The Steelers made a statement in their 18-16 win over the Ravens in week 11. It was their NFL-leading fifth win against teams over .500, proving they are a threat in the AFC. John Harbaugh and Lamar Jackson couldn’t shake the Steelers defense as usual. National analysts everywhere proclaimed the Steelers would finish last in the AFC North this season. Mike Tomlin crushes that narrative every season.
With the top spot in the AFC North on the line, this game was chippy. This game was AFC North down to the core. Only one touchdown was scored in the game, and the winning team didn’t score it. There was constant yapping from both sides with plenty of scrums after the whistle. Mike Tomlin has outclassed John Harbaugh eight times in their last ten meetings. The Steelers continued to lock up reigning MVP Lamar Jackson.
Jackson has struggled against the Steelers throughout his whole career. He’s just 1-4 against them with five touchdowns and eight interceptions. He dominates the rest of the league but can’t figure the Steelers out. His only win against Pittsburgh came in that odd season that Mason Rudolph and Duck Hodges were under center.
Russell Wilson has only started four games as a Steeler but his connection with George Pickens has been building for a long time. Pickens has thrived with Wilson under center, slotting himself at third in the NFL in receiving yards with 728. He trails just Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson. That’s an elite company for the young Steelers star. The fantasy football community said that he couldn’t run routes or get separated. Checkmate.
Although they wouldn’t admit it, week 11 was a big game for the former Ravens, Patrick Queen and DeShon Elliott. Facing an old team that didn’t even offer you a contract is all the fuel that they needed as they both made their presence felt. Queen led the Steelers in tackles with ten and recovered a fumble he forced. He was flying around out there.
Elliott found a way to impact the game, picking up the first-quarter fumble that Nick Herbig forced on Derrick Henry. He only made two tackles but still found a way to get some revenge against his former squad. Diontae Johnson didn’t find himself in the same boat as Queen and Elliott, dropping the one pass that came his way in his second game as a Raven.
Justin Tucker’s reign as the league’s best kicker appears to be over. The future hall of famer missed two crucial kicks from 47 and 50 yards in Pittsburgh in week 11 that cost his team the game. Tucker later blamed the misses on the field conditions. That is interesting, considering that Chris Boswell had a career day in the same field.
Boswell put the team on his back, converting all six of his field goal attempts with a long of 57 yards. The Steelers’ offense couldn’t find the endzone in week 11, but Boswell always has their back. He’s made 29 field goals with seven games remaining this season. With so many AFC North games on the schedule, he has a chance to break the NFL record of 44 field goals made, set by David Akers in 2011.
The Steelers’ defense has been great all season, but week 11 was their biggest test so far. Baltimore is a great offensive team, and Pittsburgh held them to one touchdown and just 16 points, their lowest total on the season. Mike Tomlin and the Steelers have Lamar Jackson figured out. The two-time MVP has beaten them once in his career.
Pittsburgh’s defense took the ball out of the Ravens’ hands three times. Rookie linebacker Payton Wilson came up with an incredible interception in the fourth quarter to turn the tides. The Steelers. This unit is better and deeper than years past. They have only allowed 162 points through 10 games, the fewest a Steelers team has allowed since the legendary 2008 defense. This is a championship-caliber defense.
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