Wild Card weekend is here. The Ravens and the Steelers have had some great playoff games in their history. The Ravens are 1-1 in meetings this season. They lost a heartbreaker in Overtime in Week 14, 20-17. They replied with a 13-10 victory in Week 16. Starting Left Tackle Bryce Schell is hurt and will be replaced by rookie Santiago Durham. Superstar safety Arron Bell has been hurt since Week 7 with a broken collarbone.
The Steelers identity is similar. Ben Roethlisberger is the quarterback and has two speedy receivers in Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown. The X-Factor is running back Jejuawnje Miles. He had 1,681 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns during the regular season. On defense, the Steelers are lead by middle linebacker Garrick Williams and free safety Matt Daniels. Garrick Williams had 141 tackles during the regular season. Matt Daniels is going to the Pro Bowl with 8 interceptions.
Beats by Dre
The Baltimore Ravens vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers. What a rivalry. They face each other in the playoffs again from M&T Bank Stadium. It was a slow start for the Ravens. They could not get the run game going and had a three and out. The Steelers began a methodical drive on the arm of Ben Roethlisberger. They converted 4 first downs and it was 1st and 10 on the Ravens 22 yard line. However, a false start and a holding moved it back to 1st and 25. Brandan Perry got burned by Mike Wallace and he ran into the end zone for a 37 yard touchdown. The Ravens got their passing attack going and that lead them down the field. Ray Rice would cap off the drive with a touchdown. The Steelers were given the ball at the two minute warning and Big Ben would hook up with his comfort zone receiver, Antonio Brown 2 times. This set up a 4 yard touchdown run by fullback Leonard Weaver. The Ravens weren't done yet. Joe Flacco made a big throw to Jordy Nelson for a 33 yard gain which would put the Ravens in field goal territory. Deep passes to Torrey Smith and Jordy Nelson would fall incomplete and Mason Crosby would boot a 55 yard field goal to cut the Steelers lead to 14-10.
The Ravens defense stepped up in the second half. They swarmed the run game and defended well against the pass. Late in the third quarter, the Ravens began to drive. On their own 47 yard line, Joe Flacco sensed a blitz and called an audible. Torrey Smith would run a drag route since Kareem Jackson was playing loose. He hit Torrey Smith for a short pass but he broke a tackle and got to the outside and outspeed the Steelers secondary and would give the Ravens a 17-14 lead. The Steelers could not get a drive going on offense. They had 3 straight three and outs. They got the ball with 2:38 left in the fourth quarter. Big Ben was poised for a big drive. The Steelers began to drive down the field. They were on the Ravens 27. 2nd and 10, Ravens Defensive Coordinator Mike Pettine dialed up the blitz. Big Ben scrambled and threw a woobly pass. The pass was right to Dre Kirkpatrick who picked it off. The pass was so bad it looked like Kirkpatrick was the intended receiver. This was all she wrote for the Steelers. The Ravens would run down the clock and win the game. The Ravens would face the San Diego Chargers in the Divisional Round next week. The Ravens pass rush was silent for most of the game. Dre Kirkpatrick got the only sack on defense. The unsung hero for the Ravens was Ray Rice. Even though the run game stalled, he was a key part in the pass game. 7 catches for 77 yards out of the backfield is not bad at all. What else is not bad is beating your rival in the playoffs. The Ravens will enjoy it for a day but then it's back to work to get ready for the San Diego Chargers.
Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens
Jan 6, 2018
1ST
2ND
3RD
4TH
SCORE
Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7)
7
7
0
0
14
Baltimore Ravens (9-7)
0
10
7
0
17
Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING
PIT
BAL
2:33
(PIT) Mike Wallace 37 Yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger
The Ravens will play the rest of their playoff games on the road. Meanwhile, the San Diego Chargers with a 10-6 record locked up home-field advantage. The Chargers parted ways with longtime Quarterback Phillip Rivers and replaced him with first round draft pick Shakir Grove. The Arizona alum had an outstanding rookie campaign and earned a trip to the pro bowl in two weeks. Ryan Matthews and Trent Richardson form a formidable 1-2 punch in the backfield. Grove also can throw to pro bowl receiver Craig Glover who had over 1250 receiving yards for the second consecutive year. Finally, the defense is led by pass rusher Corey Liegut who lead the NFL with 19.0 sacks. The Ravens have no new injuries but Bryce Schell and Edwin Ford are ruled out after being questionable for today's game. Arron Bell is recovering well and may be able to play next week if the Raven's win.
The Ravens travel to San Diego to face the Chargers. The Chargers got the ball first and drove down the field thanks to a big Trent Richardson run. But then Shakir Grove was pressured and threw a pick to Brandan Perry. Perry outran everyone and took it to the house. After this, the Ravens got all of the momentum. The Ravens forced a three and out and took it down the field as Joe Flacco connected with Owen Daniels for a five yard touchdown pass. After this, the game was very fast. In the middle of the second quarter, San Diego began to drive the ball down the field thanks to Craig Glover’s spectacular one hand catch on third down. But the Ravens pass rush was alive and Shakir Grove struggled mightily. The Chargers were held to a field goal. The Ravens would pound the ball down the field and respond with their own field goal. The Chargers on the next drive went three and out and on third down Grove was sacked by Charles Johnson forcing a punt. On second down Ray Rice was the lone back but was split wide after an audible. Rice who was covered by a linebacker was wide open down the sideline and Flacco connected with him for a 69 yard touchdown pass. The score at halftime was 24-3. In the second half, the Chargers still did not find much success on offense as Shakir Grove was inaccurate at times. The Ravens coverage was superb. On third down and 11, the Chargers dialed up a draw play, Navarro Bowman sniffed it out and stuffed Ryan Matthews. But Bowman stayed on the field. He had suffered torn triceps. Unfortunately, his season was done. The Ravens fought on. The Ravens got the ball on the 20 yard line and went to work. On the first play, Jordin Bledsoe took a stretch play, juked the cornerback and found daylight to the outside. And if you’ve watched any Ravens football, you would know that very few players are faster than Jordin Bledsoe. About 7 seconds later, Bledsoe was in the end zone. 31-3 was the score at the end of the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Chargers would add a field goal by Nate Kaeding. But Ravens nickel cornerback DeAngelo Hall would suffer a fractured shoulder blade. His season would be done as well. The game was over very early on. The Ravens offense and defense sliced the Chargers up. The Ravens will meet the Indianapolis Colts next week in the AFC championship for a chance to go to Super Bowl 52.
Baltimore Ravens at San Diego Chargers
Jan 20, 2018
1ST
2ND
3RD
4TH
SCORE
Baltimore Ravens (9-7)
14
10
7
0
31
San Diego Chargers (10-6)
0
3
0
3
6
Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING
BAL
SDG
4:25
(BAL) Brandan Perry returned interception 77 Yards
7
0
3:22
(BAL) Owen Daniels 5 Yard pass from Joe Flacco
14
0
SECOND QUARTER SCORING
BAL
SDG
7:55
(SDG) Nate Kaeding 47 Yard Field Goal
14
3
4:05
(BAL) Mason Crosby 45 Yard Field Goal
17
3
1:51
(BAL) Ray Rice 69 Yard Pass from Joe Flacco
24
3
THIRD QUARTER SCORING
BAL
SDG
5:55
(BAL) Jordin Bledsoe 80 Yard Run
31
3
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING
BAL
SDG
3:23
(SDG) Nate Kaeding 35 Yard Field Goal
31
6
Baltimore Ravens
PASSING
C/A
YDS
TD
INT
Joe Flacco
12/14
166
2
0
RUSHING
ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
Jordin Bledsoe
15
120
8.0
1
Ray Rice
12
33
2.7
0
Poppy Molette
1
2
2.0
0
RECEIVING
REC
YDS
AVG
TD
Ray Rice
3
83
27.6
1
Owen Daniels
3
25
8.3
1
Jordy Nelson
3
23
7.6
0
Torrey Smith
2
26
13.0
0
Ryan Broyles
1
9
9.0
0
DEFENSE
TACK
SACK
INT
TD
Angelo Sylve
7
0
0
0
Hassan Glover
6
0
0
0
David Hawthorne
6
1.0
0
0
Mario Williams
6
0
0
0
Charles Johnson
5
2.0
0
0
Haloti Ngata
4
2.0
0
0
Brandan Perry
4
0
1
1
KICKING
FG
XP
PTS
LONG
Mason Crosby
1/1
4/4
7
45
San Diego Chargers
PASSING
C/A
YDS
TD
INT
Shakir Grove
13/25
138
0
1
RUSHING
ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
Ryan Matthews
10
6
0.4
0
Trent Richardson
9
54
6.0
0
RECEIVING
REC
YDS
AVG
TD
Craig Glover
6
87
14.5
0
Vincent Brown
3
14
4.6
0
Lance Kendricks
2
16
8.0
0
Sam Phillips
1
17
17.0
0
Ryan Matthews
1
4
4.0
0
DEFENSE
TACK
SACK
INT
TD
Brian Rolle
8
2.0
0
0
George Iloka
7
0
0
0
J. Dyer
6
0
0
0
A. Drake
5
1.0
0
0
Corey Liegut
5
1.0
0
0
KICKING
FG
XP
PTS
LONG
Nate Kaeding
2/2
0/0
6
47
*Editor's Note: I haven't posted in a while. I don't like making excuses but I've been extremely busy with school and hockey. That being said, there will be many more updates in the near future. Thank you
The Ravens have signed two veterans after two roster spots have opened. Following their victory over the San Diego Chargers in the AFC Divisional Round, the Ravens placed linebacker Navarro Bowman and cornerback DeAngelo Hall on IR. Replacing Bowman at linebacker will be David Hawthorne who will play alongside Angelo Sylve. Behind Sylve, the Ravens still have surprising rookie Shamir Banks. Ozzie Newsome felt it was necessary to add a veteran to the mix at cornerback. The team's active cornerbacks are Dre Kirkpatrick, Brandan Perry and rookies Latwan "Captain" Kirk and Ashpa Cooper. The return game has been unimpressive thus far in the playoffs so instead of opting for an extra linebacker, the Ravens went out and signed veteran returner Devin Hester. Hester had a stint with the Ravens last year and was effective returning the ball. He played with the New York Jets earlier in the season but he was cut. Hester continued to workout and is in "top shape" according to special teams coach Bobby Stanford. Defensive Coordinator Mike Pettine had Antoine Cason on nickel packages. Cason played reasonably well and should receive playing time against the pass-heavy Colts. Although the Ravens lost two starters, two starters also return from injury. Starting Left Tackle Bryce Schell and Strong Safety Arron Bell both participated in full contact on Wednesday and will be "good to go" according to John Harbaugh.
The Colts have a revamped offense. Quarterback Brandon Weeden has plenty of weapons. Running Back James Starks had a good season. His receivers are Dwayne Bowe, Santonio Holmes, and #1 pick in the 2017 draft, Leroy Calhoun. They also have Vernon Davis at tight end. On defense, the Colts pass rush is dangerous. Devron Washington (17.0 sacks) and Robert Mathis will give Joe Flacco nightmares.
03-08-2015, 06:39 PM
