Steelers’ “Studs and Duds” from Week 12 against the Ravens
Steel City Underground’s “Studs and Duds” takes a look at the winners and losers from each of the Pittsburgh Steelers games during the 2020 season. Check with us after every game each week for our list, and to also see who climbed, or fell, down the rankings.
Studs
Ben Roethlisberger
Ben Roethlisberger did not have his best game from a statistical standpoint in the Steelers’ 19 to 14 win over the Baltimore Ravens, throwing for 266 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception, but he played very well, marching the Steelers’ offense up and down the field all game. He did not play well enough in the red zone, and on 4th down, but if his receivers had not dropped multiple touchdowns, deep passes, and 3rd down conversions,
Roethlisberger likely would have had a monster game and the Steelers would have won by a significant margin. He also made a clutch, impressive throw on 3rd down to ice the game with a little over 2 minutes left.
T.J. Watt
Another game means another huge performance from edge rusher T.J. Watt. Watt missed one or two tackles in the game, which tends to happen when playing against the Baltimore Ravens, but outside of that, he gave the Ravens’ offensive line all they could handle. He picked up 2 sacks, bringing his season total up to 11, and made a significant tackle for loss on Gus Edwards that knocked the Ravens out of field goal range in the 3rd quarter.
Joe Haden
I debated putting cornerback Joe Haden in the studs column after blowing his coverage on Marquise Brown late in the game that resulted in a touchdown and gave the Ravens a chance to steal a win. But it’s hard to keep a player out after they return an interception for a touchdown. He also played well in coverage and helped out in the running game as well.
Minkah Fitzpatrick
Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick did not have a stellar game by his standards, but he did his job coming up to clean up mistakes and make crucial tackles. But the play that put Minkah in the studs column for this game was a pass break up at the end of the first half.
The Ravens drove down the field to the 1 yard line and nearly took the lead as time expired on what looked like a wide-open touchdown pass. But Minkah knocked the ball out of the tight end’s hands at the last second, keeping the Steelers in the lead as they went into halftime.
Cameron Heyward
Defensive end Cameron Heyward also made a heroic play that kept the Ravens out of the end zone at the end of the first half. After the Ravens got down to the 1 yard line, Cam blew up the next play by stuffing Gus Edwards in the backfield. The play, in conjunction with Minkah’s pass breakup, kept the Steelers in front going into the half.
James Washington
Wide receiver James Washington did not have a huge game by any stretch, catching only 2 passes for 19 yards. But he made one of the most important plays of his young career late in the game against the Ravens.
After the defense gave up a touchdown that put the Ravens within one score with a little over 2 minutes left in the game, the Steelers could not risk giving the ball back to the Ravens’ offense.
On 3rd down, Washington kept the chains moving with an impressive 16-yard reception while 3 Ravens defenders tried to rip the ball out of his hands.
Honorable Mentions
There were a few players in the game who I thought came close to having stud performances and deserved some recognition, but their play was a bit too up and down.
Eric Ebron came down with 7 receptions for 54 yards and looked like a mismatch that Ben Roethlisberger could exploit, but it is hard to list him as a stud when he dropped 2 or 3 crucial passes on 3rd down and in the red zone.
Wide receiver Chase Claypool had a similar game, catching 6 passes for 52 yards, but like Ebron, he also dropped multiple passes in the game, one of which was a deep ball that would have given the Steelers momentum and great field position in Ravens territory to start the game.
Wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster played a physical game, “trucking” a Ravens defender to pick up a 1st down that would have gotten the crowd going at Heinz Field if there were more fans present. He also scored the pivotal touchdown later in that same drive that put the Steelers up 19 to 7 late in the game, but did not have a big game outside of those plays.
Duds
Ray-Ray McCloud
Wide receiver and punt returner Ray-Ray McCloud did not have a good game. He had a catastrophic fumble in the 1st quarter that set the Ravens up deep in Pittsburgh territory and resulted in Baltimore’s only touchdown of the evening. He also did not do much in the return game to make up for the mistake.
Diontae Johnson
Second-year wide-receiver Diontae Johnson killed the Steelers in this game. He dropped two passes that more than likely would have been touchdowns, or at least would have gotten the Steelers’ offense down on the 1-yard line.
Johnson dropped another huge catch on 3rd down late in the 4th quarter that would have kept the chains moving and likely would have put the game out of reach for the Ravens. It was a costly mistake, and the Ravens took advantage of the opportunity by scoring a touchdown on their ensuing possession.
