The game was 3 full days ago and I am just getting over what we all watched.

Sadly by now, we all know the end result of this past weekend’s AFC North matchup which featured the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Baltimore Ravens. Baltimore succeeded once again in defeating their rival, and creating a whole lot of tension in Steelers Nation. Much like most Steeler losses, this one has a large portion of the fan base calling for Mike Tomlin and/or Todd Haley’s job.

I’m not here to give out any passes, to anyone; but there is a lot of blame to go around for this one as Pittsburgh fell for the 4th straight time to the Baltimore Ravens.

Fortunately for me, I only have to touch on the offense’s performance.

Everyone who has endured Steelers/Ravens games in recent history knows the clash between these two teams tends to get a little more intense than the usual Sunday matchup. Typically decided by one score or less, this exhibition followed suit, although not telling the true story of what occurred. In a “too little, too late” effort, the Steelers eventually closed the gap to make the final score read 21-14, Ravens. It was not as close as that may seem.

Similar to other games played this year, Sunday’s version had its tone set early. The Steelers offense posted back to back 3-and-outs to start things off with a whimper. The play below, on a 3rd and 5 on the Steelers second possession, left Ben exposed.

The play is baffling for several reasons. Terrell Suggs is left unblocked, Ben sees the blitz, but throws away from it, as his receiver tangle on that side, and no one else runs a play to take the safety help away from DHB.

The pass is broken up, and the Steelers are forced to punt.

During that span of time, they saw their starting center, Maurkice Pouncey, leave the game with a thumb injury. Pouncey would later return, however he continued to exit the lineup throughout the course of the game. He apparently had a gash of sorts on his thumb.

The team should really keep Pouncey (and Sammie Coates) away from sharp objects.

All kidding aside, not having Pouncey at 100% definitely hurt Pittsburgh. The good news is that it has already been determined to not be a long term injury.

The Steelers defense forced a turnover with some help from their rookie first round pick, and a glimpse of offense peeked through the cracks for Ben Roethlisberger and company. Ben found David Johnson (of all people) and the big man rumbled for a first down, plus some.

Believe it or not, this was only first down the Steelers offense could muster in the first half. The extremely short drive would end in a punt by Jordan Berry after two presnap penalties by the Steelers (on Roethlisberger & Marcus Gilbert).

On the bright side, Gilbert seemed back to his stud self; appearing not bothered by any injuries in his first game back: #77 did well protecting #7.

It wouldn’t be long for the Steelers to got another chance, as they were given the ball back after a quick Ravens touchdown. Very quick. 95 yards quick.

3rd and long was in the way now for Big Ben and he loads up a deep ball for Darrius Heyward-Bey. Incomplete on the attempt, DHB hurt himself on the play. This would be the last snap for Heyward-Bey on the day, registering a total of 5 snaps. DHB was the starting wide receiver opposite Antonio Brown this week.

The second half would have slightly more excitement for Steeler Nation. However, before anything starting clicking for Big Ben and the O, Roethlisberger missed a somewhat wide open Sammie Coates for what would have been a clear touchdown. This was a huge miss by Roethlisberger.

To follow up off the almost touchdown, Ben had a tipped pass intercepted shortly after that.

I personally do not think the Steelers rushed Ben back from his injury too soon. To me, he seemed to moved around in the pocket well when he had too. You can’t do much about a tipped pass interception, but he just missed a few throws.

With little time remaining in the 3rd, Pittsburgh had only registered two first downs. That is insane. On top of that stomach turning statistic, they were 0-9 on 3rd down at this point in the game. The 30 point offense looked like it was in preseason form and it was mind boggling.

Maurkice Pouncey was not returning to the game anymore, and BJ Finney assumed the center’s role. He had a few questionable snaps.

Finally, the Steelers offense was about to make some noise. Roethlisberger connected with Antonio Brown for a late touchdown on 4th and 9. There was still hope.

Unfortunately, crucial time was killed after a Sammie Coates drop. I’m a Coates fan, and I have been high on him, but his team needs him to make those plays. It very well may have been the best pass from Roethlisberger on the day, and it slid right off his fingertips in the back of the endzone.

Sammie registered zero catches for the game. As did Cobi Hamilton, who got the nod over Markus Wheaton to be active. Wheaton was a healthy scratch. Hamilton was more or less gift wrapped an opportunity to make plays with the circumstances of that plus the DHB injury, and he did not. Roethlisberger is catching a lot of criticism for locking in on AB,(and I understand that) but Hamilton has to do a better job of getting open as well. Some blame has to be placed on Coates and Hamilton.

Then there’s one of the second half drives, where the Steelers dug themselves an early hole on first down, when Ben gets sacked on this DB blitz. It’s similar to the hit above, in that Ben didn’t recognize the pressure coming.

Eli Rogers may finally be stepping up like many (myself included) had anticipated and hoped for after the preseason. Rogers posted his first career 100 yard game and made more than a few impressive grabs, such as this huge play on 3rd and 21, following the above sack.

Even though Eli posted 100 yards, I thought he should have been used even more. Rogers was getting open a large part of the time while he was in the game and Ben wasn’t going to him. Hopefully after this break out (of sorts) game, the offensive staff and Roethlisberger can trust Eli Rogers more. Knowing that he has had trouble showing up for meetings on time in the recent past, Rogers has to continue to prove he understands the maturity level required of him. And if he does, I think he can be extremely productive in this offense. Offensive coordinator Todd Haley loved Rogers during the preseason, and that showed in this game. He can be a crucial piece if he wants to be.

Big Ben would later rumble in himself for a late touchdown. Very late, but still awesome. It was uplifting to see the team leader and captain still playing for the win.

And just like that, it was over.

The offense looked sloppy at the start and caught traction towards the end. Some say the team should have been better prepared coming off their bye (which I totally get and agree with) but Baltimore was also coming off their bye.

Minor but true point.

I do not think the team quit. I think they very well could have, but didn’t and that speaks volumes still. Ben missed throws, receivers dropped passes, didn’t get open, penalties left and right, and play calling all contributed to the loss.

The Ravens even managed to shut down Le’Veon Bell for what was by far his quietest performance of the year.

The offense as a whole, as a team, had a bad game.

It happens.