Former NFL Head Coach Rips Steelers Defensive Game Plan vs. Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens simply had their way with the Pittsburgh Steelers in Saturday night’s Wild Card game. On the defensive side of the ball, the Steelers had no answer for the Ravens’ read-option attack with Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry.
Former NFL head coach Rex Ryan ripped the Steelers game plan against Baltimore. He thought the schematic plan to stop Jackson and Henry made no sense whatsoever.
“Pittsburgh, though, schematically has to change. They’ve gotta change. You can’t let him run zone-read all over the place,” Ryan said on Sunday NFL Countdown. “And Fred Warner, you and I were talking about it last night. They’re forcing from a deep safety has gotta take the force on these zone reads. That ain’t gonna happen.”
Former Steelers outside linebacker James Harrison also called out the defense during the game.
“At what point are we going to stop having our OLB crash down and let them play backer force?” Harrison wrote on X.
Midway through the third quarter, the Ravens had 242 yards rushing, which is the most rushing yards allowed by the Steelers in a postseason game. The previous high was 232 yards at Oakland in 1973. Baltimore finished with 299 yards rushing (6.0 average).
Henry broke the record with a 44-yard touchdown run up the middle to enhance Baltimore’s lead to 28-7 at the 5:49 mark of the third quarter.
Henry finished with 186 yards rushing and two touchdowns. He’s averaged a whopping 7.2 yards per carry. Henry’s 186 yards on the ground also set the all-time playoff rushing record against the Steelers. The previous record was 166, set by Curtis Martin in the 1996 Divisional Round game.
Jackson was also a handful for the Steelers, rushing for 81 yards on 15 carries (5.4 average).
The defense wasn’t the only issue, as the Steelers offense was absymal in the final five games of the season. It was the first time since 1969 that the Steelers scored 17 points or less in five straight games.
Former NFL quarterback Alex Smith thinks there are serious philosophical questions surrounding the Steelers organization:
“They brought in Arthur Smith this offseason an offensive coordinator renowned for running game and the philosophy was going to be we’re gonna run the football and stop the run right. We plug in Russell Wilson who’s great at play action passing and can do something’s situationally and that’s gonna be our formula to win. You gave up (299) yards rushing and you ran the ball for 29 yards in the playoffs. There’s a total revaluation of where we’re at as a team going forward here. I know we’re getting into who’s playing QB for this team, but who’s playing D-Line or O-Line? I mean serious question marks,” Smith said on Sunday NFL Countdown.
Colin Cowherd of FS1 also unleashed on the Steelers. Major changes need to be made this offseason.
“I was looking at the rushing yards throughout the course of the game and it ended with about 300 rushing yards for the Ravens and 29 for the Steelers. So Pittsburgh can’t even run the ball anymore. They can’t run it. They got pushed around. They’re not innovative. What are they?” Cowherd said.
“It’s time for the Steelers to change direction with their coaching staff. This is not good enough. In the last eight years the Jaguars have three playoff wins. The Steelers have none. I mean just let that sink in.
“It is easy to say well they don’t have losing records, but I mean a third of the teams in this league are a disaster. I mean look who’s at the top of the draft again. You know your Tennessee’s and your Jacksonville’s and the Raiders and the Jets and the Bears. It’s the same 12 teams at the top of this draft seemingly every year. To say you’re better than those teams… so what. I mean if you look at the league the past five years it’s been the same teams at the top. Baltimore, Buffalo, Kansas City, and Philadelphia. Pittsburgh is not in that group.”
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