Ravens-Steelers reaction, Packers have problem, NFL power rankings and more
The Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers renewed their storied rivalry on Sunday afternoon, but what did we learn about the two?
This race isn’t about November. It’s about February. It’s about the Lombardi Trophy.
On Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens, 28-24. The result is a commanding two-game lead in the AFC North with a soft schedule ahead. Pittsburgh fans should be thrilled, and the players should be proud. After all, 7-0 is no joke.
Yet if we’re honest with ourselves, both teams have clear issues which if not fixed, will hinder them come the postseason. Both line up under center.
Let’s start with the Ravens. Baltimore lost All-Pro left tackle Ronnie Stanley for the season to a broken ankle. This will hinder their stellar run game, putting more pressure on third-year quarterback Lamar Jackson to throw and throw well. Here lies the problem.
In 2020, Jackson has not played to expectations. The reigning MVP has thrown for 1,343 yards with 14 touchdowns (12 TD passes) against nine turnovers (four INT, five fumbles). It’s nowhere near enough to win, considering Baltimore’s run game has gone from historic to above-average.
Baltimore’s defense was good enough to win Sunday. It allowed 221 total yards and forced a turnover on the plus size of the field. The rushing attack was phenomenal, with the Ravens gaining 265 yards (5.6 YPA) with a touchdown. Yet Jackson short-circuited the attack with four turnovers (2 INT, 2 fumbles) including an opening drive pick-six and two fumbles in the red zone.
Head coach John Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman will say the right things. They’ll back Jackson. But actions matter. In the penultimate drive trailing 28-24, Baltimore never threw, including on a game-deciding 4th-and-3. They have no faith in Jackson making a throw.
Good teams will demand Jackson throw the ball outside the numbers. They will stack the box and rob the middle, taking away seam routes to tight end Mark Andrews and quick-hitters underneath to backs and receivers. His film demands that treatment. Jackson needs to make competitive throws in man-to-man situations on the outside. So far, he hasn’t done so nearly enough.
Onto Pittsburgh.
The defense is fantastic, even after getting gashed for 265 rushing yards. The injuries to defensive linemen Tyson Alualu and Cam Heyward are concerning, but we’re not sure their status.
Without question, the defense is good enough to spearhead a title run. The offense is not.
Against Baltimore, Ben Roethlisberger continued his alarming trend of throwing short and making minimal impact plays. After undergoing serious elbow surgery last year, the 38-year-old has come back and done well to avoid turnovers, but there’s been little more to his game.
Roethlisberger has thrown for 1,628 yards on 6.6 YPA. The latter figure ranks 29th among quarterbacks with at least 50 attempts.
It’s fine to be complimentary to a dominant defense, but without a +3 turnover ratio on Sunday, is there a reasonable belief Roethlisberger finds a way to beat Baltimore? In seven games this year, the future Hall of Famer has one 300-yard game and nary a single day averaging 8.0 YPA.
The weapons are there for Roethlisberger, but the personal results haven’t been. While 7-0 is the key figure and rightfully so, there are red flags.
This time of year is about clues for contenders. Pittsburgh is in better shape than Baltimore, but the quarterbacks are a significant concern for both teams.
Power rankings
Top10 remaining games in the regular season
1. Kansas City Chiefs at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Week 12
2. Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers, Week 12 (Thanksgiving)
3. Tennessee Titans at Indianapolis Colts, Week 12
4. Kansas City Chiefs at New Orleans Saints, Week 15
5. Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks, Week 16
6. Pittsburgh Steelers at Buffalo Bills, Week 14 (SNF)
7. Tennessee Titans at Baltimore Ravens, Week 11
8. Los Angeles Rams at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Week 11
9. Tennessee Titans at Green Bay Packers, Week 16 (SNF)
10. New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Week 9
Quotable
"“I’m doing this job to win, not to go out and get my face stomped in just like all the rest of the guys in the locker room.”"
– New York Jets head coach Adam Gase after losing 35-9 to the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium
The Jets are 0-8 and got throttled by the defending champs on Sunday. The worst part about Gase’s job, though, is in the details. Against Kansas City, New York was trailing 21-9 early in the third quarter, facing 4th-and-6 at its own 21-yard line.
The Chiefs jumped and the Jets were given the option of accepting the five-yard penalty and potentially going for a 4th-and-1. Gase decided to tack the yardage onto the punt. Yes, it’s a risk, but the Jets are 0-7. Take a shot.
Gase coaches scared, the Jets play timid, and the end result is a comically bad team.
Podcast
Random stat
From their inception in 1920 through the 2007 season, the Chicago/St. Louis/Arizona Cardinals hosted one playoff contest (1947 NFL Championship Game).
Info learned this week
1. The Packers might have some real problems brewing
In the shocker of Sunday, Green Bay was handled by the Minnesota Vikings, 28-22, at Lambeau Field. The result is tough considering the race for home-field in the NFC. However, a closer look reveals even bigger problems for the Packers.
Green Bay came into the tilt ranked 22nd in yards per rush against (4.6). Minnesota went for 173 rushing yards and three scores on 5.1 yards per carry. The Packers also ranked 24th defensively on yards per attempt (7.8). Kirk Cousins went for 11.4 YPA despite hideous weather conditions.
In short, the defense isn’t stopping either phase with consistency.
Next week, Green Bay has a Thursday night road affair with the banged-up San Francisco 49ers and Kyle Shanahan’s brilliant schemes. Everyone is talking about the dearth of receiving weapons beyond Davante Adams. The biggest issue, though, is the lack of a defensive identity.
2. Russell Wilson continues his tour de force as Seahawks widen in NFC West
Four more touchdowns and another dominant win for Russell Wilson and his Seahawks.
In beating San Francisco 37-27, Seattle ran its record to 6-1 while Wilson got his passing touchdown total to 26, putting him on pace for a staggering 55.
Through eight weeks (and seven games), Wilson is clearly the MVP favorite. Only Patrick Mahomes is even in the conversation, pacing for 4,600 yards, 42 touchdown passes and only two interceptions. Still, the 2020 season has belonged to Wilson thus far.
With the victory, Seattle moves a full game ahead of the idle Cardinals, while pushing the lead to 1.5 games on the Rams and 2.5 games over the 49ers.
While the defense is a mess, it did play better on Sunday. San Francisco managed 27 points but held Jimmy Garoppolo to 84 passing yards and a pick before he left hurt in the fourth quarter. Additionally, the Niners vaunted ground game churned out a dismal 52 yards on 2.4 yards per carry. It’s a start.
3. Tua struggles, but Dolphins win due to Rams’ errors
Tua Tagovailoa made his NFL debut, and the Miami Dolphins ran their winning streak to three with a 28-17 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
Despite the score, Tagovailoa was largely underwhelming. He completed 12-of-22 throws for 93 yards with a touchdown, interception and lost fumble. He was poor, but it didn’t matter. Incredibly, the Rams outgained the Dolphins 471-145, but a pair of non-offensive scores and four turnovers doomed the visitors.
Overall, Miami’s longest drive went or 33 yards. It’s hard to believe Ryan Fitzpatrick would have been so ineffective. Yes, the Dolphins are trying to work in a player who they believe is the future. Still, they’re in the thick of a playoff chase, buoyed by a solid defense and the excellent coaching of Brian Flores. If Tagovailoa tanks their hopes, the locker room will justifiably feel burned. Be careful.
4. Bengals showing why they could be a spoiler; Titans have key issue
The Cincinnati Bengals are 2-5-1. They could easily have a winning record.
Cincinnati isn’t a good team, but it’s a very competitive one. Against the favored Titans, Joe Burrow went for 249 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-20 win. This despite being without star running back Joe Mixon and three starting offensive linemen. Outside of a 27-3 loss to the Ravens a few weeks ago, Cincinnati has either won or loss by one score.
Moving forward, the Bengals play the Steelers twice, have a rematch with Baltimore and see the Dolphins in Miami. Cincinnati won’t be an easy out for any of them.
Meanwhile, the Titans have major defensive issues. They’ve been lingering all year but were shoved aside for the first five games because Tennessee overcame them. Against Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, the Titans have surrendered a combined 23-of-33 third-down conversions, contributing to the league’s worst defense in said situations.
If the Titans can’t get off the field, they’ll have a tough time holding off the Colts in the AFC South.
5. Bills weren’t impressive, but Pats’ dynasty is dead
It’s all over for the New England Patriots.
After losing 24-21 to Buffalo, Bill Belichick’s team is 2-5 and without hope of a turnaround. The defense is decent, the offense is dormant, and Cam Newton isn’t going to suddenly discover his 2015 MVP form.
With the NFL trade deadline looming on Tuesday, the Patriots need to be aggressive sellers. Shed cap space, gain draft capital and start rebuilding for a life without Tom Brady.
As for Buffalo, Josh Allen has to be better. Over the past four games, Allen has thrown four touchdowns and four interceptions while averaging 211.5 passing yards per game on 6.5 yards per attempt. Not anywhere near good enough, especially with the defense struggling mightily.
Still, the win essentially finishes off New England while putting the Bills in great position as the schedule gets tougher. Over their final eight games, there are dates with the Seahawks, Cardinals, 49ers, Steelers, Patriots (road) and Dolphins (home). Even still, the AFC East goes through western New York without question.
Gambler’s game
The Los Angeles Chargers meet the Las Vegas Raiders at SoFi Stadium on Sunday, with the Raiders trying to further playoff hopes after beating Cleveland.
Los Angeles opens as a 2.5-point favorite, and while Los Angeles has a quality roster, take the team that doesn’t self-destruct every week.
Two cents
On Thursday, the Atlanta Falcons beat the Carolina Panthers. It was a bright spot in another dark season.
Unfortunately for Atlanta fans, the road to contention stands to be a very long one.
With the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday, you’ll hear countless people pine for Matt Ryan and/or Julio Jones to be dealt. In reality, ample dead money on both deals makes either move virtually impossible. And that’s where we start with the Falcons’ situation. Atlanta has $1.9 million of available rollover cap space for 2021, which is good news until you realize, it’s projected to be $25 million over the threshold next year.
Getting under the cap won’t be easy. There are a few easy cost-cutting decisions (safety Ricardo Allen and defensive lineman Allen Bailey — netting $10.7M) but it’ll otherwise come largely from restructures and small extensions.
The short of it: the Falcons have no cap space, an aging core and little defensive talent.
Whoever permanently replaces Dan Quinn will be in for a challenge.
Inside the league
Everyone knows the Chiefs for their abundance of superstars. Yet it’s a trio of rookies who could spell the difference come January and February.
After landing three important contributors the 2019 draft class for the Super Bowl team in receiver/returner Mecole Hardman, safety Juan Thornhill and corner Rashad Fenton, Kansas City general manager Brett Veach appears to have done it again.
This time, it’s first-round running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, linebacker Willie Gay and cornerback L’Jarius Sneed. According to a source, Sneed, who broke his collarbone Week 3, has a decent shot to return after Kansas City’s Week 10 bye.
Before being injured, Sneed had a pair of interceptions and posted a 69.3 Pro Football Focus grade. Internally, as reported by FanSided, Sneed was seen as a star of training camp. It has translated, and if the former Louisiana Tech star can return and regain his form, he adds significant talent to a pass defense that entered Sunday as No. 5 in DVOA.
Meanwhile, Edwards-Helaire has been fantastic, rushing for 572 yards and totaling 776 yards from scrimmage. Those figures rank third and fourth among all NFL players. Once the weather grows colder and Kansas City aims to protect playoff leads, his value only increases.
Finally, keep an eye on Gay. The Mississippi State product was thought by the Chiefs to be a raw talent. However, after spending the first three games essentially on special teams (only logging 15 total defensive snaps), Gay is seeing the field much more recently.
In the past four weeks preceding the Jets game, Gay took 100 snaps. Last week against the Denver Broncos, Gay eclipsed the 50 percent mark for the first time. He’s a rangy linebacker who can cover in space, something Kansas City was sorely missing.
History lesson
The New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears played at Soldier Field on Sunday. They’ve had some historic meetings there in the past.
For starters, the 2006 NFC Championship Game pitted the two foes against one another, which Rex Grossman and the Monsters of the Midway emerging victorious. In 1990, the Saints became the first No. 6 seed to play a postseason game in NFC history due to playoff expansion, losing 16-6 to Chicago in the bitter cold.
Then there was 1984. On an October afternoon, Walter Payton rushed into the record books abasing the Saints, breaking Jim Brown’s career mark for yards on the ground.
Parting shot
Enough with the NFC East already. Please, NFL, stop.
On Sunday night, we were treated to another epic between two horrible teams in the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles. Tomorrow, the country gets to churn its stomach before Election Day by watching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers biblically punish the New York Giants.
In less than a month, we’re blessed with the Washington Football Team taking on Dallas at JerryWorld on Thanksgiving afternoon. It’ll be all we can do to keep the stuffing and gravy down.
Starting Week 9 and excluding the Turkey Day matchup, we’re stuck with two more stinkers:
- Philadelphia-Seattle, MNF, Week 12
- Dallas-Baltimore, TNF, Week 13
Both of those games aren’t flexible. However, the Week 15 tilt on Sunday Night Football between Dallas and San Francisco is. Markets be damned, flex the game out for something which won’t have a double-digit spread. Looking at the docket, the Chiefs and Saints at the Superdome is a no-brainer.
For years, the NFC East and its four massive markets have always been jammed into primetime. It needs to end. Market size doesn’t matter in the NFL. Ratings come regardless.
Need proof? Compare the numbers of Kansas City and Green Bay — a small-market team and the smallest market — in primetime. Works just fine.