Steelers stock rising/falling after overtime loss to Ravens

The Pittsburgh Steelers headed into their week five matchup against Baltimore at 1-3 on the year. With a win, they could potentially be in first place with a Browns loss on Monday.

The Steelers came into the game fresh off their first win of the 2019 season against Cincinnati last week. The game was a must win, and they did so handily winning 27-3.

Fast forward to this week, and they can make up more ground in the north with a win against Baltimore. The offense would need to adjust from heavy wildcat use in week four, but they started out against Baltimore with it, and it was ugly.

The Steelers needed a formal offensive strategy, and once they went to that, a touchdown ensued to gain some momentum. The defense played well and kept the Steelers in the game all day, and the offense just kept falling short.

The defense stopped the Ravens in overtime only to see a fumble turn into great field position for Baltimore. The Ravens nailed a game winning field goal and walked away the victors.

Many players made their mark in the game, including a player returning from injury. There were some members of the organization; however, that did not help their cause in this week’s stock report.

Vince Williams: stock – up

Vince Williams has been out for some time now but made his return to the field on Sunday. He made his presence known earlier with multiple stops in the run game and tallied a sack as well as a pass defense late in the fourth quarter with Baltimore backed up at their own one.

Williams is a key cog in the Steelers run defense plans, and him being out has not been kind to the defense. With Williams returning, they could get a significant boost in base sets against the run.

Williams, next to Devin Bush, provides some thunder and lightning in the base set. This has been missing since Ryan Shazier‘s injury, and his return is welcomed with open arms to this defense.

Cameron Sutton: stock – up

Sutton has trended up since the end of the 2018 season when he took over for a struggling and banged-up Mike Hilton. Sutton had a crucial pass break up early in the game to force the Ravens to kick a field goal.

Sutton has improved every week in coverage and has become one of the better tackling corners on the team. His improved play allows the defensive coaches to use the two strategically and utilize their strengths each week.

Sutton improving in coverage and tackling well is likely a reason the Steelers pumped the breaks on paying Hilton a multi-year extension. If Sutton can continue his solid improvement, he may find himself the full-time nickel corner as early as late this season but definitely could earn the job in 2020.

Randy Fichtner: stock – down

Fichtner gets his credit for his creativity last week with the wildcat offense to gain some momentum against Cincinnati. However, Baltimore is no Cincinnati, and the decision to run it early did not pay off.

There were multiple lost yardage plays and the terrible Jaylen Samuels interception that led to a Ravens touchdown early on. The wildcat offense is not new, but NFL defenses figured that out long ago, and it only works in short spurts, when it does actually work.

The wildcat was only part of the problem as Fichtner’s offense also mustered just six points off two first half interceptions. The wildcat reared its ugly head on the drive and resulted in a loss on the play, and then a sack forced a Steelers field goal after having second and one in the red zone.

The Steelers must get creative on offense without Ben Roethlisberger, but when something does not work, they need to move on. They cannot afford to dig holes for the offense.

Jaylen Samuels: stock – down

Samuels had a great game against Cincinnati, but week five was a tad different. A wildcat pass was called early, and he threw a bad pass to James Washington, and it was intercepted.

Samuels is at least getting touches, but his production seems to be hit or miss every week. He has a lot of talent, and his swiss army knife versatility brings endless options for the Steelers offense.

Samuels also had a big dropped pass late in the game where he had room to run. He needs to make those catches if he wants to continue to be involved in the offense regularly.

The Steelers have a good duo in Samuels and James Conner when the two are both clicking, but they need Samuels to be consistent. If that can happen, it will help whoever is under center for each game.

JuJu Smith-Schuster: stock – down

Juju has had a slow start as the number one in the offense, but any logical person expected that. He has emerged as a leader on offense at a young age and is a well-liked teammate.

Despite being a young star in the league, JuJu had a costly fumble against Baltimore that ultimately put the Ravens in position to win the game. This is the second such fumble by him in less than a year, dating back to 2018 against the Saints.

JuJu is no doubt a good receiver and has significant play ability, but him providing opposing defenses with big plays cannot become a regular thing. The most impact is felt by the defense who did their jobs after deferring on the coin toss and dominating the Ravens first overtime possession.

JuJu will take responsibility for the fumbled and take the loss on his shoulders, but the rest of the offense should also take accountability for failing to capitalize fully on two first half interceptions by the defense.

The Steelers are now 1-4 after a devastating loss and are now in danger of having to roll out Devlin Hodges to start games after Mason Rudolph‘s scary concussion against the Ravens. The team is at risk of finishing in range of the top ten and having no pick to show for it. Minkah is nice, but a top ten pick is as well.

If Pittsburgh is going to make this season respectable, they have to rely on the defense. They also need to take the turnovers the defense provides them and score touchdowns off of them, or this will continue to be a long, long season for the team and the fans alike.