Report Card: Playoff Hopes Drift Wide Right

This one’s gonna leave a mark.

In what will go down in the annals of the historic Steelers-Ravens rivalry as one of its most memorable chapters, the Ravens let a game, a division championship and their playoff dreams drift off into the night. Let’s take a look at some grades.

Offense Overall: B

It started brilliantly, wandered into that pathetic malaise the offense has entered too many times this year, and ended with an explosive display that unfortunately went to waste with a missed kick. The first drive was an eight-play beauty that featured an explosive run by their star back and a deep touchdown pass, and you kind of felt like the momentum from last week’s game was back. It was not. Or, if it was, it took a nap for two quarters before waking up in the fourth. They were only 4-12 on third downs, had way too many offensive penalties, got devoured at times by the Steelers’ front and never once made it into the red zone (only through it). But they hit big plays, and certainly did enough to win.

Quarterback: A-

Lamar Jackson was 11-18 for 238 yards and three touchdowns, with an interception off a batted pass. The highs were remarkable, including one that will one day run on his eventual Hall-of-Fame highlight reel when he spun out of two pass rushers and lofted a gorgeous 50-yard dime to Zay Flowers. He also pulled off a fantastic play-action fake on his 64-yard touchdown to Flowers, and put nice touch on the initial touchdown pass to Devontez Walker. The speed just didn’t seem there again in this one, as he was unable to get around the edge on two different Steeler defenders that he normally would, but he did have a 20-yarder called back on a questionable hold. The ball he threw to Isaiah Likely on fourth-and-seven on that final drive was gorgeous, as well. He played better as the game went on, and was electric in the fourth quarter.

Running Backs: B+

Derrick Henry did not find the lanes quite as easy in this one, but he still bit off some big chunks, including a 41-yarder to start the game. Henry had 10 carries for 79 yards in the first quarter, and 112 yards on 15 first-half carries. He finished with 126 yards on 20 carries. Keaton Mitchell had two carries for two yards, and Rasheen Ali got stuffed on his only tote. Ali also got absolutely destroyed in pass blocking on a third-down sack in the first quarter. Patrick Ricard caught a ball late, and was physical in his blocks.

Receivers: B

Flowers was tremendous, especially in that fourth quarter, and he finished with four catches for 138 yards and two touchdowns. Walker caught that 38-yard touchdown on a great double move, and had another catch later. Isaiah Likely made a catch-of-the-year candidate with his fourth-down snag on that final Ravens drive. DeAndre Hopkins and Jackson had a miscommunication late on what could have been a huge play. Mark Andrews had two catches for 14 yards.

Offensive Line: C-

They were unable to carry over the momentum from last week’s game, but they were still fairly stout in the run game. Jackson had no time to let routes develop in the first half, and Andrew Vorhees had struggles all game. Tyler Linderbaum and Daniel Faalele combined to open up a hole on Henry’s 20-yard run in the second quarter. Linderbaum had a holding call that wiped out a long run by Jackson, and Ronnie Stanley got flagged for a hold in the second quarter. The biggest problem the Ravens faced on offense in this one came from the Steelers’ front seven. That reflects on the line.

Defense Overall: C

The Ravens went through an endless parade of defensive backs coming in and out of the game, and the loss of their best player when they could have used him the most. They made some gigantic plays — particularly in the first half. But they couldn’t get stops at the end, they couldn’t generate a consistent pass rush and they couldn’t turn the ball over. They played physical and hard, and got worn down at times when the Ravens’ offense went silent. But they just couldn’t make the play when they needed it at the end.

Defensive Line: C

They were never able to get a pass rush out of this group, but they were very tough against the run early, and got some big stops on short-distance downs. Mike Green, Travis Jones and Dre’Mont Jones were all over a fourth-quarter sack, and Tavius Robinson chased down Rodgers on a scramble for another. Brent Urban and John Jenkins were both formidable in that first half. They really seemed to have a problem maintaining the edge in the second half, and the Steelers started finding some success running the ball.

Linebackers: C

Trenton Simpson was pretty strong for much of the game, totaling nine tackles and making a great open-field tackle on a third-down screen in the first quarter. He also had a great red-zone run stop midway through the fourth quarter. Roquan Smith was pretty quiet in this one, and was only credited with three tackles. He seemed to miss a few opportunities for tackles in the second half.

Defensive Backs: C

Yes, I did notice that each unit got a “C.” Each did some good, and each did some bad, and the defensive backs were no different. On one hand, the corner coverage was sticky for a lot of the game. Nate Wiggins bounced back from a tough game in Green Bay with a hot start, breaking up or being in tight coverage on three incompletions. Marlon Humphrey missed a few tackles on Steelers’ running backs, but as has been the case for him much of the season, he also made some plays — breaking up a second-quarter pass and blowing up a run for a loss. Alohi Gilman missed on a few tackles, as well, but blew up that huge play to end the first half and was in good coverage on an incompletion in the end zone in the third quarter. Kyle Hamilton was terrific when he was in the game, with nine tackles before leaving early in the third quarter.

Special Teams: D

Yes, Tyler Loop missed a routine field goal to end the season, but he also booted a kickoff out of bounds in the fourth quarter to give the Steelers the ball at the 40 with the Ravens up four points. Rough night for a rookie who had a decent season. Jordan Stout finished his best year strong, nailing two punts inside the Steelers’ 15. The punt return coverage team was good, but gave up two kick returns of more than 30 yards. Mitchell had a huge 41-yard kick return to set the Ravens up for what could have been heroics had… well, you know. Billy Cundiff Part Deux.

Coaching: C

There was some good stuff here. I thought the Ravens went aggressive with their defensive backs, until they started losing guys, and it was working in the first half. But I don’t understand how they didn’t have a better plan to deal with the backs out of the backfield, especially with the Steelers missing DK Metcalf. I also didn’t love the slow-developing pass plays in the first half. I wrote down, “Where are the quick passes we saw in Green Bay?” The Ravens came out to play. That’s a good mark on the coaching. But why do they just fall to pieces on all three units at different times? It’s who they are, and who they’ve been for too long.

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Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2026/01/05/report-card/report-card-playoff-hopes-drift-wide-right/