The Steelers beat the Ravens 16-13 in their regular season finale. It was a classic AFC North affair with a lot of kicking by both teams.

The win puts the Steelers into the playoff picture thanks to the Jacksonville Jaguars beating the Indianapolis Colts. As long as the Sunday Night Football game between the Chargers and Raiders does not end in a tie, the Steelers season will continue.

The Offense

The Steelers were able to beat the Ravens with some timely scores on offense. Pittsburgh scored 13 second half points with 10 coming in the fourth quarter and overtime.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger ended the day 30-44 for 244 yards with one touchdown and one interception. For the most part Roethlisberger was in control of the game. He took just one sack and only had the one turnover in this one. With their struggling secondary, Baltimore opted for a safer zone-based defense. This allowed Ben to take his time and make the plays he wanted.

Running Back Najee Harris was knocked out of the game early on and was out until late in the third quarter. Harris had just 11 carries for 28 yards but made the plays when they counted. He had four catches for 27 yards which got him involved and helped the offense move in the second half. Harris’ best run came late in overtime on a 15-yard run which set up Chris Boswell’s game winning field goal.

The receivers had a better game this week than they did against the Browns on Monday. Tight End Pat Freiermuth led the way with six catches on 9 targets for 53 yards. “Muth” was also able to create key YAC to convert first downs. Dionte Johnson, who was initially feared to miss this one, added seven catches on 10 targets for 51 yards. Chase Claypool had maybe his best game of the season with five catches for 37 yards and a touchdown, as well as three rushes for for 33 yards. And finally Ray-Ray McCloud had four catches on 9 targets for 37 yards. Two of McCloud’s catches led to big scores for Pittsburgh. One was a 20 yard reception on 3rd & 9 which led to the team’s lone touchdown. The other was a 10 yard reception for 4th & 8 in OT which helped the Steelers beat the Ravens.

The Defense

To no one’s surprise, it was Pittsburgh’s defense that ultimately led to the Steelers beating the Ravens. The defense gave up just 13 points, with the one touchdown coming on an explosive 46-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

The Ravens were able to move the ball on the ground in this one. Baltimore had 249 yards on the ground, led by Latavius Murray who had 150 yards and one touchdown on 16 carries. This performance came after Baltimore only ran for 107 yards in the two team’s previous meetings.

Backup Quarterback Tyler Huntley started in this one. Huntley certainly had his moments in this one, but ultimately the Pittsburgh pass defense was too much for him. Huntley went 16-31 for 151 yards and two interceptions. The defense was able to keep Tight End Mark Andrews in check in this one. Andrews had eight receptions on 16 targets for 85 yards, but no touchdowns.

“Blitzburgh” got home three times today with sacks by T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward and Chris Wormley. While the sacks were nice, it was the pressure put on Huntley which put him win back situations. His two interceptions were thrown while trying to make a play downfield.

Terrell Edmunds made the first interception in the first quarter. And Cameron Sutton had the second one late in the third quarter in the red zone. Huntley faked to Rashod Bateman in the flat to try and pull Sutton away from Andrews, but Sutton stayed disciplined and picked the attempted touchdown pass.

Watt’s sack tied him with Michael Strahan for the All-Time Single Season Sack Record at 22.5. Watt did this in just 15 games.

Defensive Lineman Henry Mondeaux added a fumble recovery on the Raven’s first drive which led to Pittsburgh’s first points on the day.

Special Teams

The special teams were solid for Pittsburgh today. It starts and ends with the Kicker Boswell who went 3/3 on the day including the game winner. He also was 1/1 on extra points.

Rookie Punter Presley Harvin III was back in this one and was busy. He had eight punts for an average of 37.3 yards. Those punt totals were 36, 39, 26, 49, 33, 46, 36, and 38. Harvin was a little more consistent in this one. The shorter yardage was due to mostly decent field position by the Steelers.

In both the return game and kicking game, both sides had decent returns, but no big plays.

In Conclusion

At the end of the day it was a typical 2021-22 Pittsburgh win with the Steelers beating the Ravens in a:

• Low scoring game
• Slow game with most of the scoring coming late
• A lot of kicks

This recipe has gotten Pittsburgh to a 9-7-1 record, and a good chance at the playoffs. However it’s not a great recipe for postseason wins. It will take big splashy games by the defense if the Steelers want to do anything moving forward.

But hey – this is fun! One last dance for Roethlisberger. And with the announcement it will also be GM Kevin Colbert’s last season this is truly the end of an era. Pittsburgh will once again, and for one last time, see playoff football with Number 7.

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