The Baltimore Ravens can shut down the best running back in the NFL. They proved it against Le’Veon Bell to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 21-14 in Week 9.
Run on Baltimore at your peril. That was the big lesson from Bell’s miserable day at M&T Bank Stadium. But it wasn’t the only thing we learned.
Bell had just 32 yards rushing on a day when the Pittsburgh offense couldn’t click, even with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger back under center. The Ravens’ rushing attack hardly fared any better than Bell, but at least Joe Flacco and his receivers can still stretch defenses deep.
Here’s what we learned from Baltimore’s return to winning ways and the Steelers’ third-straight loss:
Mike Wallace is still a feared source of big plays
He didn’t need to gallop deep to burn the Steelers for 95 yards and six points, but Mike Wallace can still produce a big play from anywhere. It’s a knack the 30-year-old hasn’t lost.
His latest put Wallace into some select company in a rare category, according to Ravens PR director Patrick Gleason:
Mike Wallace now has 12 receiving TDs of 50-plus yards (including 2 this season), ranking as the NFL's 3rd most since 2009.
— Patrick Gleason (@PMGleason) November 6, 2016
Wallace’s flair for the big play is also a quality the Ravens desperately need in their otherwise sluggish passing game. This isn’t an offense able to move the ball efficiently through the air.
There aren’t many high-percentage completions delivered from the boom-or-bust arm of quarterback Joe Flacco. This is still a passing scheme built on the big play, and Wallace can still manufacture those in a variety of different guises.
Run on these Ravens at your peril
The Steelers managed only a pitiful 36 yards rushing with Le’Veon Bell in the backfield. That shouldn’t happen.
Ebony Bird
But it’s not as outlandish as it seems when you consider how running on these Ravens is fast becoming mission impossible. Just where are the gaps in a front seven led superbly by twin pillars of destruction Timmy Jernigan and Brandon Williams?
Pittsburgh’s O-line could move neither D-tackle at M&T Bank Stadium. It meant Bell was redirected into swarming pursuit on almost every one of the 14 carries that netted his meagre 32 yards.
The presence of Jernigan and Williams is why the Ravens can play a lightweight tackling machine like Zach Orr at middle linebacker. His 225-pound frame is amply covered by all that mass in the middle.
With outside rushers like Terrell Suggs still setting a hard edge, welcoming running lanes are rare against this defense. Offenses forced into predictable passing modes are soon left at the mercy of the sophisticated blitz pressures designed by coordinator Dean Pees.
Baltimore’s struggles on the ground still obvious
They can stuff any competent NFL running game, but the Ravens can’t establish one of their own to save their lives. Baltimore managed just 50 yards against the Steelers, despite splitting 29 carries between five players.
Terrance West is getting most of the opportunities, but he’s hardly making the most of them. One-time Towson star West could only manage 21 yards on 15 rushing attempts.
The Ravens have to find ways to manufacture some consistency on the ground. Consistency is something that needs to be settled on at every level of the scheme.
It will mean committing to a blocking style, power or zone. The latter didn’t work under previous offensive coordinators Gary Kubiak and Marc Trestman.
Next: Steelers at Ravens: Highlights, score and recap
But regardless of scheme, improvement is also needed from several members of the O-line. Rookie left tackle Ronnie Stanley hasn’t delivered, while center Jeremy Zuttah has been manhandled too often.
Fixing issues up front is the best way for the Ravens to address their anaemic ground attack.