL’s most productive offensive weapons this season has made the job very difficult for those of us who still defend Pittsburgh’s decision to move on. But making things worse was that D.K. Metcalf — Pickens’ Steelers replacement, essentially — wasn’t putting up anything close to those numbers in Pittsburgh.
Metcalf, even when you take the questionable quarterback play he’s had to deal with out of the picture, still has struggled to live up to his $30 million per year contract. His hands are inconsistent for a WR1 and there’s always a moment of uncertainty when a pass is headed his way.
But against a Baltimore secondary that’s solid in its own right, Metcalf showed what he can do when the ball hits him in stride, logging seven catches for 148 yards. He was a game changer on Sunday.
However, Metcalf hadn’t broken 50 yards receiving since the Steelers’ Oct. 26 matchup against the Green Bay Packers — which was also that last time the team completed any pass of over 20 yards.
Trapped in possibly the worst downfield offense in the NFL, of course Metcalf wasn’t going to look like himself. Down the road, his play and contract still might not live up to what the Steelers expected him to be, but like all receivers, he needs to get the ball first to put up numbers. He showed what he can be on Sunday.
3. Underrated defensive backs continue to shine
The Steelers were clearly excited about their three-headed monster at cornerback entering the 2025 season, with the additions of decorated veterans Darius Slay and Jalen Ramsey, and the continued development of Joey Porter Jr. under their tutelage.
It hasn’t all gone to plan. Slay’s Pittsburgh tenure was a disaster, ending with a midseason release last week. Ramsey has been largely as advertised, but he had to move to safety given the team’s injuries and widespread secondary issues.
Porter has been better than many seem to think, but he’s still a step or two away from reaching his full potential, hampered by a nasty penalty habit he can’t seem to shake.
And the Steelers’ fifth-worst-ranked passing defense this season seems to agree that this group hasn’t been as elite as promised.
But there have still been impactful additions in the secondary, although maybe not the big names mentioned above.
Against the Ravens, 2025 free agent signing Brandin Echols added another chapter to what’s been a strong season, logging two total tackles, a sack on the notoriously slippery Lamar Jackson, and two big third-down stops.
Echols continues to look the part of a great value signing for the Steelers at $3 million per year. He might not be a high-end starter, but his ability to fill in and make plays in both the slot and on the boundary have been beyond valuable for the Pittsburgh defense this season.
Also making plays against the Ravens was cornerback James Pierre, a longtime Steeler who’s finally enjoying a real starting role for the first time in his six-year NFL career. He added five total tackles and two passes defensed against Baltimore, along with a leaping, one-handed interception (from Lamar Jackson, who is his cousin — fun fact):
Both Echols and Pierre have turned into quality pieces in the Steeler defense. And both are under age 30! (Barely).
It’s been a down year overall for the Pittsburgh defense. But it hasn’t been without a few pleasant surprises.
4. Run game woes continue (on both sides of the ball)
After two points praising Pittsburgh’s passing attack and defense, it’s time to drop back down to earth and worry about the run game.
The Steelers managed just a paltry 34 yards on the ground Sunday, averaging only two yards per carry. Considering the passing game was clicking (Rodgers threw for 284 yards), it wasn’t enough to hamstring the offense, but it still marks the second straight matchup Pittsburgh has failed to rush for anything close to 100 yards as a team.
While the Steelers’ pass protection has been above the line this year, the run blocking has not. Both Jaylen Warren and even Kenneth Gainwell have proven themselves to be dynamic play-makers in space, but neither had any room to work with. There was hardly any push against a middle-of-the-pack Baltimore run defense.
As has been the theme this season, the Steelers are struggling to play complementary football. Despite the downfield passing game opening things up, Pittsburgh couldn’t capitalize on the ground. For all the highs the Steeler offensive line and coordinator Arthur Smith have enjoyed this year, it’s concerning to see such a crucial part of the offense remaining in a rut.
Those run game issues extended to the other side of the ball, where Pittsburgh didn’t fully collapse but allowed 217 yards on the ground with 5.4 per carry.
With Lamar Jackson still clearly less willing to run due to injury, T.J. Watt had some early success chasing down runs from the back side early. However, the defensive line continued to struggle holding its ground in the trenches, and when Jackson became more involved in the run game late, the holes in the Steelers’ discipline started to show.
In both cases, there’s an important player missing due to injury: left tackle Broderick Jones on the offensive line and defensive tackle Derrick Harmon on the defensive line. You could throw in blocking tight end Darnell Washington’s second-quarter injury in the mix as well.
However, those injuries shouldn’t sink an entire unit’s ability to stop or start the run game. And the importance of doing both will only grow as the season goes on.
5. Odds and ends
- On Sunday, Aaron Rodgers was clearly healthier than he was against Buffalo last week. Still, his game had started to regress before the wrist injury occurred. Maybe a week of practice with Adam Thielen just made that big of difference. But I can’t stress enough how impressed I was by the bounce back game from the veteran quarterback. Some of those deep passes were things of beauty. And his mobility and pocket presence were leagues better as well.
- Unless there are some finer details that haven’t left the Steelers building yet, I struggle to understand the logic of making Roman Wilson a healthy scratch this week. I haven’t been quite as bullish regarding him as other media, but benching a recent third-rounder who’s been playing well of late in favor of Scotty Miller just doesn’t make sense for the team’s long-term vision. And it’s not like Miller was an impact player on Sunday (three snaps, no catches).
- D.K. Metcalf stepping in as a gunner late in the game was great for multiple reasons: The story, which I’ll embed below, and the fact that he drew a flag for holding that pushed the Ravens back even farther on their failed game-winning drive.
- Linebacker Patrick Queen has faced some criticism lately, but battled through a leg injury late against his former team, even recording a touchdown-saving coverage rep against Mark Andrews to help secure the win for Pittsburgh. The Steelers-Ravens rivalry seems to always bring out the toughness of the players.
- Punter Corliss Waitman recorded a 49.3 average and 45.8 net on four punts Sunday — both his best marks since Nov. 2 against the Colts. After a rough few games, he bounced back in a big way for a big game.
- I don’t have stats to back up the eye test yet, but it seemed to me like the Steelers were in a five-wide look (like the Rodgers-era Jets) this week far more than they’ve been in the games leading up to it. The Darnell Washington injury likely had something to do with it.
- The referees had some questionable calls for both sides on Sunday. I can be convinced either way on the Isaiah Likely touchdown-catch-that-wasn’t, however. In real time it looked like he held onto the ball long enough, but it’s hard to argue possession with two steps and a drop. My two takeaways: We still can’t define a catch in the big 2025? And it was a nice effort by Joey Porter Jr. to fight until the bitter end and prevent a game-losing score.
- As a longtime Dylan Cook fan, it was good to see him get some snaps and hold up well at left tackle.
- Jaylen Warren had just one more snap and one more touch than Kenneth Gainwell on Sunday. I don’t really have a take on this one. I’ve complained about the Steelers taking Warren off the field too much, but Gainwell has also turned into a positive play machine as of late, mainly in the dump-off game that Rodgers keeps returning too. Having two solid running backs isn’t a bad problem to have, I guess.
- I won’t go as far as saying the Steelers have completely left their struggles of the past few weeks behind them, but it was a step in the right direction Sunday seeing that team score or make key stops in all four quarters. There wasn’t a true “dead” period like we’ve seen in the last few games.
The Steelers get an extra day of rest ahead of their next game: Monday Night Football against the Miami Dolphins at Acrisure Stadium Dec. 15
What are your takeaways from Steelers vs. Ravens? Agree/disagree with the ones above? Join the Behind the Steel Curtain community and let us know in the comments!
