The Baltimore Ravens ended the season strong, winning their 12th consecutive game and finishing with a 14-2 record, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 28-10.
With so many starters held out for this game, there wasn’t really much to take away from it. Making many judgments on how a bunch of backups functioned isn’t very fair to the entire team and how they’d normally play. However, we did learn a number of things thanks to the backups getting the job done that the Ravens can carry forward to the postseason.
Ravens backups are better than other teams’ starters
The Ravens got the job done on offense (four field goals and a rushing touchdown), defense (safety) and special teams (fumbled punt returned for a touchdown) in this game. In every capacity and every facet of the game, Baltimore’s backups beat up Pittsburgh’s starters.
Beating a division rival is impressive no matter how you slice it. But to have done it in spite of not playing most of the offensive starters and several defensive starters as well makes it even better.
The difference between an 8-8 team and a 10-6 team is pretty small — a few balls bouncing the wrong way or some flags at the wrong times. That makes beating any NFL team a difficult task, regardless of their record. And in 2019, no team has been better than the Ravens at it, even when they’re not at their best.
Considering Pittsburgh was on the verge of becoming a playoff team, the notion that Baltimore’s second-stringers are better than them should scare everyone else in the AFC playoffs.
The Ravens are the best running the ball
In the rain, without two starting offensive linemen and starting quarterback Lamar Jackson; everyone pretty much knew what the Ravens’ gameplan was going to be. Yet, Baltimore absolutely bludgeoned the Steelers on the ground all game long. In the end, the Ravens finished with 223 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown on 44 carries — good enough for a 5.1 yard-per-carry average.
Keep in mind that Pittsburgh entered this game as the fourth-best defense and 10th best against the run . . . That’s how good Baltimore has been running the ball this season. With everything going against them and their opponent knowing what they were going to do, the Ravens still got the job done to a ridiculous degree. Then again, it’s why Baltimore set an NFL rushing record this season.
Entering the playoffs with some rest and running the ball effectively is the recipe for a Super Bowl. It grinds down games, keeps opposing offenses off the field and ultimately opens up big passing plays when they’re needed. And if the Ravens can do it against one of the best defenses in the league with everything against them, they should be able to do it all the way to Super Bowl LIV.
Robert Griffin off the mark
Taking over for the likely NFL MVP in Lamar Jackson, Robert Griffin III got his first start since 2016. But he showed quite a bit of rust as a passer, even though he looked plenty capable on the ground.
At times Griffin was slow in his reads and throwing the football. He was lucky to not have two balls intercepted in the first half alone, seeing them bounce off defenders’ hands. At the final whistle, Griffin finished by going 11-of-21 (52.4%) for 96 yards with no touchdowns and one interception (it was at the end of the game to hopefully close it out, so take it with a grain of salt), adding 50 rushing yards on eight carries.
It could have been the pouring rain or having to step in as the starter after not really playing all season long but it was a pretty lackluster showing regardless. With some meaningful snaps for other teams to look at, Griffin likely didn’t help his case with getting a starting job elsewhere.
