Airing of Grievances: Mitch Trubisky's interceptions, regressing run defense define Steelers loss' to Ravens

I guess the Pittsburgh Steelers only ordered a short stack of wins.

After weeks of discussing “stacking victories” down the stretch of this rudderless season, the Steelers only could manage two in a row against equally listless foes in the Indianapolis Colts and Atlanta Falcons.

That winning streak ended Sunday afternoon with a 16-14 defeat against the Baltimore Ravens. It was a game that featured the Steelers losing with their second-string quarterback to Baltimore’s second- and third-string quarterbacks.

Ravens starter Lamar Jackson didn’t suit up because of a knee injury. Tyler Huntley started the game. Third-stringer Anthony Brown finished it after Huntley was removed for concussion evaluation.

Steelers starter Kenny Pickett left the game in the first quarter after being evaluated for a concussion as well. He was cleared and came back to play one series. Then he sat out the rest of the game, yielding the job to Mitch Trubisky because of a head injury for a second time this season.

In the end, Trubisky, the Steelers rush defense and special teams gave us plenty to gripe about in this week’s “Airing of Grievances.”

Zapped in red zone: Technically, the Steelers were 2 of 4 in the red zone. But the Steelers had three drives deep into Ravens territory that were total busts. So it felt worse than that.

Down 10-7 in the second quarter, from the Baltimore 17, Trubisky threw an interception to Roquan Smith.

ROQUAN SMITH INTERCEPTION!!!!

Tune in on CBS!! pic.twitter.com/7x8dkvb4ER

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 11, 2022

According to Trubisky, contrary to what some speculated, Steelers receiver Steven Sims did not run the wrong route on that play. Trubisky said he’d double-check the depth of the route on tape, but he blamed himself for trying to force the ball to Pat Freiermuth even though the tight end got jammed up at the line, throwing off the timing of the play.

Then, with 26 seconds left in the second quarter at the Ravens’ 23, Trubisky was intercepted again, this time by Patrick Queen.

INTERCEPTION @Patrickqueen_!!! BEST LINEBACKERS IN THE GAME!!#PROBOWLVOTE | : CBS pic.twitter.com/iDD4CJBgQt

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 11, 2022

“I kind of forced that one,” Trubisky said. “I think I was going to Pat (Freiermuth) again down in the red zone. When linebackers are (at) depth like that, there’s probably somebody open underneath.”

In the fourth quarter, the Steelers got to the Ravens’ 17 with 12 minutes, 9 seconds left. He was sacked back to the 22-yard line on a second-down snap. Eventually, Chris Boswell tried a 40-yard field goal that was blocked.

“We probably left nine points out there today,” center Mason Cole said. “It’s the difference in the game if we get any of those points. It stinks. This one hurts.”

Indeed. But how about just one touchdown instead of three field goals? Score a touchdown on at least one of those opportunities, and maybe it’s a different outcome.

Related:

• First Call: Ravens Pro Bowler admits being exposed by Steelers; John Harbaugh hypes up late drive; Jaromir Jagr's latest exploits
• Madden Monday: Just blaming Mitch Trubisky for Steelers' loss is the easy way out
• Steelers vs. Ravens: What they're saying in Baltimore after win

Mitch’s misses: Trubisky was critical of himself in a number of areas, particularly a failure to look off defensive backs and a predetermination to make specific plays to specific receivers.

On the first two picks, Trubisky admitted trying to force balls to Freiermuth. On the third interception, Trubisky said he wanted to take a shot downfield to Diontae Johnson. But as he was doing it, he didn’t successfully look off defensive back Marcus Williams.

INTERCEPTION @MarcusWilliams!!!!

WELCOME BACK!!!

TUNE IN ON CBS. pic.twitter.com/Vr3aw1s2NT

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 11, 2022

“I’ve got to be better with my eyes. It looked like the free safety had a jump on it. That’s why he got over the top there before Diontae did. I wanted to go down the field and take a shot. I was too aggressive and could be better with my eyes,” Trubisky said.

In his last game (Oct. 16) replacing Pickett, Trubisky was 9 of 12 for 144 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions in a victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This time around, Trubisky was 22 of 30 for 276 yards and those three interceptions in the loss.

It’s a loss that essentially ends any wild postseason speculation and puts the Steelers’ 18-year run of avoiding a losing season in peril of ending with one more defeat.

Feels too familiar: The Steelers rush defense was last in the league in 2021 at 146.1 yards allowed per game. Yet it improved to the point that it entered last week’s game against the Atlanta Falcons seventh in the league at 104 yards per game.

Through halftime of last week’s game, Atlanta had just 28 yards rushing. But the Falcons wound up with 146 on the ground. And the Ravens rush attack chewed up 215 yards. Running back J.K. Dobbins had 120 yards on 15 carries after sitting out since Oct. 15.

The Steelers had allowed 220 rushing yards over a 3 ½-game span since their bye week through halftime of last week's game.

The Ravens exactly matched that themselves in one 58-minute span Sunday, until losing 5 yards on 3 kneeldowns to end the game.https://t.co/EZNpspR5FI

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) December 11, 2022

“I just thought we wore down. The pile was falling forward,” Tomlin said.

Linebacker T.J. Watt saw it a different way.

“I don’t think we got worn down. I think it was just a factor of not executing when we knew — everybody in the stadium knew—what they were going to do, and that was run the ball,” Watt said.

That was especially true when Baltimore running back Gus Edwards converted a back-breaking 6-yard run on a third-and-3 on the final snap before the two-minute warning.

Ups and downs: The Steelers kick coverage units were a disaster against the Indianapolis Colts two weeks ago. Last week against the Atlanta Falcons, they were great. So was the place-kicking and the punting.

No such luck from Danny Smith’s special teams units this time around. They went back in the wrong direction against Ravens.

Pressley Harvin flubbed a 17-yard punt in the first half. Nothing special at all happened in the return game. And Boswell had his only field-goal attempt of the game blocked by Calais Campbell.

After the game, Campbell credited his special teams coach for suggesting an adjustment in his rush technique on that play.

Ravens DE Calais Campbell said special team coordinator Chris Horton called an audible before his field goal block. He asked Campbell to use swim move on long snapper in A gap, and it worked.

— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) Dec. 11, 2022

“We allowed a known legendary guy to block a kick … Just (got) in there, in the gap, and blocked the kick,” Tomlin said. “You do those things, you don’t win. We understand that. We’re disappointed.”

While we are at it …: As we may be wishing for the return of the Heinz Red Zone ketchup bottles to cure the ills of the red-zone offense, the Steelers may want to consider giving “Renegade” a break.

If the Steelers’ lucky charm song can’t generate any luck against a third-string quarterback like Brown, then maybe it’s not so lucky.

The Steelers in-game entertainment staff played “Renegade” in hopes of generating a defensive answer to Campbell’s field-goal block during the ensuing television timeout. All it did was apparently fire up Campbell and the rest of the Ravens.

Calais Campbell really likes Renegade pic.twitter.com/nbJ88sN4zS

— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) December 11, 2022

The Ravens responded with a 13-play, 57-yard field-goal drive that made the score 16-7, ostensibly ending whatever faint hopes the Steelers had of winning the game.

Or making the playoffs.