Steelers rushers gain less than 20 yards
When the Steelers were passing all over the league’s two worst defenses the past two weeks no one said much about them having the most lopsided pass-to-run ratio in the NFL after three games. But when the Steelers faced a good defense Sunday night and tried the same approach it didn’t work quite as well.
The Ravens smothered the Steelers running game early and then turned their attention to shutting down the passing game, which they did with great success in the second half of their 2614 victory at Heinz Field that dropped the Steelers to 1-2-1 entering next week’s game against the Atlanta Falcons.
The Steelers finished the game with 19 yards on 11 carries, a paltry 1.7 average. They didn’t get around to trying a running play until they were behind by 14 points midway through the first quarter. When they did James Conner gained a yard.
“It’s nonexistent because we’re behind,” quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said of the running game. “You can only run the ball so much when you’re down a bunch.”
That’s true, but the score was tied at halftime, and the Steelers only trailed by three at the end of the third quarter. Yet they only ran the ball four times on their 12 plays from scrimmage in the third quarter. Those four running plays gained a total of 6 yards.
“Give them credit,” offensive lineman David DeCastro said. “They carried the momentum. Look at the stat line and what they did on third downs, time of possession. You’re not going to win many games when you have 20 yards rushing.”
The Ravens ran the ball 30 times, gained 96 yards and held the ball 10 minutes longer than the Steelers.
The Steelers’ stat line was cringe-worthy. They punted on four consecutive possessions to open the second half. Roethlisberger threw an interception on their fifth possession, and they turned it over on downs on their final possession of the half.
“There really wasn’t frustration,” DeCastro said. “It was just kind of blah. It was just one of those games where there just wasn’t much working. There was no rhythm. We were just stuck in that hole. It was a tough game.”
The Steelers failed to score after halftime for a second consecutive game. They were able to hang on for a win last week in Tampa Bay, but they weren’t as fortunate against the Ravens.
“We have to correct ourselves more than anything,” offensive lineman Ramon Foster said. “It’s not a sense of just getting beat. We’re doing some stuff that’s beating ourselves, some stuff that’s correctable. Some things we just have to check ourselves on.”
Foster said the problems are small details that are adding up to some stagnant possessions.
“It’s just more execution whether it’s up front or on the back end,” Foster said. “Collectively, it’s little small things. It’s nothing to panic about. We have to be a team that realizes where are and turn it around. No one wants to be here with a 1-2-1 record.”
DeCastro said the Steelers better develop a sense of urgency pretty quick.
“It’s a hole, that’s for sure,” DeCastro said. “We’re professionals. We’ll get back to work. If we stack some wins we’ll be right back in it. But we have to start now.”