These last few weeks, I’ve been lamenting how close the Ravens have kept their games, whether or not they won. The mentality of “all that matters is the win” created a feeling of complacency from the coaching staff, and a vibe that nothing would change to address the team’s viability as a possible postseason contender. I still feel like there’s plenty of work to do, but as Sunday’s game unfolded, I was willing to let the big picture go by the wayside for a little while.
The Ravens were down to their third-string QB, playing in hostile territory, in a game that was still potentially within reach for the Steelers. In the closing moments of that game, all that mattered was the hate that the Flock has for the Steel City, a decades-old hatred that burns with the undying, white-hot intensity of a thousand suns.
As Gus Edwards punched the ball across the line to gain and locked up a win for the Ravens, I couldn’t have cared less about schematic adjustment or personnel depth.
All that mattered was executing the final play to walk out of Pittsburgh with a dub.
Here's the Gus Edwards 6-yard run that sealed the Ravens' 16-14 win in Pittsburgh. Monster blocks by Pat Ricard, Morgan Moses and Ben Powers.
Everybody in the stadium knew the Ravens were running and they did it anyway to win the game. 💪💪 pic.twitter.com/abiaAvnjo9
— Ryan Mink (@ryanmink) December 12, 2022
As the youths say, the vibes were immaculate.
Oh yeah, our videographer Jim Forner was all over it! https://t.co/JF9wLap5kP pic.twitter.com/ohQToAmiuV
— Pete Gilbert (@WBALPete) December 12, 2022
Sure, there were still some improvements to be desired, and the team did shoot themselves in the foot a few times, but I felt significantly better with, specifically, two units looking like their old Baltimore selves: rushing and linebacker play.
Let’s talk about the running backs first. I appreciate the efforts of all of the guys who’ve filled into the backfield while Edwards and JK Dobbins were on the mend, but there’s absolutely no substitute for having them both back on the field.
WELCOME BACK @Jkdobbins22!!
TUNE IN ON CBS! pic.twitter.com/h1XvbxZcFm
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 11, 2022
The Ravens averaged 5.8 yards per carry on 36 carries against the Steelers in Week 14
J.K. Dobbins averaged 8.0 yards per carry
Gus Edwards averaged 5.3 yards per carry
— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) December 11, 2022
When Baltimore announced that JK would be active for this game, I didn’t expect that he’d see a ton of action. Dobbins only had 15 carries on the day, but his presence was absolutely massive, as he averaged eight yards per carry en route to 120 rushing yards and a touchdown. Granted, this iteration of the Steelers defense isn’t the daunting unit the Ravens are used to facing from years past, but those numbers after having missed six games are no joke. Between JK’s resurgent effort and Gus putting the game on ice, the running game looked a lot more like what we’re used to, and thank goodness for that.
As for the linebackers… Mitchell Trubisky is going to be having nightmares about these guys for a while. Holy Hands Team, Batman.
ROQUAN SMITH INTERCEPTION!!!!
Tune in on CBS!! pic.twitter.com/7x8dkvb4ER
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 11, 2022
This was actually a super impressive catch by Patrick Queen on his interception pic.twitter.com/PlNbaze08a
— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) December 12, 2022
The Roquan Smith pick was definitely nice, and had everything to do with Smith’s instincts for his position in coverage. Patrick Queen wouldn’t be outdone, though, and the interception he produced was just nasty work. That’s one of the nicer defensive plays I’ve seen from the Ravens all year, and here’s hoping there’s more where that came from.
I try not to fall into the trap of the feel-good vibes overshadowing work to be done, but this week, I’m going to give myself and everyone else a pass. It was a hard win, but a good win. Everyone was fired up, including Calais Campbell, and if he doesn’t get you fired up vicariously, you may need to check your pulse.
Raise the roof 🔥😂@CalaisCampbell @ChuckC36 #ProBowlVote pic.twitter.com/pb7Pilyl4m
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 12, 2022
It’s going to be a fun week with an extra W in the column over Pittsburgh. Let’s do it again in a few weeks, shall we?
If you guys think I'm going to just spend the rest of the season spamming this clip to different music, I've got news for you.
You're correct.@Ravens @marlon_humphrey @JustinMadubuike @RussellStReport pic.twitter.com/9uq7cPM7TU
— KMack Sports (@KMackSports) December 12, 2022
One Response
thats