Steelers 18 - Ravens 16: Mike Tomlin Was at his Best

Raise your hand if you’ve asked for the Steelers to fire Mike Tomlin.

Is your hand in the air like mine?

To be fair, Tomlin has given us plenty of reasons to make the request over the years. Whether it's his poor clock management, terrible challenges, or lack of playoff wins over the past

7 seasons, Steelers fans have been justified in some of their dissatisfaction.

But I have to give credit where it is due, and on Sunday Mike Tomlin cooked up the master recipe to beat this explosive Baltimore Ravens team.

Going into the game, it was widely thought that in order to win, you would need to score at least 35 points.

The Ravens are the NFL’s most explosive offense, and the Steelers have been hanging 30 points on teams more regularly than they have since Ben Roethlisberger retired.

The question for Mike Tomlin was, what gives the Steelers a better chance of winning?  Playing in the track meet that the Ravens are used to, or slowing the game down for Baltimore?

How do you slow down the NFL’s number one offense?  You take the ball out of their hands, literally.

Time of possession was 36:22 - 23:38 in the Steelers favor.  That means for almost 2/3 of the game, Lamar Jackson was watching.

This was a full 7 minutes less than the Ravens have averaged per game this season.

This was the best way to stop the points from going on the board, and I have to think this was all by design.

In years past, time of possession was key for Mike Tomlin because his offense was so inept.  But under Russell Wilson, it's a bit different.

Could the Steelers have won in a shootout?  Sure.

Was that their best chance of winning?  No, and Tomlin knew this.

In the NFL, there are an average of 2.55 plays per minute of playing time. 

So by reducing the Ravens time of possession by 7 minutes, that means the Ravens ran about 18 less plays in the game.

Those 18 plays could be either two 9 play scoring drives, six 3 and outs, or somewhere in between.

Even if it was just one scoring drive the Steelers eliminated, Tomlin knew that could be the difference between winning and losing, and it was.

It was the opposite of what everyone was calling for, but it was absolutely the right call, and Tomlin made it.

My other take aways from the Ravens game: 

• The redzone offense needs to be better, but I just wanted to point out that if just one of those possessions turns into a touchdown, we’re looking at a comfortable win for the Steelers.  

  
  

  For them to be as poor as they were in the redzone and still beat one of the NFL’s Super Bowl Contenders is saying a lot.

  
  

• Speaking of Super Bowl contenders, I think the Steelers are firmly planted in that category now.  

  
  

  Last week against the Commanders was their first test, and they passed.  This week was a bigger test, and they passed again.

  
  

• Payton Wilson might be a star in the making.  He needs to be able to play against the run better to be an every down linebacker, but the play he made on the interception in the 4th quarter was unbelievable.  

  
  

  It made me think of when Devin Bush made a similar, but slightly less impressive interception against the Ravens not so long ago, here's hoping Wilson’s career goes in a different direction than Bush’s. 

  
  

• Why was Derrick Henry used so sparingly?  He only had 13 carries on the day, and all I could think every time I saw him on the sideline was thank God!  

  
  

  He very nearly broke one of his big runs, and it just felt like it was about to happen at any moment.

  
  

• What was Russ thinking? That throw over Darnell Washington’s head that resulted in an interception was inexcusable.  

  
  

  The good news is, Wilson doesn’t have a long history of throwing redzone picks, but in that scenario you either throw it where he can catch it, or throw it away and take the 3 points.

  
  

• Chris Boswell is unreal.  Let's just enjoy him while we have him.  It cannot be understated how big of a weapon he is.  

  
  

  Seriously, when you cross the 50 yard line, you are in field goal range.  What's crazier is how accurate he is from that distance.  Having a kicker this good is such a relief for us Steelers fans.

  
  

• Nick Herbig played a monster game in Alex Highsmith's absence. Not only did he cause Derrick Henry to fumble on the opening drive, but he absolutely blew up the two point conversion play forcing Lamar Jackson to the outside.  

  
  

  Speaking of that play, how about Joey Porter Jr.?  He’ll never be the tackler that his Dad was, but his tackling has come a long way, and he and Herbig saved the game with their execution on that play.

  
  

• Is it really a rivalry anymore?  I know it is, relax.  But seriously, the Steelers have won 8 of the last 9 matchups between these teams. Mike Tomlin has John Harbaugh’s number right now and that cannot be going over well in Baltimore.

  
  

  Just imagine if it were the reverse?  We’d all be calling for Tomlin to be fired, instead we’re all starting to wonder, is Tomlin the Coach of the Year?

  
  

• Next up is Cleveland, and while they are a pathetic football team, I view this game as a toss up.  AFC North road games are never easy, and the steelers are 1-3-1 in their last 5 games in Cleveland.  

  
  

  Also, they have played in Cleveland on a Thursday night at least three other times that I can recall and all three have been losses.  

  
  

  There was a freezing cold 2009 game with swirling winds, the Myles Garrett game in 2019, and then 2 years ago with Mitch Trubisky.  

  
  

  I don’t mean to be Debbie Downer, I just am pointing to the obvious, this game is anything but a gimme.  If they lose this game, it doesn’t mean they aren’t a championship caliber team, it just makes their path to that championship a lot harder.