Playoff football returns to Baltimore

Playoff football is returning to Baltimore in more ways than one.

Saturday’s win for the Baltimore Ravens over the Pittsburgh Steelers kept the AFC North alive. It also guaranteed Baltimore a spot in the playoffs, one way or another.

The performance was exactly what the Ravens will need in the playoffs, and crucial for many reasons.

The Steelers have beaten the Ravens eight times in the last nine games – though some of those were pre-playoff dead rubbers.

On top of that, the Steelers had the chance to win the AFC North at M&T Bank Stadium. So in many ways, this was a playoff game in all but name for the Ravens.

And given all that pressure, the Ravens came to play.

The Ravens had 100 yards more on the ground. They won the turnover battle with two critical plays. One of which prevented a Steelers touchdown, leading to a 14-point swing and a Pick-Six to take the game out of reach.

Most impressively, the Ravens stopped the Steelers scoring over the final third of the game, scoring 17 unanswered points and forcing two punts and a Pick-Six.

The penalties were cut out too, allowing only two for 10 yards, both on offense.

If the Ravens can replicate this defensive performance over the next few weeks, they will be a very tough out.

Improvements can still be made

There were areas of improvements of course, which can be boiled down to four plays. But they were all turnover-worthy plays.

Lamar Jackson threw a pick in the redzone just as the Ravens looked to turn the screw, but was let off the hook by Marlon Humphrey’s Pick-Six.

The Ravens quarterback also fumbled on the opening drive. They did get the ball back but it took them out of field goal range and cost potential points.

There were also two fumbles by the punt returners, fortunately both were recovered.

In fact, the first fumble gained yards, but on another day a crucial game could have looked very different.