by Tony Fiorello
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - DECEMBER 21: Head coach Mike Tomlin (L) of the Pittsburgh Steelers and head coach John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens meet on the field after the game at M&T Bank Stadium on December 21, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Welcome to the 2024 NFL season’s Wild Card Weekend. Here at Buffalo Sports Page we will attempt to inform and educate our readers about the upcoming playoff games and what each team might do to emerge victorious.
One of the AFC’s wild card games will take place at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland as the Pittsburgh Steelers will face the Baltimore Ravens. Here’s what you should know:
HOUSTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 25: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens hands the ball off to Derrick Henry #22 of the Baltimore Ravens against the Houston Texans during the first half at NRG Stadium on December 25, 2024 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
RAVENS WILL RUN, RUN AND RUN SOME MORE
Before the 2019 season began, longtime Ravens head coach John Harbaugh promoted former Bills and San Francisco 49ers offensive play-caller Greg Roman to replace the outgoing Marty Mornhinweg. The top priority for Roman was quarterback Lamar Jackson, who is one of the most gifted quarterbacks in pro football and already a two-time league MVP.
According to Bucky Brooks of nfl.com, “As a passer, Jackson has shown tremendous progress. He has significantly improved his completion rate and passer rating while displaying a better overall feel for the game from the pocket. He’s at his best throwing the ball down the seams or on in-breaking routes between the numbers on traditional dropbacks and play-action passes. Although he remains a work in progress on throws to the outside, the Ravens have built their offense around the strengths of his game and by allowing him to be himself.”
Roman had experience working with mobile quarterbacks like Tyrod Taylor and Colin Kaepernick and had previously installed successful concepts for both of his former signal-callers like sweeps, zone-read options, triple options, quarterback counters and RPOs. Jackson used those same ideas and took them to another level in 2019, as he shattered Michael Vick’s league record for rushing yards in a season by a quarterback and became the first passer in NFL history to run for more than 1,000 yards and throw for 35 or more touchdowns.
That same year the Ravens also became the first team to average 200 rushing and passing yards per game in one campaign and set a new standard for rushing yardage in a season with 3,296. 2020 saw many of the same results, as Jackson became the first signal caller to rush for 1,000 yards in consecutive years and Baltimore also put up 3,071 yards – the first team ever to accumulate 3,000 yards on the ground in back-to-back years.
2021’s output wasn’t quite as good as in past years due to multiple injuries, but the Ravens ended the 2022 campaign with 2,720 yards rushing (good for second-best in the NFL) and led the league in rushing again in 2023. But as much as Baltimore has dominated on the ground through the years, however, the same couldn’t be said about their passing attack. This led to the ouster of Roman in favor of Todd Monken, a former coordinator in Tampa Bay and Cleveland who had helped the Georgia Bulldogs win back-to-back national championships at the college level.
Monken has helped Jackson by wisely keeping many of their rushing schemes from the past and has expanded the Ravens’ passing game through clever usage of offensive sets, play-action, misdirection, motion and route concepts with defined reads to give him confidence right off the bat and to impact second level defenders’ eye discipline. Those passes are typically thrown to speedsters like Rashod Bateman and Zay Flowers (currently injured) while veteran Nelson Agholor provides depth and experience.
Used even more than their receivers are tight ends Mark Andrews (who can attack both the intermediate and vertical levels of defenses) and Isaiah Likely. Those two will be on the field at any given time, as the Ravens are one of the league leaders in usage of “12” (one back, two tight ends), “22” (two backs, two tight ends), “21” (two backs, one tight end) and “13” (one back, three tight ends) personnel. But they aren’t just weapons in the passing game – they’re also utilized heavily on the ground as blockers for Jackson, running backs Justice Hill and Keaton Mitchell and fullback Patrick Ricard.
That feared running game has been boosted even further by the acquisition of one of the NFL’s best running backs. Even though he lacks great quickness, Derrick Henry boasts an abundance of speed, power and strength in his game – allowing him to become just the eighth tailback ever to rush for 2,000 yards in a season in 2020 and having over 1,900 yards on the ground this year.
Baltimore’s offensive line is characterized by man-blocking, pulling guards and power runs (especially wham-trap – a Harbaugh favorite)s, and stalwarts Ronnie Stanley and Tyler Linderbaum are the team’s building blocks up front. The other three starters – Patrick Mekari, Daniel Faalele and Roger Rosengarten – have replaced the outgoing Morgan Moses, Kevin Zeitler and John Simpson. Kicker Justin Tucker remains one of the league’s elite at his position, but has curiously struggled this season.
In addition to their running prowess the Ravens’ offense was good in other areas a year ago. They were sixth in total yards and fourth in scoring but just 21st in passing – additionally they became just the third team in the Super Bowl era (joining the 1985 Chicago Bears and 1972 Miami Dolphins) to score 25-plus points-per-game while leading the NFL in rushing offense and scoring defense.
Baltimore was also the second team (along with the 2007 New England Patriots) with a point differential of 100 or greater against other playoff teams, and the Ravens became the fourth team since 1970 with a first-team All-Pro quarterback and the NFL’s first-ranked scoring defense. In 2024 the Ravens led the NFL in total yardage and rushing while finishing seventh in passing and third in scoring.
Foxborough, MA - September 25: Baltimore Ravens Marlon Humphrey celebrates his interception in the end zone with teammate Kyle Hamilton. The Ravens beat the New England Patriots, 37-26. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
BALTIMORE’S DEFENSE TRADITIONALLY AN EXCELLENT UNIT
Typically the more-discussed unit on their team thanks to legendary coaches and players on that side of the ball, Baltimore’s defense is being overshadowed for once. Not to be outdone by their counterparts on offense, the Ravens usually have one of the better groups of defenders in football – finishing 2023 sixth in total defense, first in sacks, points allowed and takeaways (becoming the first defense ever to accomplish all three in one year), 14th against the run and seventh in defending the pass. They do all this while being one of the most effective blitzing defenses in the NFL and mostly do so on overload and fire zone rushes out of single-high coverage looks and multiple fronts.
But having lost stalwarts like Patrick Queen, Geno Stone and Jadeveon Clowney to free agency and play-caller Mike Macdonald to a head coaching job in Seattle, the Ravens underperformed defensively in the early part of this season. They’re still voluminous in their subpackage groupings (they use traditional nickel, big nickel with a third safety, dime with three safeties instead of a fourth cornerback and dime with four safeties and two corners), but there wasn’t as much detail in their simulated pressure schemes – meaning their blitzes have been easier to figure out. Additionally, their secondary struggled while blowing coverages with poor communication and bad tackling.
To try and correct these errors, the Ravens made a few changes to their defensive backs. Rookie first round draft pick Nate Wiggins has accumulated more playing time on the outside, allowing Marlon Humphrey to move into the slot and play well. Brandon Stephens is the other starter on the boundary and former Bills All-Pro Tre’Davious White provides valuable depth. Safety Marcus Williams was benched in favor of Ar’Darius Washington, and Kyle Hamilton – who, like Humphrey, is also effective in the slot and is a good blitzer – was moved to the back end full-time. He can be moved around often in pre-snap disguises due to his great range.
Now coordinated by former linebacker Zach Orr (who decided to bring back mentor and former Ravens play caller Dean Pees a few months ago for support), Baltimore has never lacked in talent among its front seven and this year has been no exception. Defensive linemen Michael Pierce, Travis Jones, Broderick Washington and Nnamdi Madubuike are solid run-stuffers (Madubuike had a breakthrough in the pass rush department with 13.5 sacks last year) and veterans Odafe Oweh and the versatile Kyle Van Noy are the team’s best outside linebackers.
Former Chicago Bear Roquan Smith and second-year man Trenton Simpson are their inside linebackers and are one of the best duos in the NFL as they can cover and stop the run with ease. Smith has elite instincts and is great at setting the edge and controlling backside cutback runs.
Baltimore ended the year 10th in total defense, first versus the run, ninth in points allowed and second in sacks but they were tied for just 20th in takeaways and second-last in passing yards given up. However, since their lineup changes a few weeks ago they’ve performed much better against the pass and they’ve been one of the best third down defenses in the NFL since Week 11.
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - JANUARY 04: Russell Wilson #3 of the Pittsburgh Steelers throws a pass in the third quarter of a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Acrisure Stadium on January 04, 2025 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
STEELERS IN PLAYOFFS AGAIN AFTER MAKING CHANGES ON OFFENSE
While some things have stayed the same about the Pittsburgh Steelers – namely on defense – other things have changed tremendously. Because of many factors, Pittsburgh’s offense has done an about-face in recent years, but head coach Mike Tomlin and company have navigated through those issues (especially at quarterback and offensive coordinator) to consistently finish with winning records.
Following little success with former play callers Randy Fichtner and Matt Canada over the last few seasons, Tomlin hired ex-Atlanta Falcons coach Arthur Smith. While Smith struggled to figure out how to use his offensive weapons effectively while in the NFC South, he did have some success as the coordinator of the Tennessee Titans from 2019-20 so Tomlin is banking on him rekindling that magic.
While with the Titans and Falcons, Smith employed a version of the Shanahan-Kubiak-McVay branch of the West Coast offense that has taken the NFL by storm in recent years. It emphasizes a running game built around zone-blocking (especially to the outside on “stretch” plays) and passes that are created off the threat of run-action. It’s a philosophy that can create a lot of big plays down the field from craftily designed routes that work off one another, and the skill position players often line up in reduced splits to the line of scrimmage to become both extra blockers on runs and to have more room to run routes on the field.
After the retirement of future Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger after 2021 and churning through a few options in his wake (Mitchell Trubisky, Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph), Tomlin and general manager Omar Khan acquired a pair of veterans to compete for the starting job under center – Justin Fields, once a high draft pick by the Chicago Bears, and Russell Wilson, who after many stellar years in Seattle appeared to be on the decline as a Denver Bronco.
While Fields got the nod early on because of an injury to Wilson, Fields – while possessing physical gifts like a strong arm, toughness, mobility and speed – will leave the pocket too quickly if his first read isn’t there. He has a late release, needs to work on his anticipatory skills and is learning to process coverages post-snap. Although his pre-snap to post-snap recognition skills have improved this year along with his sense of timing and ability to manipulate defenders with his eyes, Fields still hasn’t been consistent enough, which led to Wilson getting the gig when he became healthy.
Wilson is best-suited to operate an offense that can use rollouts, bootlegs and passing plays outside of the pocket – mostly due to his 5’11” frame, which limits Wilson inside the pocket. He is among the game’s better deep ball throwers because of his arm strength, accuracy, and impeccable mechanics – Wilson’s ability to fake handoffs when executing run-action has always been a plus of his. He feels pressure well within the pocket and can extend plays due to his quickness and second-reaction movement.
Wilson also has a habit of sometimes dropping his eyes away from his receivers to the pass rush in front of him, but also possesses the rare ability to pick them back up and refocus on what is happening down the field. Some of his athleticism may be declining due to age, but Wilson can still be a threat when the Steelers try to manage Wilson’s pass attempts by taking deep shots down the field off play-action.
Pittsburgh features a downhill running game with multiple tight end sets and lots of concepts involving “duo” (a form of inside zone), double-trap draws and outside zone-toss plays. The Steelers have a pair of threats at running back in Najee Harris, who – although lacking breakaway speed – uses his size and strength to produce and Jaylen Warren – a classic “lightning” to Harris’ thunder.
They run behind a line that has also undergone a makeover the last few years. With longtime stalwarts like David DeCastro, Maurkice Pouncey and Alejandro Villanueva all gone, their replacements have included the likes of Dan Moore Jr., Issac Seumalo, Zach Frazier, James Daniels (injured and replaced by Mason McCormick) and Broderick Jones. This group struggles from time to time to get to the second level in the run game.
Pittsburgh’s pass catchers are a crew consisting of a gifted wideout in George Pickens (a classic “boundary X”-type with size, length and ball skills), the smaller but speedy Calvin Austin III, Mike Williams (a solid downfield threat and physical red zone target) and veteran Van Jefferson. Supplementing them is tight end Pat Freiermuth, who reminds some of former Steeler Heath Miller in that he is a reliable third-down weapon and can contribute in the red zone.
The Steelers ended 2023 27th in scoring, 13th in rushing and 25th in total yards and passing yards. 2024 has been more of the same, as they were 23rd in total yards, 27th in passing, 11th in rushing and 16th in points.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - DECEMBER 21: T.J. Watt #90 of the Pittsburgh Steelers rushes against Isaiah Likely #80 of the Baltimore Ravens during a game at M&T Bank Stadium on December 21, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens defeated the Steelers 34-17. (Kara Durrette/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH REMAINS “BLITZBURGH”
After a few down years on that side of the ball, Pittsburgh has morphed back in “Blitzburgh” – an aggressive, complex defense to figure out for any opposing offense and is once again elite due to their zone-blitzing scheme – which has more or less stayed the same as it has since Bill Cowher, Dom Capers and Dick LeBeau took over the team in 1992. Tomlin and current defensive coordinator Teryl Austin have continued to evolve the scheme over the last few years to its current itineration.
Pittsburgh’s best pass defender is versatile safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who was acquired from Miami for a first-round draft pick in 2019. Capable of playing outside cornerback, nickel cornerback, centerfield as a single-high safety or in the box to help stop the run, Fitzpatrick has become the long sought-after replacement for Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu and is the perfect man to execute defensive coordinator Teryl Austin’s preferred Cover One and Three-robber (sometimes Cover Six) pass defenses. Fitzpatrick is joined in the Steelers’ secondary by DeShon Elliott, Joey Porter Jr., Donte Jackson and Beanie Bishop Jr. These corners, however, can be beat when the opposition’s formations spread them out.
At inside linebacker are the underrated Patrick Queen and Elandon Roberts, and Payton Wilson has become a nice sub-defender in pass coverage. On the edge, Alex Highsmith and T.J. Watt – the younger brother of future Hall of Fame defensive end J.J. Watt – are one of the most disruptive pass-rushing tandems in football (especially Watt, who tied Hall of Famer Michael Strahan’s single season sack record with 22.5 three years ago) and can also cover and stop the run at a high level. Watt is also the first defender in league history to lead the NFL in sacks three different times.
Playing in front of Watt and Highsmith are defensive linemen Cameron Heyward and Larry Ogunjobi, who combine great technique with high-level quickness and strength, and nose tackle Keeanu Benton.
Pittsburgh ended the 2024 season 12th in total yards, 25th against the pass, sixth versus the run, eighth in points allowed, tied for 16th in sacks and tied for first in takeaways.
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