By Bill Washinski
SteelerNation.com
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens have had some incredible games over the course of their rivalry and they added a new chapter to the lore this past week. To see how the Steelers defended the final drive - I deconstructed each play and here's a chance to give a shout out to some extremely big plays by the Blitzburgh D.
The Steelers are playing a zone coverage concept designed to take away the sidelines or anything deep with what looks like a slight modification. They keep two men up just to take away a Lamar Jackson scramble.
Baltimore is running a pass with the WR at the top of the screen running deep and the TE Mark Andrews running an out route, just to get underneath with the idea of the LBs going deep and aiming for a pass to sideline where he can get out of bounds.
What really changes the play is Stephon Tuitt. Jackson has his man open as designed, but Tuitt’s pressure right up the middle is really disrupts everything. Lamar Jackson has pressure right in his grille and he just throws it away – a borderline intentional grounding.
The next play, Jackson really messes up. The Ravens have two WRs who are running deep, and again TE Mark Andrews running an out route underneath the coverage. But Jackson makes a real head scratcher on the play, dumping it off to his RB J.K. Dobbins with Andrews open and in position to go out of bounds (what the play is designed for). Dobbins manages to gain 8 yards and even does a good job evading several tackles until he his finally brought down in a phenomenal effort by Cameron Heyward. This deserves special attention becauseHeyward hustled his way 15 yards back into the play after his initial pass rush and is a perfect example of what makes him so special. The swarming effort prevents Dobbins from getting out of bounds to stop the clock and Baltimore is forced to rush their next play, which is significant.
As it is 3rd and 2 with only 30 seconds left, spiking the ball is not an option, but the Ravens get set quick. The Steelers D looks to be playing a cover-4 zone as they are comfortable giving up the short pass even if it means giving up a 1st down, it also means 10-15 seconds off the clock. Baltimore runs a play that is exactly what the Steelers want, Jackson is going to Andrews to secure the 1st down. But this is where the previous play is significant - with the clock ticking, the Ravens are in a hurry and aren't on the same page. Andrews finds the open spot and stops his route whereas Jackson expects him keep running and leads with the pass. As a result, the ball is thrown a bit hard and wild, and Andrews is not able to make the play on it. It might have worked out better for the Ravens, as the Steelers D is in great shape to make the tackle.
The Ravens next play is a big one. The Ravens are running 3 men deep and the Steelers look to be in another cover-4; playing with an aggressive mindset in the attempt to make a play. Willie Snead is the primary target here, as he’s going to try and find a gap between 2 Steelers defenders somewhere in the middle of the field. It works out huge for Baltimore as Snead does and it’s a well-executed play by Baltimore to get the ball inside the 25.
The game is down to 8 seconds and 2 Ravens WRs are heading to the end zone, but Jackson is opting to try and get closer to the end zone by throwing an out route to the top man. TJ Watt completely disrupts the play with immediate pressure and hits Jackson as he's trying to throw and the ball falls harmlessly incomplete with an open Devin Duvernay as the intended target. This was a huge play by TJ Watt, impacting the Ravens final play.
The Ravens again line up similar to the play that they converted on 4th and 2 earlier in the drive. The Steelers again are lined up very interesting here. First, note the Steelers are rushing 4 as they really wanted to get pressure - which has been a huge part of the game play all day. It looks again like a cover-4 zone – although it's played far more aggressive. The idea is to pressure Jackson (who coming off a solid hit by TJ Watt) and force a fast throw as anything short of a TD is a good play for Pittsburgh.
The Ravens formation is similar to the one where they converted on 4th down and it plays out similar as well. Snead does find a spot and Jackson has a dart that looks like its about to hit its target. Prior to the throw, Jackson makes an attempt to get Minkah Fitzpatrick to bite to his left. It doesn’t work as Fitzpatrick is so fast, he actually breaks to the ball faster than Snead and the only thing that preventedFitzpatrick from ending the game with an interception was Snead running into him before he could secure it.
In summation, a combination of very aggressive defense, the constant pressure and hitting of Lamar Jackson and the game-ball worthy big plays of Stephon Tuitt, TJ Watt, Cameron Heyward and Minkah Fitzpatrick sealed a phenomenal 2nd half with a clutch defensive stand, and put the Steelers in the drivers seat for the AFC North.
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