Pittsburgh Steelers Preview – Will it be Another One and Done?

Story by Yinzer Crazy Contributor Harv Aronson. Contact Harv at Totalsportsrecall@gmail.com

As you can see Jackson has had some big numbers but no Super Bowl appearance. Heading into this wild card matchup, it is every Steelers fan’s hope that Baltimore takes us lightly. We’ve always seemed to have Lamar Jackson’s number with the exception of the last outing. 

Offense vs. Offense

In my opinion, there are players on the Steelers that are playing for their future jobs in Pittsburgh in this wild card game. That begins with Russell Wilson. He and Justin Fields are on one-year contracts therefore they will be free agents in 2025. If George Pickens doesn’t grow up and change his attitude, he may be on the outs this year. Minkah Fitzpatrick for all his great play, has not returned to the form he initially brought to the Steelers. 

For me, Wilson is playing for his job if he wants to return to the Steelers in 2025. I said he would have to ball out in the final game of the season playing the Bengals. He did not. Now, we will find out what kind of playoff quarterback he is at this stage of his career. He’s been through the post-season ringer before and has won the Super Bowl. Now he must absolutely be at his best facing Baltimore.

If I’m Arthur Smith and knowing that his offense has yet to score a touchdown on the first possession of the game this season, my first play from scrimmage in the first quarter is airing it out. Throw downfield long to George Pickens. Take that chance. The Steelers as nine-point underdogs are not expected to be victorious by nearly everyone. With that said, it might work to their advantage to take chances. Jump on the Ravens EARLY. 

Mike Tomlin needs to throw any conservative game plan out the window. Just relying on the running game and going with RPO plays won’t work against Baltimore. Misdirection plays with a few trick plays as well as trying to catch the Ravens defense unprepared should be the game plan. With all that said, it still begins with Russell Wilson. I believe only because of his playoff experience and given his many years in the league, is why Tomlin will have him start the game and not Justin Fields. For Wilson, he must not throw an interception, hold the ball closely when running with it, and do his best to avoid any sacks if he sees trouble.

For Baltimore’s offense, their game plan is obvious. Lamar Jackson, and Derrick Henry. Zay Flowers would have been a threat but a knee injury is keeping him out of this game and while you never want to see anyone injured, this helps the Steelers’ cause. The combination of those three weapons was the difference in the Raven’s most recent victory over Pittsburgh. The Steelers defense has done well outside of that last meeting defending Lamar Jackson but with Henry in his backfield this season, it has made that Baltimore offense the most prolific in the NFL. If those three have bad games, advantage Pittsburgh.

Defense vs. Defense

This will be the difference maker in the game. If Pittsburgh’s defense can stop Lamar Jackson from making big pass plays and cutting off his running lanes as well as preventing Derrick Henry from reaching a 100 yard day, then this will be a close game and Pittsburgh will have a shot at victory depending on Russell Wilson and the success of the offense. 

The way I see it, for the Steelers to be effective on defense, it MUST begin with a solid game from T.J. Watt. His production has been down in this current losing streak, and he needs to come back to life in a big way in the most important game of the season. It starts with Watt creating pressure and when he is on, the rest of his teammates on defense seem to play better. Minkah Fitzpatrick is another key on defense. Fitzpatrick needs to return to the player he was when he first came to the Steelers.

Baltimore’s secondary defense was one of the worst in the league for most of the season, but they’ve vastly improved as of late despite finishing the regular season with the 31st worst pass defense in the NFL. It’s the Ravens’ rush defense that it tops in the league thus why in the offense vs. offense above, I indicated a running attack may not be a good idea (Baltimore averaging a yield of 80.1 yards-per-game). The Steelers averaged 127.4 yards per game so it will be interesting to see if they can reach that mark in this matchup. In the 34-17 loss to the Ravens on December 21 in Baltimore, the Steelers ran the ball for 117 yards and 217 passing yards. Baltimore on the other hand rushed for 220 yards. 162 of those belonged to Derrick Henry. 

Intangibles

No one but no one is giving the Pittsburgh Steelers a shot in this matchup. That is most likely because they are on a four-game losing skid and in three of their final four games were blown out. Their once turnover happy defense has been nothing of the short in this slump the team is experiencing. However, the pressure is heavily on the shoulders of the Ravens. They are expected to defeat the Steelers, They have been talking “Super Bowl or bust,” and with Lamar Jackson having a M.V.P. type season, he has a reputation of being a failure in the postseason. Jackson has been to the playoffs four times and to the second round twice, only to still be waiting on a Super Bowl appearance. As I always do I will be cheering on the Steelers to come out on top and will hope they find some kind of magic to pull off what would be a major upset, but based on Pittsburgh’s last four games, unless they bring their “A” game, they won’t win. 



Prediction

Ravens 27 Steelers 17.