COMON Network

By COMON Network Team

Final Score – Pittsburgh Steelers (11-0) 19 def. Baltimore Ravens (6-5) 14

Week 12’s game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers was finally played, and it may not have been the poetic justice Steelers’ fans were hoping for, but the Wednesday afternoon contest saw the Steelers win and move to 11-0.

Pittsburgh, for the second-straight game against the Ravens, started the scoring with a pick-six. It was Joe Haden this time with a 14-yard INT return. Chris Boswell missed the point after. Later in the first, Gus Edwards scored from a yard out for the Ravens. Justin Tucker’s extra point gave the Ravens a lead. To round out the first half, Chris Boswell hit field goals from 25 and 27 yards to give the Steelers a 12-7 lead at the break.

JuJu Smith-Schuster’s one-yard touchdown grab from Ben Roethisberger with 12:30 left in the fourth before Marquise Brown hauled in a 70-yard catch and run score from Trace McSorley as the final score of the game, which, with Tucker’s PAT, made it 19-14.

The Steelers move to 11-0 with a tilt against the Washington Football Team due up on Monday night at 5 p.m.

COMON Network Team Commentary

DONNY CHEDRICK

• At least the defense showed up. With the exception of a 39-yard run by Robert Griffin III, the Hollywood Brown touchdown and the occasional first down carry by a Ravens’ running back, the Steelers defense did its job. A pick six courtesy of Joe Haden, sacks from the usual suspects (great movie, by the way) and just an overall shutdown performance. And that’s a good thing because the other side was the complete opposite.
• You can say slow start and that might be an understatement. The Steelers held a lead for majority of this game but did not score their first offensive touchdown until the beginning of the 4th quarter. Fortunately they played a lot of Baltimore’s backups because a game like this against Lamar Jackson probably wouldn’t go in the Steelers’ favor. Sloppy in almost every way. Too many drops, turnovers, the works. Be glad they didn’t need much.
• Just the start. If you thought this looked rough, sit tight. The Steelers just played the first of three games in a 12-day stretch. And despite records, the next two opponents won’t be a walk in the park. The Football Team in the midst of a battle for first place in the NFC East, fresh off a blowout win at Dallas. Oh, they will have 11 days rest on top of that awaiting a Steelers team on five days rest, who likely won’t begin preparing for that game until Friday. After that, a Sunday night game in Buffalo. An even tougher test.

Player of the Game – TJ Watt (PIT)

KYLE DAWSON

• Offense was brutal. Anybody who says the Steelers don’t need to be able to run the ball or should at the very least not refuse to run the football should watch this one back. The Steelers did not need to throw it 51 times today. Benny Snell managed to accumulate 16 carries. It’s the timing for me. Too many drops. Too many passes at or just off the line of scrimmage on situations where the receiver is required to make a man or several miss. The drops were unacceptable today. Ben might have completed 43 of his 51 passes or somewhere near there if it’s not for drops. That all said, besides one big drop on a 3rd-&-2 late, Eric Ebron was great. And James Washington made the play of the game. My goodness what a grab just outside of two minutes. That guy doesn’t get many chances, but when he does he takes advantage.
• The defense was good. Take away the 39-yard run by RGIII and the TD pass to Hollywood Brown where Terrell Edmunds made a big mistake, and this defense had a great day. Three sacks (two from TJ Watt), eight tackles for loss, a bunch of negative plays. I’m not sure the final stat, but through three quarters 15 of Baltimore’s 37 plays went for no gain or lost yardage. TJ Watt was fantastic. Seven total tackles, two sacks, three TFL and 3 QBH. He was the betting favorite coming into the week for DPOY and probably will stay there. Now the attention turns to Bud Dupree with his injury late. That needs to be non-serious.
• The fourth down play call on the INT by Ben was really bad. Derek Watt and Benny Snell were two receivers in a trips to the left. What the hell was that?
• An ugly win is a win. But if that Steelers’ team shows up against Washington, Buffalo, Indy or Cleveland, it’s an L. And in the playoffs, that’s probably a two-to-three score loss. They were lucky to get out today with a W in a game that had no business being a game. Mike Tomlin was GREAT in his press conference afterwards.

Player of the Game – TJ Watt (PIT) with a big-time honorable mention to James Washington (PIT)

JOE SMELTZER

• What we saw out there, aside from the last five minutes, was slop. Just absolute slop. From both sides. 
• The Steelers went up against a defensive front that was hurting big time due to COVID, and Randy Fitchtner was still scared to run the ball on short yardage situations. That tells me either A. The Steelers can’t run the ball or B. They don’t want to run the ball. Either way, it’s an issue.
• Not to be entirely negative, TJ Watt is an absolute monster. He’s my pick for player of the game, and from where I’m sitting, he’s my pick for Defensive Player of the Year.

Player of the Game – TJ Watt (PIT)