The Pittsburgh Steelers needed to come out with guns blazing against Baltimore to have a chance to advance past the Wild Card round of the NFL Playoffs. The Ravens possessed the best offense in the league in the regular season, so we knew it was going to take an aggressive game plan and great execution to get the job done.
Unfortunately, we got neither.
The Steelers won the toss and took the football—insisting to make something happen on an opening drive for once. Instead, they were met with a punt after six pays and just 19 yards. On the very next possession, the Ravens marched down the throat of Pittsburgh's defense for a 13-play, 95-yard touchdown drive.
On the next series, Russell Wilson and the offense mustered up just eight yards before a three-and-out. When the Steelers finally got the ball back on their third possession of the game, they had a chance to keep the chains moving on 4th and inches.
Instead, a conservative Mike Tomlin opted to punt the football back to an offense that averaged 424.5 yards per game and 30.5 points per game during the regular season. Seriously?
By the end of the first half, the cowardice Steelers got exactly what was coming to them. Thanks to their conservative game plan and inability to move the football, Wilson and company put up a whopping zero points on the board by halftime—trailing the Ravens with a 21-0 deficit.
Steelers deserve to lose vs. Ravens with unacceptable game plan
There's no excuse for this. None whatsoever. A team that just lost four straight games to close out the regular season needed to throw everything they got at their biggest AFC North rival for a chance to compete in the Wild Card round. Sadly, fans were given more of the same—a conservative game plan and practically no answer for moving the chains.
In the first half, Russell Wilson managed a mere 44 passing yards on nine attempts (4.9 yards per attempt) and took a sack after holding onto the football too long. Pittsburgh's lead rusher, Najee Harris, had just 12 yards while their lead receiver was Pat Freiermuth with 15 yards. Geoge Pickens had one target in the first half and his explosive play was wiped away due to an offensive pass interference call.
The Ravens had just the opposite story. Derrick Henry managed 100 yards on 13 carries in the first two quarters—including a touchdown. Meanwhile, Lamar Jackson went 13 of 15 for 144 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.
Mike Tomlin needs to be under fire with the Steelers set to lose five straight games and continue their eight-year drought without a playoff win. This is sickening, and fans have had enough. What an inexcusable display of football.