Blown opportunities cost Steelers dearly in loss to Ravens

Blown Opportunity #9: Fourth Quarter, 8:31 Remaining, Steelers trail 13-7

On 3rd-and-four from the Ravens’ 47, Brown delivered like a UPS truck, hitting Mark Andrews on a seven-yard pass for a key first down at the Steelers’ 46-yard-line. It was the last of his five passes in the game, but it kept the clock moving and the Steelers were unable to stop the Ravens rushing attack until just over four minutes to play. Tucker’s 30-yard field goal capped off a 13-play, 57-yard drive lasting nearly eight minutes and gave Baltimore a commanding 16-7 lead with 3:22 remaining.

Blown Opportunity #10: Fourth Quarter, 2:14 Remaining, Steelers trail16-14

After the Steelers responded to the Ravens field goal with a 5-play, 75-yard drive that took just 49 seconds and was capped by a Trubisky-to-Freiermuth 10-yard TD, Pittsburgh had one last chance. However, the Steelers run defense couldn’t stop the Ravens, who earned the game-clinching first down on a six-yard-run on 3rd-and-three just before the two-minute warning. The Ravens ran out the clock after that.

That’s 10 blown opportunities that a team like the Steelers can’t afford to make, especially with their starting quarterback out for most of the game.

So, chalk it up to another disappointing performance in a season full of them. You can blame it on youth and inexperience, or even argue that the Steelers were out-coached. Whatever the reason — and the truth is that it’s likely a combination of the two — the playoff dreams will have to wait barring a miracle finish. But it’s important for this team to learn from this.

Three costly interceptions (two in scoring position), a blocked field goal, and the inability to stop the opponent’s running game when it counted (especially in December in an AFC North game) can’t happen if you want to be a contender in the NFL.

If the Steelers could have taken advantage of at least one or two of their many blown opportunities Sunday, they would have likely won this game.