A Festive Day in Baltimore

What an awesome early Christmas present for Charm City! Anytime the Ravens can beat the Pittsburgh Steelers it makes for a great day. The remainder of the NFL slate is then that much more enjoyable and the mood around town is nothing short of festive!

The win puts the Ravens in a tie for first place but that said, if both teams win out, Pittsburgh holds the tie breaker with a better conference record. That loss to the Raiders still stings, doesn’t it? That said, I think the Chiefs will take care of the Steelers on Wednesday, the Ravens will handle the Texans and then it boils down to beating the Browns at home after a 10-day respite.

When you look at the 2024 season in its totality, it does have a familiar feel to it. Back in 2012, the Ravens hit a few walls during the final third of that campaign but used the setbacks as learning experiences. They then built some momentum and carried it right through the playoffs on their way to a second franchise Lombardi Trophy. In interviews since that historic postseason romp, Super Bowl 35 MVP Joe Flacco has shared that the team wasn’t sure that they could go all the way until the legendary Flacco to Jacoby Jones TD during the waning moments of the 2012 Divisional Round game. Drawing parallels, I wonder if that Marlon Humphrey pick six could be another springboard to a successful conclusion to the 2024 campaign.

Yes Ravens fans, it’s that time of year…

On this week, Christmas … Christmas is in a couple, what, four days? We happen to play in four days, right? So, it’s right around the corner, and we’ll be together on Christmas. So, I read this to the team in our post-game prayer. And it’s this – this is ‘Mary.’ Mary the mother of God said this when she was getting … When she was with Elizabeth. She said this, she said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my savior.’ So, I just want to wish everybody a Merry Christmas [and] happy holiday season and rejoice, rejoice, rejoice in life. Rejoice in your circumstances. Rejoice in the tough games. Rejoice in the losses. Rejoice in the wins like we’re blessed to do today as a football team, and just rejoice in the people that you love [and] the people that are close to you – rejoice. We aren’t here on this earth to worry about every little thing and spar with one another. We’re here to rejoice in one another and with one another and love one another, so let’s try to remember that this week. This is a big football week. It’s also a big life week. It’s a big spiritual week. ~ John Harbaugh

Speaking of Christmas, I’m enveloped in the spirit of the season and a Ravens win. Plus, it’s my birthday tomorrow and the celebrations have begun. Actually, they started last week and haven’t stopped. These self-induced wounds have left a mark.

So, I will take a deeper dive into yesterday’s big game tomorrow with my Good, Bad & Ugly. But until then, I thought I’d share a few interesting highlights from yesterday’s 34-17 win over the Steelers.

• Baltimore has now made the playoffs in six of the past seven seasons since QB Lamar Jackson became the starter, and this marks the Ravens’ 12th playoff berth during head coach John Harbaugh’s 17 seasons in Baltimore.

• Of the last 34 Ravens-Steelers games, today’s matchup marks only the seventh game decided by more than one score (8+ points), including the first such game over the last 10 Ravens-Steelers matchups.

• Baltimore recorded 418 yards of offense (220 rushing and 198 passing), its most in a game against Pittsburgh since 2020 (457 on Nov. 1). The Ravens also limited the Steelers to just 1 sack, which ties (three other games) a season low by Pittsburgh’s defense.

• The 2024 Ravens became first team in NFL history to register at least 3,500 passing yards and 2,500 rushing yards through the first 15 games of a season.

• Piling up 220 rushing yards (compared to Pittsburgh’s 117), Baltimore has now outrushed its opponent each game this season. The Ravens’ 15 consecutive games outrushing their opponent marks a single-season NFL record.

• Baltimore limited the Steelers’ offense to 315 total yards and a 4-of-10 mark on third down. The Ravens also forced 2 turnovers (S Ar’Darius Washington FF/OLB Kyle Van Noy FR and a CB Marlon Humphrey 37-yard INT TD), which ultimately led to a combined 14 points.

• The Ravens recorded 3 sacks (1.5 by OLB Kyle Van Noy, 1 by NT Michael Pierce and .5 by DT Nnamdi Madubuike), marking their 12th game this season with 3+ sacks.

• Baltimore has now recorded at least 1 sack in 53 consecutive games, marking the 11th-longest streak in NFL history. Baltimore has also posted 2+ sacks in 18 straight games, which is the league’s longest active streak.

• Save the interception which clearly represented a failure to communicate, Lamar Jackson has a terrific day against a regular nemesis from Pittsburgh. He completed 15-of-23 passes for 207 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT, for a 115.4 passer rating. He has now recorded a 100+ passer rating in 12 of the Ravens’ last 13 contests and owns a 120.6 mark for the 2024 season.

• This 120.6 figure currently ranks as the fourth-best single-season mark in NFL history

o Aaron Rodgers, 122.5 in 2011
o Aaron Rodgers, 121.5 in 2020
o Peyton Manning, 121.1 in 2004

• With four 150-yard rushing games in 2024, Henry surpassed RB Jamal Lewis (2003) for the most such contests in Ravens single-season history.

• CB Marlon Humphrey recorded his first-career pick-6 when he returned an INT 37 yards for a TD, putting Baltimore up by two scores (31-17) in the fourth quarter. It marked the defense’s first TD of the season.

• Producing 5 tackles, including 1.5 sacks, OLB Kyle Van Noy has recorded 10.5 sacks this season, marking a new career high. (He surpassed his previous best of 9 sacks from 2023.)

• Justin Tucker hit the ball with authority v. Pittsburgh, connecting on a 51-yard FG to extend the Ravens’ lead, 17-7, with under two minutes remaining in the first half. His 63 makes from 50-plus yards throughout his career are the second most in NFL history, trailing only Matt Prater’s 81.

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Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2024/12/22/lombardis-way/pittsburgh-at-baltimore/