Steelers' AFC North Rival Has Critical Weakness Exposed That Pittsburgh Can Take Advantage Of

The Pittsburgh Steelers play in one of the most difficult divisions in all of football. The AFC North is no joke, but the 2025 season changed drastically for all four teams once Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow went down with what very well could be a season-ending issue. The Cleveland Browns have a stout defense, but not much to go off on the offensive side of the ball, and the Baltimore Ravens are the favorites entering Week 4 to hoist the division crown. Despite the 1-2 start for John Harbaugh's bunch, optimism remains high for the 2024 AFC North Champions.

The Steelers don't have to face off against the Ravens until December, and it's likely that a lot of the current issues in Baltimore will be resolved by then. However, it never hurts to take note of certain film that was put on tape at a point in any given season. The Detroit Lions dominated Harbaugh and co. on Monday Night Football in Week 3, despite it finishing up as a one-score game.

The most fascinating part of the matchup was Baltimore's inability to stop the run. The offense for Detroit gained 224 yards on the ground, which made the biggest difference in the contest. One of the unique schemes for the Lions' offense was bringing back an old-school style formation that was utilized to run the ball anywhere and everywhere. This was noted by AQ Shipley on The Pat McAfee Show.

As described by the former NFL center, Detroit used a very outdated version of offense. There were three players lined up in an "I" formation behind quarterback Jared Goff, which was followed by a simple motion to one side of the line from the two tight ends. Following that, the ball was snapped quickly and the Ravens' defense had no opportunity to recover.

"You see the two tight ends motion out to the left. [The Lions] start with three guys behind Jared Goff," Shipley noted. "They motion out two tight ends, we're just going to run a simple zone play. This was the flavor of the week. They ran this formation about 30 times."

While the Steelers may not decide to bring in this much creativity into the games against the Ravens, the important thing to note is Detroit's usage of tight ends in the rushing attack. Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith has earned a reputation for using multiple tight ends in his offensive formations. It was evident on Monday evening that Baltimore had absolutely no answer for that approach.

Harbaugh is recognized as one of the best coaches in the NFL, so it can be assumed that his defense will work out the kinks that it currently has, especially before the Steelers are on the schedule in December. The same goes for Pittsburgh, a team that needs its offensive line to significantly develop and adapt if the hopes of winning a playoff game are going to come to fruition.

Overall, the Steelers need to watch the game tape from the Lions' absolute demolition of the Ravens' defense. Things will change come Week 14, but Head Coach Mike Tomlin could use the film as a way to gain an advantage over Baltimore.

Steelers Are Hoping To Be In A Good Position Come December

It can be argued, after the Burrow injury, that the AFC North will come down to Pittsburgh and Baltimore once again. While the Steelers have started 2-1 and the Ravens at 1-2, the stars are aligning for the organizations' end-of-season battles to potentially decide the winner of the AFC North. It would be massive for Tomlin and co. to have a playoff game at home for the first time since the 2020 campaign.

Do you think that the Steelers can utilize their tight ends effectively against the Ravens? Let us know in the comments below!

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