Steelers' AFC North Rival Baltimore Ravens Have Elite Player Hinting At Malpractice Within The Organization Stemming From 2021

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens have been matching up at least twice a year ever since the Ravens were founded in 1996. Due to both teams having a lot of success over the last 27 seasons, this is considered one of the biggest rivalries in the NFL. Whenever anything happens within either organization, the other team has their fun discussing the topic. Some prime examples of this include the Le'Veon Bell hold-out fiasco in 2018 or anything Antonio Brown has ever done since leaving Pittsburgh. Ravens fans have had their fun watching both situations. But now it's Steelers fan's turn as Ravens running back, JK Dobbins, is seemingly calling the team out for malpractice. 

Dobbins has been hinting at being unhappy with the Ravens organization, most recently by liking a tweet that blamed his season-ending injury in 2021 on malpractice by his coaching staff. Dobbins' injury in 2021 was a torn ACL that he suffered in the team's last preseason game, and it forced him to not play a single snap during the regular season. Dobbins has since stated that his injury was more than just a torn ACL, saying that he also suffered injuries to his LCL, meniscus, and hamstring. 

Dobbins seems to be arguing the fact that he is "injury prone" as in addition to missing the entire 2021 season, he also missed the first two weeks of the 2022 season. He played just seven total games last season after suffering another knee injury in Week 6 that caused him to miss some time. The "malpractice" in question seems to be the fact that Dobbins was playing in the team's final preseason game at all, as he was slated to be the starting running back and had a very successful rookie season the year prior. 

Dobbins has a point. Had he not been playing in that preseason game before the 2021 season, he would have been healthy for the first two weeks of 2022. There is also a chance he would not have re-injured his knee in Week 6, and would have been available for every week last year. This would have helped the Ravens a lot as they were without starting quarterback, Lamar Jackson, for most of the end of the year. It's hard not to wonder what the Ravens coaching staff was thinking having their star running back playing in the final preseason game. Dobbins is slated to be a free agent after this upcoming season, and with high tensions between him and the Ravens organization, the odds he re-signs with the team seem extremely slim. 

Steelers' History Against Dobbins

The Steelers have seen a lot of success against the Ravens over the past several seasons, as they are 5-1 in their last six against Baltimore. However, Dobbins has always been able to find success while going up against Pittsburgh. During the Steelers' loss to the Ravens last year at home, Dobbins rushed for 120 yards and one touchdown on just 15 attempts. In the second game of the 2022 season against the Steelers, Dobbins rushed for 93 yards. Although the Steelers were able to split the season series with Baltimore, Dobbins was able to record 213 yards rushing against Pittsburgh last season which accounted for 41% of his total rushing yards in 2022. 

Dobbins' dominance against the Steelers didn't just come during last season. He had his first career 100-yard outing against Pittsburgh during 2020, he recorded 113 rushing yards on just 15 carries. He missed the Ravens' second matchup of the 2020 season with the Steelers because he was on the COVID-19 list. In total, Dobbins has played in three total games against the Steelers. He has recorded 326 rushing yards on 47 carries for an average of 6.9 yards per carry. The 326 rushing yards is 26% of his career total. The Steelers have been able to come out on top in two of the three games Dobbins has played in, but it is no question he knows how to light up the box score against Pittsburgh. 

What do you think of the drama between the Ravens organization and Dobbins, Steeler Nation? Let us know in the comments below!

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