Steelers week 14 winners and losers against the Ravens
The Steelers pulled out yet another nail-biter in what surprisingly was an offensive shootout against the Baltimore Ravens. While there are winners practically across the board on offense, the defense was atrocious in this contest.
Here are my week 14 winners and losers against the division rival Baltimore Ravens:
Winners
Ben Roethlisberger
Easily Ben’s best game of the season. Apart from two questionable decisions this game on dangerous passes, Ben was nearly perfect – and he needed to be. With the Steelers defense surrendering 38 points, it was a back and forth battle that Roethlisberger and company eventually won. Ben posted 506 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions, while leading his team to yet another comeback win.
Antonio Brown
Antonio Brown is truly unbelievable as a football player. There is nothing he can’t do. Though he didn’t score a touchdown this week, he compiled 213 yards on 19.4 yards per reception. Brown is now a whole 276 yards ahead of the NFL’s second leading WR – DeAndre Hopkins. Cris Collinsworth said toward the end of the game that Brown should be in the discussion for MVP of the league (which, by the way, has never been won by a wide receiver before).
Le’Veon Bell
Le’Veon Bell was rock-solid in this contest vs the Ravens. Though he posted yet another game in which he failed to muster at least 4.0 yards per carry, Bell did some heavy lifting and helped move the chains early and often. His 9 catches for 77 yards on 10 targets in the passing game helped proved once again why Bell is one of the most versatile backs in the league. Oh, and he also had 3 total touchdowns this game.
Jesse James
This was easily the best game Jesse James posted this season – probably the best of his career. The 6’7” tight end grabbed 10 of 12 balls for nearly 100 yards. His biggest play of the game came on a 3rd and 13 on the Steelers last drive of the game, in which he caught a missile between two defenders for the first down.
Vance McDonald
Before McDonald got injured he was well on his way to having his best game in a Steelers uniform. The oft-injured tight end grabbed 4 balls for 52 yards before leaving the game. Pro Football Focus gave him a score of 84.5 in this game – the second highest mark of any Steeler.
Chris Hubbard and the offensive line
Chris Hubbard more than held his own against Terrell Suggs and the Ravens defensive front. Though Ben did get sacked 3 times in this one, none were truly the o-line’s fault. The big guys for the Steelers handled their men up front and allowed Ben and company to go off for their best offensive game of the season.
Chris Boswell
The ‘Wizard of Boz’ was exactly that – a wizard. With the game on the line, Boswell nailed his fourth game-winning field goal in just the last five weeks. Chris Boswell is quickly on his way to becoming the best kicker in Steelers history (if he’s not there already).
T.J. Watt
Though most of the defense was putrid against the Ravens, T.J. Watt was anything but. Watt was extremely disruptive in this game – collecting 3 quarterback knockdowns and a strip sack that sealed the game. According to Pro Football Focus, he recorded 6 total pressures and added 3 run stops. He received a grade of 86.2 – the best on the entire team.
Stephon Tuitt
Tuitt’s stats will not jump out at you in this game, but he was actually pretty efficient. Though the Steelers surrendered a whopping 152 yards (5.8 per carry) and 3 touchdowns through the ground, most of the big plays were bounced outside. In the passing game, Tuitt collected six pressures as well as a pass deflection and 2 quarterback hits.
Losers
Bud Dupree
There were lots of losers on the defensive side of the ball in this game, but Dupree was certainly one of the worst. The Steelers former 2015 first round pick is starting to get slapped with the ‘bust’ label – and for good reason. Dupree was constantly pushed up the arc in this game. He was terrible against the run (as he lost contain on more than one occasion), and completely ineffective against the pass.
To me, Dupree is the most disappointing player on the Steelers roster this year. At this rate, he may be done with the Steelers after his rookie contract just like 2013 first round pick, Jarvis Jones.
Sean Davis
Don’t let his bulky stat line fool you, Davis did not have a good game at all against the Ravens. Though he posted 12 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, a pass deflection, and an interception, Sean Davis was far from effective. He was gashed multiple times in the back end for huge plays down the field, and was caught looking too often. The Steelers second year safety was also called for two personal fouls in this game.
Sean Davis has moments that leaves you believing he could be a very good player. However, his wild inconsistency and bone-headed penalties make him one of the worst rated safeties in the league this year (40.0 grade on the year via Pro Football Focus).
Arthur Moats/Sean Spence
I respect the effort these guys put in. Spence was signed off his couch to start at linebacker in a huge divisional game, while Moats (who typically rides the bench) was thrown into a position he really hasn’t played in years. However, they did not do Ryan Shazier justice.
Both linebackers were horrific against the run. They took bad angles at time, were late to react in pursuit, and just flat-out missed tackles in this game. These two combined for just 4 tackles, and gave Steelers fans a lot of reason to worry about their defense moving forward.
Tackling
As I mentioned, tackling was pathetic in this game. Whether it was Sean Davis, Mike Mitchell, Sean Spence, Arthur Moats, or whoever, tackling was practically nonexistent.
Run Defense
The Steelers were terrible against the run. Pittsburgh’s defense made Alex Collins look like LaDainian Tomlinson, as he gashed them for 6.7 yards per pop. With Shazier out, they will have to find a way to sure up the run if they want to be competitive in the playoffs.
