The Steelers Made a Statement Against the Ravens — But There’s Only One Way It Will Resonate
They’ll have to rise to the occasion, as the did against Baltimore, to salvage a season that could still go either way.
PHOTO BY DAVE DICELLO
Sunday’s matchup was another Steelers-Ravens classic — and in the aftermath there’s much to unpack.
But mostly, the following gives an apt example of what kind of game it was; A Steelers’ punt was covered by backup wide receiver Ben Skowronek, who in this instance was serving in his usual role as an outside “gunner.”
A Ravens “vice,” comprised of cornerback Keyon Martin and safety Deondre Jackson, shared the responsibility of not letting Skowronek do his job.
Skowronek initially got knocked out of bounds by the Baltimore tag team, and then knocked to the ground by Martin.
Upon getting up and continuing down the field, Skowronek got back in bounds, only to be knocked down and out again, this time by Jackson.
Upon getting up and getting back in bounds, again, Skowronek engaged the pair, again. He fought each off with one arm before eventually wrestling Jackson to the turf.
“This is a great snapshot of what it’s like in the Steelers-Ravens rivalry,” CBS play-by-play man Jim Nantz gushed during a replay that has since found its way to social media.
There were others.
There was defensive tackle Keeanu Benton, inside linebacker Patrick Queen and cornerback Brandin Echols all being knocked from the game due to injury, but then returning to finish the job.
Steelers no. 1 wide receiver DK Metcalf, having amassed 148 yards receiving, also stepped in as a “gunner” on the most critical punt of the game late in the fourth quarter when Echols was unavailable, something no. 1 wide receivers just don’t do — and something Metcalf hadn’t done since he got a single gunner rep in college.
“I’m trying to win,” Metcalf offered later.
These instances all were in the wake of getting booed at home, and hearing chants for their head coach’s head, while getting stomped by Buffalo the previous Sunday.
Likewise, the media, locally and nationally, was howling. Even “Renegade” had been booed by fans at the stadium during the previous game.
“I liked everyone’s smiling-in-the-face-of-adversity mentality,” Mike Tomlin summarized a few days later.
That all-in, all-out effort should have surprised no one familiar with how Steelers-Ravens games are played. Their nature demands as much from the combatants, as both sides are well aware; they’re traditionally rock fights that aren’t decided until the last possession.
Blowouts, such as the one the Steelers absorbed last January in the playoffs at Baltimore, are an outlier.
Steelers-Ravens is about survival.
With their triumph in this latest installment, the Steelers showed us what they’re capable of, as they have periodically this season. And they’re about to show us who they are.
Four games remain, and the door to the AFC North Division championship — as well as a home game to open the playoffs — is still wide open.
But to walk through it, the Steelers are going to need to be as all-in and as adverse to adversity as they were against Baltimore on Sunday.
They’ve shown everyone riding this roller coaster of a season what they can accomplish when they’re at their best — individually, collectively and intangibly.
And how beatable they are when they’re less than all they can be.
The challenge from now until January is to repeat as necessary, because a punishing schedule that resumes against Miami on Monday night at Acrisure Stadium, continues at Detroit, then Cleveland and finally concludes once again against Baltimore, requires nothing less.
The win in Baltimore was a statement game, and it came with tangible, if temporary, rewards. One was regaining first place in the division.
There was also this from quarterback Aaron Rodgers: “It means maybe you guys (in the media) will shut the hell up for the week.”
That’ll last until the ball gets kicked off against Miami.
And if it goes badly again, it’s going to get ugly again at Acrisure; The ship wasn’t righted against the Ravens; it just didn’t sink.
The good news is all that transpired in Baltimore may have served as a reminder to the Steelers themselves what it’ll take the rest of the way to keep their playoff hopes afloat.
