Quarterback: A–
Lamar Jackson began the game sharp with a long 38-yard, fourth-down touchdown pass on the opening drive. From there on, his passing production stagnated for most of the next two quarters
and the offense scored only three points. Jackson had a couple throws deflected at the line of scrimmage, one of which was bounced into T.J. Watt’s arms for an interception. In the fourth quarter, Jackson put on his superman cape and came alive when the Ravens needed him most. He evaded sacks, played decisively, and made three crucial throws: the 50-yard and 64-yard touchdown passes to Zay Flowers, and the 26-yard fourth-down completion to Isaiah Likely. The latter set up what would have been a game-winning field goal. Jackson finished with a passer rating of 121.5 and 238 passing yards, while completing 11-of-18 throws in total.
Running Back: B
Derrick Henry was not able to replicate last week’s otherworldly performance but was still effective. He rushed for 126 yards on 20 carries, good for 6.3 yards per carry. Most of that production came in the first half, though, and a chunk of it came on the first play of the game — which was a 41-yard breakaway run. Henry was bottled up for much of the second half and the Ravens got into pass-first mode late in the game. Keaton Mitchell and Rasheen Ali did no damage on the ground but each had unfortunate miscues in the passing game. Mitchell dropped a wheel route pass and Ali was overpowered by Nick Herbig on a pass protection set, which resulted in Jackson taking a sack on third down.
Wide Receiver: B+
As mentioned previously, Flowers had two big-play, clutch touchdown receptions in the fourth quarter. Both were busted coverages by the Steelers and Flowers took advantage by finding open space. He had only two catches prior to that but finished with 138 yards and a pair of scores, marking his first multiple-touchdown game of the season. Devontez Walker was the recipient of Jackson’s 38-yard touchdown pass on the opening drive and had another catch for eight yards later on. Deandre Hopkins finished with no catches on two targets and had an unfortunate miscommunication with Jackson late in the game. Hopkins was uncovered on the sideline while Jackson scrambled away from pressure, but he stood still instead of running up-field and Jackson threw the ball away.
Tight End: C+
Mark Andrews had a quiet night with only two receptions for 14 yards on three targets. It marked his seventh game of the year with less than 20 receiving yards and ninth game with two catches or fewer. Likely also caught just two passes, but 26-yard snag on the final drive of the game was incredibly impressive and clutch. He had to high point the ball in traffic and secured it after hitting the ground. That could have been a storybook moment for Likely had it in fact set up the game-winning field goal. Regardless, it was a crucial fourth-down conversion to keep the Ravens’ hopes alive for a few more seconds.
Offensive Line: C
The Ravens ran blocked well overall, as the offense finished with 137 rushing yards overall on 5.1 yards per carry — almost all of which Henry accounted for. It was a tale of two halves, though. The Steelers’ defensive line began to close gaps and cram running lanes up front as the game progressed. Henry was not able to find much room for success over the final two quarters. Baltimore’s pass protection was shaky, which had been the case almost all season. Jackson was sacked three times and the Steelers racked up five quarterback hits with multiple deflected passes at the line of scrimmage. Jackson’s elusiveness in the pocket negated what would have been at least another sack, if not more, in the fourth quarter. The Ravens were also flagged multiple times for costly holding penalties, and Ronnie Stanley was penalized for a five-yard illegal formation on the final drive of the game.
Defensive Line: C
The Steelers didn’t commit to running the ball at all in the first half but were able to find some success against the Ravens’ defensive front. Jaylen Warren averaged 4.7 yards per carry and picked up some important yardage in the second half. The run game ultimately did not kill the Ravens’ defense, though. Travis Jones was a lone soldier on the defensive line in terms of pass rush again, with a sack and quarterback hit. Overall, though, the Ravens got very little notable pressure through the interior. Brent Urban and John Jenkins each had three tackles.
Edge Rusher: C
As has been the case for much of the year, the Ravens didn’t get enough pressure on the quarterback. Tavius Robinson was the only edge rusher to record a sack and Mike Green had one quarterback hit. Rodgers got more comfortable as the game progressed and was granted enough time in the pocket to inflict damage. Kyle Van Noy had two tackles and Dre’Mont Jones was blanked on the stat sheet. The Ravens’ lack of a consistent pass-rush winner is a glaring flaw. Against the run, the Ravens set the edge decently for much of the game but they didn’t blow up many plays or wreak havoc.
Linebacker: C
Trenton Simpson tied for the team-lead in tackles with nine including six solo. Simpson made some good tackles in open space. Roquan Smith, meanwhile, surprisingly only had three tackles total. The Ravens’ pass coverage over the middle of the field was once again an issue, and the linebackers did not bottle up the run enough either.
Cornerback: D+
Nate Wiggins had a better performance than last week’s debacle in Green Bay. He had multiple pass breakups in single coverage and battled through some in-game injuries. Marlon Humphrey was victimized again in man coverage when Adam Thielen reeled in a long third-down conversion. Shortly after, Humphrey badly missed two open-field tackle attempts on Warren. Chidobe Awuzie also had a forgettable outing. Awuzie slipped in man coverage against Calvin Austin III on the Steelers’ final drive of fourth quarter, and Rodgers threw a wide-open touchdown pass as a result. That gave the Steelers the lead with under a minute remaining. Overall, this should have been a mismatch against Pittsburgh’s D.K. Metcalf-less receiving corps, but they were still able to find success and big plays when needed.
Safety: C+
Kyle Hamilton exited the game with a concussion early in the third quarter, and the Ravens’ defense promptly nosedived after that. Hamilton had nine tackles and a pass breakup before leaving and was disruptive, with his lone blemish being a pass interference penalty in the end zone. Alohi Gilman made eight tackles with a pass breakup as well and had a key tackle-for-loss on the team’s goal-line stand just before halftime. Malaki Starks made a nice play deep coverage where he broke on a long pass to Marquez Valdez-Scantling that nearly resulted in an interception. Despite some of these good individual moments, the Ravens still surrendered too many long passes and missed tackles in open space, and the backline shares some of the blame in that. Ar’Darius Washington was targeted frequently after Hamilton went down and he struggled a bit.
Special Teams: C+
Tyler Loop’s missed field goal the end of the game drags this grade down and rightfully so. It was a difficult high-stakes moment for a rookie kicker in a tough environment. However, he was perfect on 29-of-29 kicks under 50 yards up to that point, and the 44-yarder would have sent the Ravens to the playoffs. Jordan Stout had multiple punts inside the 20 and was effective, capping off a career-best season. Keaton Mitchell’s 41-yard kickoff return late in the fourth quarter was almost a key play of the game, as it set the Ravens up in great position to kick a game-winning field goal.
