Two minute drills were a focus for the Baltimore defense all offseason.
And rightfully so. The team’s playoff hopes evaporated in the last two seasons when stops weren’t made in the final minutes of a game against a division opponent. Through the first month of the 2018 season, closing out games has not only improved with new defensive coordinator Don Martindale’s at the helm. It has been the strength of the entire team.
The Ravens have allowed only nine points in the second half of games so far this season. The Baltimore offense came out firing Sunday night in Pittsburgh and did enough to hold on for a 26-14 win.
HEAR GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
“Wink was a step ahead the entire the second half,” safety Eric Weddle said. “We brought out some [looks] we hadn’t showed…[Wink] called a great game.”
Baltimore started the game with a balanced offensive attack. On the first four drives, Baltimore’s run-pass play selection was the following:
Drive one: 4 runs, 4 passes. Ended on a 33-yard pass from Flacco to Brown for a touchdown
Drive two: 2 runs, 2 passes. Ended on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Flacco to running back Alex Collins for a touchdown
Drive three: 1 run, 2 passes. Ended on an incomplete pass on third down (punt).
Drive four: 2 runs, 2 passes Ended on an Collins fumble at the goal line.
The first 20 plays of the game looked like the perfect script until a turnover came to ruin Baltimore’s 13/13 touchdown rate in the red zone this year.
Flacco started the game 9/10 for 151 yards with two touchdowns, connecting with receiver John Brown for gains of 33 (TD) and 71, but the fourth drive ended on a Collins fumble at the goal line. A touchdown on that drive would have put Baltimore up 21-3.
Momentum swung in favor of Pittsburgh following the turnover, and so did the second quarter.
“I felt more confident in it. That was the main thing for me.”
C.J. Mosley talks about fighting through the knee injury to play tonight. pic.twitter.com/0wzJO0yJkU— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) October 1, 2018
The Steelers went 79 yards downfield to convert on a field goal, cutting Baltimore’s lead to eight. The next Baltimore drive was a quick four-play, five-yard one that gave Pittsburgh the ball back to tie the game before halftime.
In only five passes — the Steelers gave up on the run early — Roethlisberger hit tight end Vance McDonald twice on the drive and the 6’4″, 267 pound McDonald flipped the field on a 33-yard catch while mowing over multiple Ravens, helping set up a 26-yard pass to receiver Antonio Brown in the end zone.
The Steelers connected on the ensuing two-point conversion to tie the game at 14, and those were their last points of the half, and the game.
Baltimore held Brown to 62 yards and a touchdown — a massive improvement from last year’s 213 yards, a game where Baltimore also did not have their No. 1 cornerback Jimmy Smith. Smith will return next week against the Cleveland Browns now that he has served his four game suspension.
Safety Anthony Levine made a few of the biggest plays of the game in Smith’s absence, the first being a read in zone coverage on a third and five play midway through the fourth quarter.
Roethlisberger looked to hit Brown over the middle, but the diving Levine tipped the pass. If he hadn’t, Brown looked like he had plenty of room to run after the catch, something that Baltimore failed to prevent Brown from doing in the 39-38 loss last year in Pittsburgh — a game they allowed 19 fourth-quarter points in.
But that was last year.
“This ain’t the same Ravens,” Weddle said after getting his first win as a Raven in Pittsburgh.
With the next possession granted from the Levine stop, Baltimore went up two scores with less than four minutes to go on a Justin Tucker field goal.
A unique trick play involving tight end Maxx Williams not only allowed Baltimore to extend the lead, but it took 6:40 off the clock.
On third down and one early in the drive, Williams lined up off the line of scrimmage in the left guard position and connected with Flacco on a rollout.
Ravens (+135) looking to close out this game with some trickerationpic.twitter.com/MBpWW8n058
— The Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) October 1, 2018
Levine made another third down play that essentially ended any hope for Pittsburgh, jumping a route underneath — a pass intended for Brown — and intercepting it.
CO-CAP! @ALevine41 picks comes up with the pick in a HUGE moment. pic.twitter.com/SY7wpGHgCe
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) October 1, 2018
Notes and observations:
Collins failed to average more than 4.0 yards per carry in a game for the seventh consecutive game dating back to last season. Collins averaged 7.5 yards per carry last season against Pittsburgh, but after a fumble on the goal line, head coach John Harbaugh gave running backs Buck Allen and rookie De’Lance Turner touches. The Ravens also used quarterback Lamar Jackson and receiver Chris Moore on back-to-back short-yardage plays.
Receiver Michael Crabtree dropped one or two passes tonight (depending on how much of a critic you are). He had multiple drops in the season opener and has struggled with it in this first month of the season.
Levine seemed to line up in multiple spots in the game and was an integral part in the various coverages Baltimore showed Ben Roethlisberger. He led the way with three passes defended. Brandon Carr had two breakups as well.
Linebacker Terrell Suggs didn’t come away with a sack in the game, but he did force some holding calls…that were not called.
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) October 1, 2018
The two-dimensional offense won the game. Steelers running back James Connor — filling in for the disgruntled Le’Veon Bell — had three carries in the second half. In a close game Pittsburgh did not try to run the ball. Baltimore gave Collins, Allen and Jackson a combined 25 carries. Connor finished the game with nine carries for 19 yards.
The Steelers did not get 30 yards in a drive or into Ravens territory in the second half. Baltimore held the Steelers to 2/12 on third down conversions and outgained them 451-284.
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“They’re not going to get caught up in the noise… That’s what I love about them.”
Coach Harbaugh talks about the mindset of his team. pic.twitter.com/8xXsKrZq4G— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) October 1, 2018
