This was a win the Baltimore Ravens desperately needed. Not only because it gave them their first win of the season, but also because it allows the team to start moving on from the Ray Rice-Roger Goodell fiasco.
The 26-6 victory over the rival Steelers moved Baltimore to a 1-1 record, led by QB Joe Flacco, who showed improvement from week 1, throwing for 21/29 (72.2%), 166 yards, 2 TD (both to TE Owen Daniels), 0 INT, an 87.4 QBR and a 109.3 passer rating. While Flacco made some questionable red zone throws and off target deep balls, his medium/short passes did enough to lead Baltimore to victory.
Of course, it certainly helps to have a receiver like Steve Smith. Via Pro Football Focus, Steve Smith forced 8 missed tackles, the most since 2007 for a receiver. Pretty athletic for a 35-year-old receiver. He finished with 71 yards on 6 receptions.
The run game struggled early, but finished well. Bernard Pierce looked efficient, rushing for 96 yards on 22 carries. Justin Forsett had 56 yards on 8 carries, but had 41 yards on one of his rushes. That makes the stat sheet look deceiving. Even so, field position, field position, field position.
Justin Tucker got me fantasy points too.
While a few questionable penalties played a part in the game, there’s no sugarcoating that the Steelers offense struggled. Ben Roethlisberger wasn’t terrible, but misfired several times and didn’t advance the ball far enough to put Pittsburgh in a position to succeed. The Ravens defense played lights out, allowing little room for Big Ben, stopping him before he could extend plays in the pocket. Ben finished 22/37 (59.5%) for 217 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT, a 29.6 QBR, and a 64.8 passer rating.
Le’Veon Bell started off terrific, but quietly disappeared after. Antonio Brown was knocked out for a significant portion of the game, which certainly had an affect on Pittsburgh’s offensive plan. And of course, the turnovers. The Steelers coughed up a lot of opportunities to make it a ballgame, and that ultimately made the outcome indecisive.
The Steelers look very questionable, especially with that rush defense against the Browns and Ravens. Giving up a total of 340 yards in 2 games (170.0 yards per game) is a cause for concern, and something the Steelers must fix right away if they want to win the AFC North.
It wasn’t the prettiest game, but it’s football, and the Ravens sent the Steelers a message.
MVP: Joe Flacco
