Report Card: Ravens Backups Fall to Steelers in Finale

With a steady downpour of cold rain, the rival Steelers on the other side of the field, replacement players in prominent roles and the top seed locked up, it would have made sense to expect a sloppy performance from the Ravens offense in the season-ender.

And, yeah. That’s what happened.

But there were some performances that stood out, for both the good and the bad. Let’s take a look at some grades.

Offense

Overall: D-

The Ravens’ possessions went punt, punt, fumble, punt, TOUCHDOWN, end of half, punt, punt, punt, punt, fumble, FIELD GOAL. They had 224 yards of offense, 57 of them in the last 3:13 of the game, were 4-13 on third downs and averaged 3.9 yards per play. Yes, the weather was awful. Yes, key players sat out or rotated out throughout the game. Yes, home field was locked up. Still. This performance had a bit of an aroma to it.

Quarterback: D

Again, we freely acknowledge all he was up against out there, but Tyler Huntley went 15-28 for 146 yards and a touchdown pass. He added 40 yards rushing. Look, it wasn’t all bad. He threw a nice fade to Justice Hill on the Ravens’ opening drive, but Hill couldn’t bring it in. He also threw two great passes to Isaiah Likely, one of which resulted in a touchdown. There was also a really good scramble and toss to Nelson Agholor for 16 in the third quarter. He also had a few big runs. But he appeared very indecisive sometimes between throwing and running, and ran into at least one of his four sacks. He wasn’t awful, by any means. But it wasn’t a sterling performance by the passing game, and he was the passer.

Running Backs: D-

Gus Edwards was his physical self, running for 48 yards, including a 29-yarder on the Ravens’ lone touchdown drive, but he had a big fumble in the fourth quarter. Justice Hill caught three balls, but had no carries, and Melvin Gordon had 18 yards on seven carries, and also lost a fumble. Two lost fumbles and a combined 66 yards rushing is not a great day for this group.

Receivers: C

Nelson Agholor only had 39 yards on five catches, but he looked really good. He did a nice job getting open on Huntley’s third-quarter scramble for 16 yards, brought in a high pass for another first and made touch catches in traffic when called upon. Laquon Treadwell had a 16-yard catch, but also had one go through his hands. Isaiah Likely was very good again, and his touchdown was yet more proof of his athletic ability and determination to finish plays. Charlie Kolar brought in three passes, but also had a drop in the first quarter.

Offensive Line: D-

Morgan Moses had his hands full with T.J. Watt before the Steelers star’s injury. Ronnie Stanley stood out on his seal block on Edwards’ big run. Ben Cleveland got pushed back a few times that I noticed, but he also seemed to frame himself well in pass protection. The Ravens gave up four sacks and struggled to run for big parts of the game.

Defense

Overall: B

The big touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson was bad, and Najee Harris was able to pick up too many yards on the ground, but this side played well for the majority of the game, and was the only reason the Ravens were even in this thing by the end. They were missing some big players on this side of the ball, as well, but they held their end of the bargain — much more than the offense did.

Defensive Line: C+

The Steelers ran for 155 yards, and a lot of that has to fall on the defensive line, but they made some plays, too. Michael Pierce, fresh off a two-year contract extension, was terrific, with six tackles, and a terrific play for a loss late in the fourth quarter. Broderick Washington had three tackles, and Tavius Robinson continued his strong stretch of games, setting a nice edge several times and contributing five tackles. Jadaveon Clowney was a menace when he was on the field, and had a huge money-time sack.

Linebackers: B+

Trenton Simpson was very good with expanded snaps. He had seven tackles, six of them unassisted, a sack, two tackles for loss and a quarterback hit. He was explosive. Del’Shawn Phillips stood out, as well, with 13 tackles and a tackle for loss — he also forced a fumble to give the Ravens the ball. Kyle Van Noy had another sack, and Jeremiah Moon flashed several times.

Defensive Backs: B

Outside of that back-breaking 71-yard touchdown pass that saw something bad break down between Marcus Williams and Rock Ya-Sin, they held up very well. Of course, that was kind of a big deal. Still, Williams killed the Steelers’’ first possession of the game with a near-pick on third down. Arthur Maulet finished a very good regular season, with six tackles and a fumble recovery. Brandon Stephens was in tight coverage on a third-down incompletion late in the first quarter. Geno Stone was injured, and we’re kind of holding our breath there for now.

Special Teams: B-

Jordan Stout was great. He averaged 53.9 yards on seven punts, had one downed at the Steelers’ 3 that was overturned on penalty and generally beat the weather with his leg. Justin Tucker made both his kicks, and gave a decent-enough effort on that late onsides kick. The coverage units continue to concern me — they gave up 18.4 yards per return on five punts, including a 34-yarder.

Coaching: C

This is kind of hard to grade, as the coaches were a bit hamstrung with talent, and they didn’t want to give away a lot to put on tape before the playoffs. The offense continued to put Huntley behind in down-and-distance, and that handcuffed the offense greatly, but it’s understandable why they called a conservative game. The ravens made the Steelers punt again after a penalty in the second quarter and it worked out — they picked up 25 yards in field position. I understood the substitution plan, which I imagine was priority one today.

The post Report Card: Ravens Backups Fall to Steelers in Finale appeared first on Russell Street Report.