Now that we’ve had some time to go back, re-watch the game and dig in a little bit we are going to talk about a few things in the stats that really stood out for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Their 28-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday was ugly in all phases. But some of these stats might be uglier.

3 or maybe 0

It depends on how you look at it, but either way, the distribution of the run game is worrisome. The three represent the number of carries running back Kerrith Whyte got on Sunday. He was the second-leading rusher on the team. Benny Snell Jr., by comparison, had 18 carries. But the zero represents the number of carries by Jaylen Samuels. I get the idea of going with the hot hand but Samuels hadn’t seen more than seven carries in a game since Week 10.

I suppose if you are the Pittsburgh Steelers and you aren’t going to make the playoffs you might as well go out removing any doubt if they deserved to be there. Pittsburgh completely collapsed on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens and finished off an ugly season with an ugly loss.

Here are our three big takeaways from the loss.

This defense was tired of trying to carry the offense

By the second offensive drive of the Ravens, you could already see the fatigue on the Steelers defense. This was partially to do with the 7+ minute drive the Ravens put together on their opening drive followed by a 44-second three-and-out by the Steelers offense, parking them right back on the field.

But more than that you can tell there was emotional fatigue set in all game long from a defense who was just tired of trying to pick up after an inept offense.

Everything had to go right for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. And none of it did. The Steelers finish the season 8-8 after an embarrassing three-game losing streak to finish the season, capped with a humiliating 28-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

On a rainy day, it was vital for both teams to establish the run. Pittsburgh tried early in the game but once again the Steelers offensive line failed to establish the line of scrimmage aside from a single drive. This made the job of quarterback Devlin Hodges much more difficult. You can sit back and blame the absence of Ben Roethlisberger all you like but at some point the other players and coaches on this team should have figured out a way to generate some offense.

Defensively things went no better. The Ravens rested their starting quarterback, running back and two offensive linemen and still ran all over the vaunted Steelers defense. Even without Mark Ingram and Lamar Jackson, Baltimore had no problem just pounding it right at the Steelers defense.

There’s no denying how this team defied the odds to even be relevant in the final week of the season. But to end it like this stings.

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After a miserable start to the season, the Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves in a position to make the playoffs if a few things can go their way. One of the big ones is for the Steelers to get past the Baltimore Ravens. Here are the keys to victory for the Steelers this week.

Maintain focus

There are so many things going on to draw the attention of the Steelers away from their goal. The Ravens are playing reserves which could cause Pittsburgh to ease up. They are going to be watching the scoreboard all game long to see what is happening between the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans. But all they need to do it focus on winning the game by any means necessary.

If you are an NFL pundit, trying to pick the winner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens is going to be no easy feat. On paper, the 13-2 Ravens are the better team. There’s no debating it. But the Steelers took that team to overtime in their first matchup of the season.

However, the Ravens have made it clear they plan to rest multiple starters including quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Mark Ingram. This should swing the advantage squarely toward Pittsburgh.

But don’t tell the NFL experts on the internet that. According to NFL Pick Watch, 62 percent of pundits are still picking the Ravens to beat the Steelers.

This is really a statement to just how bad the Steelers offense is. When experts think the Ravens backups can come in and outplay the Steelers starters in a game that means nothing to Baltimore and everything to Pittsburgh, it really encapsulates just how much the Steelers offense is struggling right now.

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