If I had told you the Baltimore Ravens would have lost a fumble and missed two field goals in the first quarter, you'd probably think the Pittsburgh Steelers would have turned this into multiple scores. Think again.
From the very beginning of their Week 11 contest against the biggest division rival, it's been the defense giving this team opportunities and the offense failing to convert. On the second play of the game, Nick Herbig forced a fumble on Derrick Henry and the the Steelers recovered the ball in enemy territory. Not long after, Pittsburgh's defense held the Ravens to long field goal attempts (47 yards and 50 yards) twice, which resulted in a pair of misses by kicker Justin Tucker.
Despite all of their favorable opportunities to flip the field and convert the turnovers into points, Russell Wilson and company were unable to do so. By the end of the first quarter, the Steelers recorded a dismal 31 yards on 17 plays -- a mere 1.8 yards per carry. On four possessions, this is unacceptable.
Steelers offense needs to step up vs. Ravens
Entering this contest, we thought there was a chance this could be a high-scoring affair. The Ravens led the NFL in scoring and offensive yardage entering Week 11. But somehow, this quickly converted back to the low-scoring slugfest we've become accustomed to seeing with these two teams.
This is Pittsburgh Steelers football, but they aren't going to be able to keep the league's best offense down for long. The defense is doing their part, and it's time for Russell Wilson and company to step up and do their job. This offense has been hard to watch.