Report Card: Ravens Can’t Overcome Early Struggles

Just as the Ravens have struggled to fully climb out of their abysmal 1-5 start to the season, the home team couldn’t escape a 17-3 hole against their biggest rival in a tough loss that greatly endangers a season that began with sky-high expectations.

Let’s look at the grades.

Offense Overall: C

This was a much poorer grade for this unit until the end of the second quarter, and then, despite getting on track to score on four consecutive possessions, they couldn’t cash in on two opportunities at the end to possibly steal this one. They ran the ball well throughout much of the game, particularly once they got rolling in the third quarter, putting up over 200 yards, but the pass game was inconsistent, with drops, near-misses, errant throws and missed blocks.

I will say this: There are signs in what we saw today that could lead to some optimism for the future.

I should also add this: It might be too late now to matter.

Quarterback: B-

Lamar Jackson was better in this one than he was against the Bengals on Thursday, both with his legs and his arm. He was 19-for-35 for 219 yards, with a touchdown pass and a pick, and added 43 yards on seven carries, with a touchdown. He threw a dime to Zay Flowers on the sideline for a big gain on the team’s first possession and another one to Flowers for 35 in the fourth quarter. The pass to Isaiah Likely for a touchdown-that-wasn’t-meant-to-be was also a nice throw. He missed one to Derrick Henry in the fourth quarter that looked like a gigantic play, and didn’t make a great decision or throw on his interception. He just missed connecting with Mark Andrews on a late fourth down, but it was a matter of inches — hard to complain on that one.

Running Backs: A

The unit of the day on offense, and it wasn’t close. I wrote in the second quarter that Henry looked better than his numbers were suggesting, and things definitely opened up for him in the second half. Henry finished with 94 yards on 25 carries and had a catch for another eight yards. Keaton Mitchell left early with an injury, but he made his presence known with a 55-yard run on third down in the third quarter. Rasheen Ali had a couple catches, and nearly escaped a tackle for a miraculous touchdown.

Receivers: C-

Zay Flowers was tremendous, picking up 124 yards on eight catches while displaying some of his joystick moves. Isaiah Likely had one touchdown catch, and another overturned on a questionable replay decision. He needs to hang on to the ball better, either way, as it was the second straight week he failed to hold on to the ball for six. Rashod Bateman had two nice catches, but dropped another on third down in the fourth quarter that could have potentially been a touchdown. The unit struggled at times to pop open, which contributed to the rush Jackson did receive just as much as the line this week.

Offensive Line: B-

They did a nice job wearing down the Steelers’ front in the second half, and actually started making an impact in that regard. Daniel Faalele had some ugly early reps, including getting beaten on a blitz by a defensive back for a sack in the first quarter and another pass-set when Jackson fortunately completed a short pass under duress. But he also had a huge block on Henry’s run to end the third quarter, and another great seal on Henry’s 21-yarder in the fourth quarter. Ronnie Stanley was a little up and down, but made a great block on Mitchell’s big run. Andrew Vorhees had a hold with about 2:00 left to force the Ravens into first-and-20. Tyler Linderbaum seemed to be part of every good interior run, but did get pushed back in the red zone in the fourth quarter. It wasn’t great, but they got stronger as the game went on.

Defense Overall: B-

They were pretty good on a down-to-down basis out there, and stood strong in the fourth quarter — a time when this unit has been criticized for falling short before. But there were just too many splash plays allowed against a team that has struggled to make splash plays. Part of this should be credited to Aaron Rodgers, who dropped in some dimes along the sideline against good coverage, but some should be blamed on scheme, lack of a consistent pass rush, and poor communication.

Defensive Line: B

I struggle with how to grade this unit sometimes. They did a nice job controlling the line of scrimmage in the run game, allowing only 2.0 yards per rush, and 34 rushing yards total on the day. But they just don’t generate enough pass rush to impact the game, and you could blame a good part of the Steelers’ success hitting big plays today on that extra time receivers were getting against the Ravens’ secondary. Still, Travis Jones was awesome out there, living on the Pittsburgh side of the line. C.J. Okoye made a huge play, batting a pass in the fourth quarter that appeared to be intercepted by Teddye Buchanan, before being overturned on review. Mike Green was pretty active, just missing a sack on Rodgers in the first quarter, stuffing a red-zone run in the third quarter and drawing a hold later that quarter. David Ojabo is not making much impact, and Dre’Mont Jones was fairly quiet. Kyle Van Noy tipped a third-and-goal pass in the third quarter to kill a drive.

Linebackers: B

Roquan Smith had a nice game, collecting 10 tackles, and a tackle for loss on a great run stuff in the third quarter. He seemed to be around the ball a lot. Buchanan just missed that turnover, and he also whiffed on a tackle in the third quarter. Trenton Simpson fell for Rodgers’ ball fake and lost contain on the QB’s first rushing TD since 2021.

Defensive Backs: C

This was the unit that got beat one-on-one for some big plays, but was also put into bad situations, being forced to cover for longer than defensive backs should be required to cover. Marlon Humphrey got beaten deep by DK Metcalf on the first Steelers play of the game, but responded by breaking up an end-zone pass to Metcalf later that drive. He also had a big PBU on third down to give the Ravens the ball back with about 2:00 left in the game, and had great coverage on an incomplete pass to Metcalf on a fade in the second quarter. Nate Wiggins also got beaten badly by Metcalf for 28 in the second quarter, and later missed a tackle on Kenneth Gainwell in the third quarter. Chidobe Awuzie got smoked by Calvin Austin on a big third-down completion in the third quarter, but showed good coverage on a pass earlier that quarter. I felt like Malakai Starks was a little late coming over on those first two deep Metcalf passes, but he made a great open-field tackle in the second quarter to force a field goal attempt. Alohi Gilman had a facemask call in the second quarter, and was part of the miscommunication on Jaylen Warren’s touchdown.

Special Teams: D

Tyler Loop missed an extra point that felt all day like it was going to haunt the Ravens, and missed the landing zone again on a kickoff. He did make his three field goals. Jordan Stout was good, averaging 51 yards on two punts, with only 12 return yards allowed combined. But a huge penalty on Keondre Jackson with 2:00 left cost the Ravens 18 yards on the final drive, and the kick-return units were leaky again.

Coaching: C

They kept to the run game on offense, even when down 14 points, and that’s not always the case. They proved correct on a challenge late in the first quarter, and I liked some of the play-action on offense. Didn’t love the Derrick Henry wildcat call in the third quarter, but that could just be a growing disdain with the team getting cure in the red zone. The defense took too long to adjust to the deep passing game, which suggests it was not on their bingo card coming into the game. They need to figure out how to produce some pressure. Terrell Suggs isn’t walking through that door.

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Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2025/12/07/report-card/ravens-steelers-2025-home/