Winners and losers from Steelers, Ravens slugfest in Week 11

The Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers always find a way to end in a climactic fashion. A league-best, 26 of their last 32 meetings have been decided by one score. This year’s matchup was pure cinema, but Sunday’s early window showdown was more of a comedy of errors than a classic epic. The winner was the team that made the fewest errors. Baltimore shot themselves in the foot one too many times while Mike Tomlin’s composed management provided the difference down the stretch. Sunday was the second time in two years that a bungled Ravens 2-point conversion was the difference. 

On a petty level, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ machinations were enough to drop Lamar Jackson in the MVP hierarchy behind Josh Allen. While Pittsburgh is content with their 8-2 record and a three-game lead in the division with seven games to go, they can’t rest on their laurels yet. However, here are the winners and losers from their 18-16 victory.

Winners: Special Teams

Special teams made the difference for Pittsburgh again. No kicks were blocked this week. No punts were returned. Instead, Chris Boswell drilled six of six field goals through the uprights and scored every point for a Steelers unit that ran out of gas in the red zone. Russell Wilson even threw one of the most ill-advised throws of his Steelers' career when settling for three would have given Pittsburgh an 8-point lead with nine minutes to go in the final frame. On the other side was Justin Tucker, the greatest kicker of this generation missing two kicks. Pittsburgh is still the Kryptonite for Baltimore. They see the black and gold coming and turn into the Browns. 

Winners: Payton Wilson

On the possession after Russell Wilson’s interception, Payton made the defensive play of the year. Justice Hill left Wilson eating his dirt on the wheel route. However, Wilson caught up and locked in like he was seeing the Matrix around us for the first time. snatching a ball away from Hill while he was suspended mid-air and ripped th ball away from him as they tumbled to the ground. 

Winners: Nick Herbig

Herbig's output on Sunday was very understated. He recorded a single solo tackle and assisted on another. However, his penetration into the backfield on the 2-point conversion blew up the blocking scheme. Nelson Agholor was inexplicably lined up opposite Herbig, who blasted the Ravens receiver into the backfield and interfered with two pulling linemen who were expected to clear a direct path for Jackson into the endzone. The delay to Jackson’s blockers forced him to sprint towards the sideline where he was corralled well short of the endzone.

Winners: Mike Tomlin

Coaching made the difference in more transparent ways than usual on Sunday. Todd Monken did it again by ignoring Henry for the entire fourth quarter and leaving him off the field for the most pivotal play of the evening. Conversely, Tomlin calling a timeout before the Ravens snap left Baltimore discombobulated. Few expected Tomlin to use a timeout instead of saving it for a potential game-winning drive. Then, he brought Justin Fields in on second and third down to beat Baltimore.  Fields slid a yard short of the first down marker on a play that resembled what the keeper schemed for Lamar Jackson was supposed to look like. Ultimately, Tomlin’s interventions were net-positive contributions that trumped anything Monken or John Harbaugh could scheme up.

Winners: Patrick Queen

The Steelers big acquisition at linebacker was as motivated as anyone to make a statement against the Baltimore Ravens. Queen provided the bulletin board material by calling out the Ravens for not doing enough to keep him in purple and black. One week after playing a major role in Pittsburgh’s containment of Jayden Daniels, he was jacked up for a showdown against his former team. Queen was a Tasmanian Devil creating chaos for the Ravens' offense and stripping Isaiah Likely just before halftime and recovering the fumble allowed Pittsburgh to retake the lead.

Losers: Russell Wilson

Playing against the 32nd-ranked passing defense in the NFL, Wilson was indecisive and jittery in the red zone. They’re now 30th in red zone scoring ahead of only the Cowboys and Giants, depositing touchdowns in 44 percent of their drives. It’s not a great sign when you get pulled for Justin Fields on the last downs of game-ending drives and the takeaway is that your more athletic backup should receive an uptick in red zone snaps.

Losers: Arthur Smith

The Steelers offensive coordinator didn’t do anything wrong, but he’s got some work to do figuring out how to scheme Justin Fields packages into the offense. By this time of year, offensive coaches for playoff-bound teams are finetuning their offenses and working on their interview answers in case recruiters from the NFL’s other 31 franchises come inquiring. Not Smith. His red zone offense needs improvement and there’s real pressure to get them on track considering the defense’s awe-inspiring effort. Unfortunately for Smith, he also has to deal with a talent deficit on a discount offense opposite an opulent defense.

Losers: Mike Williams

One week after a clutch touchdown pass to beat the Commanders, he was invisible on Sunday. He played 25 snaps against the Ravens and recorded zero catches, which is not ideal and inexplicable. He may still be getting comfortable with the playbook and terminology. Getting thrust into the league’s most competitive rivalry this millennium is daunting. The hope is that he emerges as the towering red zone lighthouse Wilson needs.