How Aaron Rodgers masterminded the Steelers’ dramatic win over the Ravens, pulling strings from the sidelines in a chess-match thriller
The Steelers are heading into a tough matchup in the Wild Card round of the playoffs
THE Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens battled it out for the final playoff spot on Sunday night.
It was the Steelers that came out on top and now own the No. 4 seed in the AFC.
Aaron Rodgers drops back to pass against the Baltimore Ravens
Lamar Jackson runs with the ball against the Pittsburgh Steelers
The game came down to the wire, with the Steelers only winning because of a missed Ravens field goal with time expiring.
Still, they played well enough to get to that point, and will now compete to make it to the Super Bowl.
But who played well in the win over the Ravens, and how did Baltimore come so close to winning?
Those questions and more were answered on this week’s episode of The U.S. Sun Sport’s Football Xs and Os.
KING OF THE NORTH
Aaron Rodgers performed just well enough to take down the Ravens on Sunday.
It was mostly because he played a clean ballgame without turning over the ball that the Steelers were able to win.
“Rodgers had to throw the ball a lot, all over the place,” NFL expert David Scott said.
“But he was clean with the football, and in this kind of game is really what matters.
“As long as you’re not turning over the ball, you’re going to give yourself a better chance.”
Lamar Jackson did everything he could to get the Ravens the win, but fell just short.
He looked like he was in vintage MVP form, but a missed field goal ended his playoff hopes.
“Lamar stepped up in the fourth quarter,” host Ryan Sanudo said.
“Yes, they didn’t win… but Lamar looked like the old Lamar.”
FLOWER POWER
Zay Flowers was the star of the show for the Baltimore Ravens, hauling in two deep touchdowns passes.
It was the first of which that gave the Ravens some momentum in the fourth quarter thanks to a broken play.
It looked like Jackson was dead to rights in the backfield after two defenders hit him, but he was able to spin out of the contact.
From there, Jackson saw Flowers down the field being covered by a linebacker, an advantageous matchup.
That one-on-one coverage was enough for Jackson to get the ball over the top for an easy score.
“It was a one-man show with Zay Flowers in the offense in this game,” Scott said.
DEJA VU
It wasn’t long after his first touchdown that Flowers found the end zone again.
This time it was a totally busted play that left him wide open on the left side of the field with no defenders in sight.
The Steelers employed a bizarre formation, stacking nine defenders on the right side of the Ravens’ center.
None of those players blitzed either, they all just floated in that area after the ball was snapped.
With no one on the left side of the field, Flowers waltzed into the end zone for the score.
“Totally inexcusable from the Steelers defense,” Scott said.
“I don’t know if this was a miscommunication, if they had different play calls coming in, if they didn’t know who they were covering…
“I have zero explanation for you, all I know is that it’s really, really bad defense.”
Flowers finished the game with four receptions for 138 yards and two touchdowns.
GAME WINNER
Calvin Austin was the hero of this game, catching the game-winning touchdown for the Steelers.
This play was designed for Austin all the way, with the receiver running a hitch-and-go route.
That is where a receiver sprints up the field, stops on a dime, and then continues streaking vertically.
This worked out perfectly, as the hitch in Austin’s route caused his defender to fall on their face.
That left Austin wide open to score the touchdown.
“This is a testament to Calvin Austin’s route running skills,” Scott said.
“He just leaves his man in the dust here.”
Austin ended the day with three catches for 55 yards and a touchdown.
GETTING WILD
Thanks to the win against the Ravens, the Steelers are officially in the playoffs as the No. 4 seed.
However, they are running into a buzzsaw in the form of the Houston Texans.
The Texans have the best defense in the NFL, and are favored to beat the Steelers even though they are the road team.
This is going to be a tough one for Pittsburgh, and they are going to have to play up to their highest potential in order to win the game.
“The Steelers have to be perfect on offense and perfect on defense to even have a chance to come out of this matchup,” Scott said.
