The Pittsburgh Steelers had a chance to clinch the AFC North with a win over the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday, but head coach Mike Tomlin’s squad failed to get the job done, losing 34-17.
There’s a lot of things you can point to as the causes for the Steelers’ loss. Two of them were the pair of crucial turnovers committed by quarterback Russell Wilson, who had a pick-six and a fumble near the goal line.
Wilson’s lost fumble came in the second quarter when he was making a play for the end zone on a scramble. The veteran signal-caller should’ve had slid, but he went for the score instead and lost the football in the process.
After the Steelers notched a pick in the fourth quarter when the Ravens were in the red zone and trying to make it a two-score game, Wilson erased the momentum immediately with a pick-six that sealed the Steelers’ fate.
“I think it definitely changed the game when they got that interception,” Wilson said. “I thought the defense did a good job of getting the ball back, and I was trying to throw it to (MyCole) Pruitt. It was front number and the ball just stayed inside, unfortunately, and they made a play.”
“I just thought I had a chance to go to the end zone,” Wilson said of the fumble. “Try to cut back and just got hit. And I think right before I hit the ground, the ball came out. It’s unacceptable. It can’t happen.”
On defense, Pittsburgh couldn’t stop the run, and missed tackles were an issue, also. Tomlin called the tackling issue “concerning.”
“It’s concerning, certainly. We’ve got to be better,” Tomlin admitted, before noting that it’s “back to the lab” for Pittsburgh’s defense in that area.
Tomlin also addressed Pittsburgh’s putrid run defense, which allowed running back Derrick Henry to tally 162 rushing yards, which is a new Ravens record for a single game against the Steelers.
“We didn’t do what we needed to do to secure victory today and so I congratulate the Ravens on their performance and the victory,” Tomlin said. “Really, specifically, we didn’t control the run game. We never did. And when you don’t, man, you gotta do some splash plays or win the turnover battle in a significant way and we didn’t do that either.”
The Steelers’ issues against the run were particularly surprising, as Pittsburgh came into the game with the No. 4 run defense in the NFL.
With the loss, the AFC North is now up for grabs over the final two weeks. The Steelers have a quick turnaround with a home matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs on Wednesday.
