Ravens – Steelers: Avoiding self-inflicted wounds among 5 keys to victory

Mapping a out a blueprint to success in this AFC North showdown.

The Baltimore Ravens will be back at home for their biggest game of the season thus far when the division-leading Pittsburgh Steelers come to town with first place in the AFC North on the line. They favored to prevail by at least a touchdown in this heated rivalry between two teams fighting for the same goal of winning the division and hosting at least one playoff game.

A win would not only improve the Ravens’ record to 10-5 but potentially put them in a tie with the Steelers for the top spot in the AFC North standings and snap a four-game losing streak to their rivals who have won eight of the last nine in the all-time series.

Here are five keys integral to the Ravens’ coming out on top in Week 16.

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Eliminate turnovers on offense

The first matchup between these two teams this season played out in a similar fashion to many of the Ravens’ losses during this rivalry that has been lopsided as of late. They not only lost the turnover battle 3-1 but part of the field where they gave the ball away on a pair of fumbles set the Steelers offense up with short fields and essentially spotted them six points after the defense only yielded short field goals both times. Baltimore went on to lose by less than a field goal 18-16.

On Wednesday, offensive coordinator Todd Monken reportedly got into a heated exchange with the wide receivers and assistant coach Greg Lewis during ball security drills during practice because he really wanted to emphasize the importance of taking care of the ball against this specific opponent. The Steelers’ 30 turnovers forced leads the league with a whopping 17 coming on forced fumbles and Monken doesn’t want his unit to add to their total on Saturday.

“I’ve been here for three games (vs. Pittsburgh) and we’ve turned it over eight times,” Monken said. “We’ve fumbled it seven times. If that doesn’t tell you it’s a priority, I don’t know what is.”

Cut down on penalties in all three phases

In addition to not turning the ball over, another big way to avoid unforced errors and self-inflicted wounds is to not give up free yardage via penalty to a Steelers offense that will be without its top weapon, wide receiver George Pickens. Baltimore leads the league in penalties and penalty yardage through 15 weeks despite having one week off with a bye.

The Ravens are coming off a game in which they were penalized a season-high 12 times for the 112 yards—also the most they’ve accrued this season. While it didn’t cost them dearly against the fledgling Giants, a repeat performance against the more savvy and experienced Steelers could keep the game closer than it should which could lead to some late-game drama where Mike Tomlin and Co. love to be in and often come out on top of, especially against the Ravens.

Both of the Giants’ scoring drives last Sunday were fueled and extended by penalty because defenders were undisciplined in coverage when the ball arrived or landed on the quarterback with too much body weight instead of sliding off to the side. On offense, penalties have stalled or completely derailed several promising drives for the Ravens in the games that they’ve lost including in Pittsburgh earlier this season. Penalties on special teams could negate long returns, back the offense up deeper into their own territory and set the opposing team up in better field position with less distance to travel to get into field goal range or the red zone.

“We show the penalties, and we talk about it, and it’s nothing that we’re going to hide from, because obviously, we want to play winning football; that’s not winning football – when you have self-inflicted wounds,” defensive coordinator Zach Or said Wednesday.

Attack compromised secondary off play action

The Steelers are going take a similar approach to defending the Ravens offense and reigning MVP Lamar Jackson that they did in the first matchup back in Week 11 and to a degree to how they played the Philadelphia Eagles in their loss in Week 15. They are going to load the box and crowd the line of scrimmage in an effort to bottle up Derrick Henry and the league’s second-best rushing attack and make the Ravens one-dimensional by forcing them into second and third and longs where their elite pass rush can pin its collective ears back.

While that plan of attack worked against the Ravens the first time around, it backfired in a big way last week in the Battle of Pennsylvania as Jalen Hurts carved up their secondary to the tune of 290 passing yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions and a passer rating of 125.3. The Eagles had a pair of wide receivers record 100-plus receiving yards and reel in touchdowns in the red zone.

The Steelers will likely be without former Ravens and starting safety DeShon Elliott who is listed as doubtful to play with a hamstring injury. Starting cornerback Donte Jackson is listed as questionable to play but is dealing with a back injury that caused him to only practice once this week on a limited basis.

If they sell out to stop the run again, it could open the door for another explosive passing outing for Jackson off of play action in particular because the Ravens will still strive for balance or at least the illusion of it no matter what. Derrick Henry will certainly carry the ball more than 13 times in this game even if they do air it out a little bit more and he will be looking to atone for fumbling on the second play from scrimmage in his first taste of the Ravens-Steelers rivalry by making a mark in his second.

Beware of T.J. Watt no matter what

The six-time Pro Bowl outside linebacker leads the charge for the Steelers pass rush and defense as a whole. He is the heartbeat of their entire team, the face of the franchise and their most clutch playmaker they turn to on defense when they need a key stop of timely turnover. He didn’t finish last week’s game against the Eagles with a low ankle sprain and after missing just one day of practice, was removed from the final injury report without a status designation which means he will most certainly play.

Even in a potentially hampered, Watt is a threat to wreck shop on any given play especially if a blocking assignment is missed or poorly executed as was the case on his big tackle for loss on Henry in the first matchup. He leads not only the Steelers but also the entire lead in forced fumbles, with six, and tied for third in the NFL with a team-leading 11.5 sacks.

Accounting for and blocking him on every play shouldn’t fall squarely on the shoulders of rookie right tackle Roger Rosengarten alone although he has been lights out in pass protection over the last month. It’s going to take the occasional chip help and sometimes double teams with right guard Daniel Faalele or a combo block with Pro Bowl fullback Patrick Ricard.

Continue to stuff the run at an elite level

With Pickens out of the lineup and no other wide receivers capable of putting the same immense level of stress on the Ravens’ secondary as he can, the Steelers will most likely try to establish and lean heavily on the running game with the duo of Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren leading the charge. Unfortunately for them, Baltimore is the home of the stoutest run defense in the league.

The Ravens have allowed the fewest total rushing yards this season allowing the lowest rushing yards per game (80.7) and per carry (3.5) and have the second-highest EPA from their run defense (39.01). Orr and his revamped unit have improved in every aspect over the last month. They have a chance to flip the script on the Steelers and make their offense one-dimensional by consistently forcing obvious passing situations by stuffing the run on early downs which will allow their pass rush to tee off up the middle and around the edge.