The Steelers stayed perfect on the 2020 season Wednesday with a win over the Baltimore Ravens.
You might not have been able to tell by Mike Tomlin’s postgame press conference that Pittsburgh improved to 11-0, however.
The Steelers’ 19-14 triumph over the Ravens was anything but pretty. Pittsburgh only scored one offensive touchdown, racked up an underwhelming 334 yards of total offense and turned the ball over twice. It even allowed Baltimore to flirt with a fourth-quarter comeback led by third-string quarterback Trace McSorley.
Tomlin unsurprisingly didn’t have any praise for his team after the game.
“It was really junior varsity, to be quite honest with you,” Tomlin said, per ESPN. “It was in all three phases. We couldn’t run the ball effectively when we needed to. We dropped too many significant passes, very catchable, makeable passes. We didn’t make significant plays in the special-teams game. Our kickoff coverage unit wasn’t good enough. We turned the ball over. We gave up big plays in critical moments on defense. Can’t have it.”
Tomlin continued: “(The Ravens) converted a long run on a possession down before the half,” he said. “Unacceptable. They had a 70-yard touchdown late in the game. Unacceptable. We’re fortunate tonight. It’s good to proceed with the victory. I acknowledge that. But not a lot happened tonight to be proud of or to be excited about other than that.”
A win is a win, but this one had blowout written all over it leading up to kickoff at Heinz Field. The Ravens had dropped three of their last four games prior to this divisional bout and were without starting quarterback Lamar Jackson, top running backs Mark Ingram and J.K. Dobbins among other key players.
The Steelers will try to put forward a better all-around performance Monday night when they host the Washington Football Team.
