Ravens defense is larcenous, as usual
It was no surprise the Steelers gave the Baltimore Ravens a heavy dose of Le’Veon Bell in the first meeting in October.
The Ravens ranked near the bottom of the league in run defense after allowing the Jacksonville Jaguars to rush for 166 yards and were without their run-stuffing defensive tackle Brandon Williams, who missed the game with an ankle injury.
The Steelers wasted little time handing the ball to Bell, who touched the ball on the first five plays and eight times on the opening scoring drive. By the time the Steelers completed a 26-9 victory for their first win in Baltimore in five years, Bell had carried a season-high 35 times for 144 yards — he also had a season-high 39 touches — and two touchdowns.
“With him not being there, that was kind of our game plan coming in,” quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said.
But this is a different Ravens defense now. Since the 340-pound Williams has returned, they have allowed just one team to rush for more than 100 yards, none in the past five. They have improved to 16th in run defense.
It is also a different Steelers offense. They are relying less on Bell, who has carried 50 times in the past three games, his fewest three-game total since the opening of the 2016 season; and more on Roethlisberger, who is showing there is nothing tired or old about his throwing arm.
Roethlisberger has attempted 130 passes in the past three games, the second most attempts in a three-game span in his career. He has also thrown 12 touchdowns in the past 14 quarters, eight in two prime-time home games against the Tennessee Titans and Green Bay Packers.
And, when the Steelers (102) and Ravens (7-5) meet Sunday night at Heinz Field, the Ravens will again be without another significant defensive player — cornerback Jimmy Smith, who sustained a season-ending Achilles tendon injury last week against the Detroit Lions. The Steelers, though, will be without rookie receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, who is serving a one-game league suspension.
Smith will be replaced by rookie Marlon Humphrey, the team’s No. 1 draft choice.
“He’s going to be tested,” Ravens Coach John Harbaugh said of Humphrey. “There are going to be good moments. And when you play that position, I don’t care whether you’re a rookie or a veteran, you’re going to have moments where they’ll make a play. I mean, the league is built that way; it’s built for playmakers to make plays in the passing game, and that’s just going to happen, and you’re going to have to bounce back and make the next play and understand how that works.”
The Ravens have had a penchant for making plays on defense. They lead the league with 20 interceptions, 29 takeaways and three shutouts and are tied for the league lead with seven scoring returns, five of which have been produced by the defense (three interceptions, two fumbles).
Safety Eric Weddle, who had the lone Ravens interception in the first meeting, is the leading culprit. He has a teamhigh five interceptions that includes a 45-yard return for touchdown against the Lions. Weddle was named AFC defensive player of the week for the first time in his career after also getting a sack and forced fumble against the Lions.
“He is a guy that has really come along in the second half of the season, if you will,” Roethlisberger said. “He is really making more and more plays. You really have to know where he is all the time. I have played against another safety there in Baltimore for many years in Ed Reed that was a lot the same way, all over the football field. If the ball touched [Reed’s] hands, it was going to be intercepted, and every once in a while, he is going to blitz and try and get you down.”
Roethlisberger, though, has thrown three interceptions in the past two games, which could be problematic against a larcenous Ravens secondary.