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» » Tim Benz: Despite beating Ravens, 'Airing of Grievances' outweigh 'Feats of Strength.' Just ask Mike Tomlin - TribLIVE

Tim Benz: Despite beating Ravens, 'Airing of Grievances' outweigh 'Feats of Strength.' Just ask Mike Tomlin - TribLIVE

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On Wednesday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t look like an undefeated team. They just looked like a team that somehow has managed to avoid losing.

Barely.

So far.

They outlasted a Baltimore Ravens team that could barely field a roster thanks to covid-19. Yet somehow, during a 19-14 win, the franchise with the NFL’s best record (11-0) looked very much on the same level as a Ravens unit that wheeled out a bunch of practice squad guys and backups.

Anyone who watched that performance probably was wishing Judge Judy was back on the air for their usual Wednesday afternoon programming instead of that slop.

But, hey, at least you got to see the Christmas tree lighting afterward.

It’s not often our “Airing of Grievances” outweigh our “Feats of Strength” after a Steelers win versus the hated Ravens. But, in this case, that has to be what happens.

FEATS OF STRENGTH

Tomlin talks the talk: I’ve never seen Mike Tomlin more candid than I saw him in his postgame press conference following the win. And I’ve never enjoyed one of his media Q&A sessions after a game more.

There was no “any time you step into an NFL stadium and emerge with a victory, it’s a good day” hogwash.

For anyone who wanted to chalk this game up to a simple, “well, they are still unbeaten” analysis, the coach isn’t hearing any of it.

Take it away, Mike.

“Really disappointed in our performance tonight,” Tomlin said. “We did enough to win, but that’s all. It was really junior varsity, to be quite honest with you.

“It was in all three phases. We couldn’t run the ball effectively when we needed to. We dropped too many significant passes. Very catchable, makeable passes. We didn’t make significant plays in the special teams game. Our kickoff coverage unit wasn’t good enough. We turned the (darned) ball over. We gave up big plays in critical moments on defense. Can’t have it. They converted a long run on a possession down before the half. Unacceptable. They had a 70-yard touchdown late in the game. Unacceptable. So we are fortunate tonight.

“It’s good to proceed with a victory. But not a lot happened tonight to be proud of or excited about.”

Tomlin knew how bad of an outing that was against an undermanned opponent, and he didn’t hold back in his analysis of it. The blunt assessment was necessary.

Go Joe!: Joe Haden’s first-quarter pick-6 turned out to be crucial.

After two dreadful offensive possessions to start the game, the Steelers needed the defense to help. It already did with Vince Williams’ fumble recovery earlier in the game to tilt field position.

But after a failed goal-to-go sequence (we’ll get to that later), the defense needed to score on its own.

Thankfully, Haden did. Based on the previous attempt to punch it in the end zone from the offense and Boswell’s kicking, there’s no guarantee they would’ve scored otherwise.

Minkah moment: Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick made a huge play at the end of the second quarter.

After the Ravens butchered the clock in a goal-to-go situation of their own, Ravens quarterback Robert Griffin III hurried a pass into the end zone as time was expiring on a third down. Baltimore tight end Luke Willson caught it for a split-second, but Fitzpatrick knocked the ball out of Willson’s hands at the last moment.

Had Willson held on, he would’ve given the Ravens a 13-12 lead with the extra point coming before halftime. Instead, the Steelers went into the locker room up 12-7 with possession to start the third quarter.

T.J. time: T.J. Watt had two more sacks.

That gives him 12 to take over the NFL lead. But with Bud Dupree suffering a knee injury and Stephon Tuitt on the covid-19 list (for now), Watt is likely to see even more protection slide his way for as long as those two are absent.

Tomlin provided no clarity on the status of Dupree’s health. But the NFL Network is saying it’s a torn ACL.

That’s awful. I’ve always enjoyed covering Dupree. He’s always seemed like a decent guy. He’s had two really good years in a row, playing through this season on the franchise tag. And now he has a busted ACL going into free agency.

That’s a terrible break for him and the team. He’s a vital player on that defense.

AIRING OF GRIEVANCES

The first quarter “and goal” sequence: After Williams recovered that fumble at the Ravens’ 22 in the first quarter, the Steelers picked up a first down on a well-crafted pass to Benny Snell.

From there, it was an ugly goal-to-go sequence from the 7. Benny Snell had a lethargic run on a pitch to the right. Two cluttered passes short of the goal line to tight end Eric Ebron resulted in a combined 6 yards. And on fourth down, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw an interception in the end zone.

The whole fourth-down play was hideous. A big personnel package was sent on the field, but they went empty in the shotgun anyway.

The design worked in the sense that Derek Watt popped wide open. But Roethlisberger missed him. Then he tried to scramble, threw on the run and was picked off by Tyus Bowser.

Thankfully, Bowser made the dumb move to run the ball out of the end zone, thus setting up a Griffin pass from his own 12-yard line three snaps later. And Haden ran it back for a touchdown.

Special teams: Chris Boswell’s short kickoffs early in the game were either bad execution or bad strategy. If that was the plan, why give extra yards to an offense that was tattered and conservative?

Boswell missed an extra point. That’s three failed extra points over the last four games.

Also, Ray-Ray McCloud fumbled a punt in the first quarter that set up a Baltimore touchdown. He completely biffed on a punt return with lots of space late in the third quarter, too. And don’t forget about Ola Adeniyi’s holding call on the second-half kickoff.

Day of drops: Roethlisberger’s receivers were a hot mess. Covid-19 wasn’t the only thing contagious at Heinz Field. So were dropped passes.

Chase Claypool dropped a deep shot on the first drive. Diontae Johnson dropped a slant that may have gone for a touchdown and couldn’t haul in a pass at the goal line in the closing seconds of the third quarter. Not to mention one that went through his hands for what would’ve been a huge gain down the sideline with 3 minutes, 30 seconds left.

James Washington couldn’t finish on a back-shoulder throw at the pylon in the second quarter. Ebron dropped one on a third down at the Baltimore 5-yard line that would’ve been first down and another on a third down with 7:28 left in the game. And JuJu Smith-Schuster dropped a slant on a third-and-1 on the opening drive of the third quarter.

In some cases, as they always do, the Ravens defensive backs did a nice job contesting at the catch point. But the Steelers receivers need to be better than that. Many times this year, they have been. On Wednesday afternoon, they were not.

After the win, Roethlisberger blamed himself for being inaccurate. As for Tomlin, when asked what he attributed the red-zone inefficiency and drops to, he simply replied, “Us (stinking).”

He’s never been more right.

Believe me now?: I have sounded off about the Steelers needing a rush attack, and the Baltimore contest is the perfect example as to why. On a day when the pass game isn’t clicking — with Roethlisberger being inaccurate and receivers dropping passes all over the place — it’d be nice to at least have a ground game there as a consistent “Plan B.”

A better opponent than a coronavirus-addled Ravens team exploits those empty drives.

For instance, offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner and Roethlisberger had such little faith in the run game that on third-and-1 and then fourth-and-1 to open the third quarter, they threw twice. That resulted in one more drop on third down, then an incompletion on fourth down.

Roethlisberger ended up with 51 attempts on a day he was facing a depleted team. And for that effort, it resulted in one offensive TD. That’s not balanced. And that’s not “efficient,” either.

But I know, I know. No one needs a run game in 2020, right?

Tuitt’s tweet: I like Stephon Tuitt.

But he did a really silly thing before the game, sending out this tweet.

Easy one? Really? What do the hard ones look like? The only one who padded his stats yesterday was Roethlisberger in the attempts column. Mainly because the offense had so many drops and couldn’t run the ball effectively.

Well, him and Marquise Brown after that 70-yard touchdown.

The Steelers are undefeated. They aren’t unbeatable. Far from it. Obviously. Pregame trash talk from those on the inactive list is unnecessary.

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.

Categories: Sports | Steelers/NFL | Breakfast With Benz | Tim Benz Columns

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