Tag: Justice Hill

3 key takeaways from Ravens’ 28-10 win over Steelers

There wasn’t much to learn thanks to the Ravens playing backups against the Steelers but their dominance points us in the right direction

The Baltimore Ravens ended the season strong, winning their 12th consecutive game and finishing with a 14-2 record, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 28-10.

With so many starters held out for this game, there wasn’t really much to take away from it. Making many judgments on how a bunch of backups functioned isn’t very fair to the entire team and how they’d normally play. However, we did learn a number of things thanks to the backups getting the job done that the Ravens can carry forward to the postseason.

Ravens backups are better than other teams’ starters

Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images

The Ravens got the job done on offense (four field goals and a rushing touchdown), defense (safety) and special teams (fumbled punt returned for a touchdown) in this game. In every capacity and every facet of the game, Baltimore’s backups beat up Pittsburgh’s starters.

Beating a division rival is impressive no matter how you slice it. But to have done it in spite of not playing most of the offensive starters and several defensive starters as well makes it even better.

The difference between an 8-8 team and a 10-6 team is pretty small — a few balls bouncing the wrong way or some flags at the wrong times. That makes beating any NFL team a difficult task, regardless of their record. And in 2019, no team has been better than the Ravens at it, even when they’re not at their best.

Considering Pittsburgh was on the verge of becoming a playoff team, the notion that Baltimore’s second-stringers are better than them should scare everyone else in the AFC playoffs.

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Ravens break 41-year old NFL record for single-season rushing yards

The Baltimore Ravens have broken a 41-year old record for the most rushing yards in a single season, going over 3,165 yards in Week 17

The Baltimore Ravens’ offense has been prolific this season. And as of now, no other rushing offense in NFL history has been as impressive.

Against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 17, the Ravens have officially set the NFL record for the most rushing yards in a single season. Baltimore broke the record on a nine-yard run by running back Gus Edwards in the second quarter, sitting at 3,172 rushing yards for the season. It breaks the 41-year old record previously held by the 1978 New England Patriots.

In a league that has prioritized passing offenses that can strike downfield over rushing offenses that have to grind their way to points, the Ravens’ accomplishment is especially impressive. But Baltimore has been committed to running the ball this season, leading with quarterback Lamar Jackson and a three-headed monster at running back consisting of Mark Ingram, Gus Edwards and Justice Hill.

Entering this week, Jackson led the team with 1,206 rushing yards, breaking Michael Vick’s record in Week 15. Ingram was second on the team, going over the 1,000-yard mark last week. It’s the first time in Ravens history where the team has had two 1,000-yard rushers in the same season and the first time in NFL history where a player has thrown for 3,000-plus yards while rushing for 1,000-plus as well.

It’s a testament to the entire organization to establish their rushing attack early in games and not back off of it. General manager Eric DeCosta has built up the personnel and offensive coordinator Greg Roman created the scheme while the players executed every week to get to this point. And if history serves as an example, it’ll be decades before another offense comes close to breaking this record.

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Ravens vs. Steelers: Final score predictions for Week 17

The Baltimore Ravens will look to sweep division rival the Pittsburgh Steelers, ending their season in Week 17.

The Baltimore Ravens end their season at home, taking on their division rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers. While the game doesn’t mean much to Baltimore, who have already secured their playoff seed, it’s vitally important to Pittsburgh, who is still searching for a way in.

It’s questionable just how many Ravens starters we’ll see in this game with several already have been ruled out in order to rest for the postseason. The Steelers aren’t in much better shape thanks to injuries piling up.

The writers here at Ravens Wire mostly believe Baltimore’s backups will get the job done, though in far closer fashion than many fans have become accustomed to seeing.

Check out the final score predictions below.

Matthew Stevens:

Ravens 17 – Steelers 16

This is a tough game to gauge simply because we don’t know how many Ravens will be sitting out and which ones will get very little playing time, even if they do start. But with several key players already resting this game, it shows a bit of Baltimore’s hand and I’d expect this to look more like a preseason game than a typical Week 17 contest.

Because of that, this isn’t the blowout win I think the Ravens would hand the Steelers normally. They’ll struggle to move the ball as effectively with Lamar Jackson and Mark Ingram out and the defense will have some more headaches with a bunch of members of the secondary likely resting this week. But they still get the job done to sweep Pittsburgh and land the best record in franchise history.

Alex Bente:

Ravens 23 – Steelers 12

To go along with my bold prediction, the Ravens defense will hold the Steelers to only field goals in this one. Baltimore’s offense, on the other hand, may find trouble dealing with Pittsburgh’s solid defense, especially without Lamar Jackson. That said, RGIII should lead the offense admirably with the added benefit of working in the now-trusted system. Even with backups leading the lineup, the Ravens have enough versatility on offense to take care of business and close out the season with an easy victory over their biggest division rivals.

Neil Dutton:

Ravens 14 – Steelers 17

The Ravens never like to lose to the Steelers, but on this occasion the prudence of resting the stars takes precedence. The second stringers will acquit themselves well, but ultimately they’ll fall just short against a Steelers team that needs the win.

Kevin Oestreicher:

Ravens 17 – Steelers 14

I think this is a tough, low scoring game. The Ravens are going to be missing many key pieces due to rest, and the Steelers will be missing some as well due to injuries. I’m not expecting a high scoring output from either offense, but I think Gus Edwards will have a monster day en route to carrying (literally) the Ravens to their 12th straight victory

Joe Serpico:

Ravens 21 – Steelers 17

As noted in our betting preview; Robert Griffin, Gus Edwards and the Ravens’ second team has played a lot for backups. The ground game doesn’t slow down with Edwards and Justice Hill getting the bulk of the touches, and Griffin makes just enough plays to end the Steelers season.

5 bold predictions for the Ravens in Week 17 vs. Steelers

With both the Ravens and Steelers seeing key starters sit in Week 17, our bold predictions feature some new names and stats to reflect it.

The Baltimore Ravens will look to sweep the Pittsburgh Steelers this season, finishing their regular season campaign in Week 17 against their division rival. But both teams will be without key contributors that could make this a more sluggish affair.

The Ravens are resting several starters with the No. 1 seed already locked up, giving them two weeks without any gameday action. The Steelers are banged up and have already ruled out starting center Maurkice Pouncey and running back James Conner.

So our bold predictions for this week reflect the change in rosters, giving us some new names to focus on. Take a look at what the writers here at Ravens Wire believe could happen this week.

Matthew Stevens:

Justice Hill has his first 100-yard game on the ground

Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images

I’ve been a big fan of Hill after seeing him play in Baltimore. In spite of his smaller stature, Hill has shown enough grit and power to go along with his speed and that makes him very dangerous. With Mark Ingram sitting out and Gus Edwards potentially seeing a smaller snap count this week, the Ravens’ rushing attack should fall on Hill’s shoulders, especially if he starts out strong.

Hill breaks off a few big runs and gets enough carries to go over 100 rushing yards in this game, which bookends his first career touchdown run from last week.

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RB Mark Ingram has confidence he’ll be ready for Ravens’ 1st playoff game

Suffering a calf strain in Week 16 won’t keep Baltimore Ravens running back Mark Ingram from the field during the playoffs apparently.

The Baltimore Ravens beat up on the Cleveland Browns, finishing their playoff aspirations with a 31-15 drubbing in Week 16. But for all the excitement about the Ravens clinching the AFC’s top seed in the process, there was a down note as well. Running back Mark Ingram suffered a calf strain and is expected to miss a few weeks as he recovers.

While Ingram was going to sit out Week 17‘s meaningless game against the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Ravens have a first-round bye in the playoffs, there was some concern Ingram might not be healed up enough to play in the divisional round. But with the players back at practice after Christmas, Ingram told reporters he’s confident he’ll be ready.

Ingram suffered the calf injury late in Week 16’s game, going to the locker room with the training staff. Though coach John Harbaugh noted the injury wasn’t structural, calf strains can vary dramatically in how long they take to heal.

Still, Ingram will effectively have three weeks of rest before having to put on pads for the Ravens’ first playoff game. Baltimore is being cautious with several of their key players like Ingram, quarterback Lamar Jackson and safety Earl Thomas, holding them out of Week 17 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

If Ingram can’t play, the Ravens will likely turn to Gus Edwards as their primary running back with a mixture of Justice Hill and Jackson to supplement. Edwards has averaged 5.2 yards-per-carry this season, which is actually slightly better than Ingram’s 5.0 average. But there are other things Ingram is tasked with that helped put him back in the Pro Bowl this year, that Baltimore would really miss.

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Ravens highlight: RB Justice Hill puts the final nail in the Browns coffin

Baltimore Ravens running back Justice Hill effectively ended the Cleveland Browns’ season on an 18-yard rushing touchdown.

The Cleveland Browns threatened to make it a game in the fourth quarter, driving down and scoring a touchdown after some defensive miscues to bring the game to 24-15 with 8:01 left. The Baltimore Ravens still held a two-score lead after foiling the conversion, but things were far from guaranteed.

In response, the Ravens did what they have done so well this season: Grind down the clock with their punishing run game. Quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Gus Edwards ran all over the Cleveland defense, taking it to their 18-yard line.

From there, rookie running back Justice Hill ran it in untouched for his first NFL touchdown — an 18-yard run.

 

The Ravens burned almost five minutes off of the clock with that drive. Up 31-15, it would be the final nail in the Browns’ coffin. Not only did it effectively end the game but it also ended Cleveland’s playoff hopes, officially knocking them out of postseason contention.

In spite of a slow start to this game for both teams, the Ravens found their footing at the end of the first half and never looked back. They’ve now locked themselves in as the top seed in the AFC, making the road to Super Bowl LIV go through Baltimore.

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Ravens highlight: Lamar Jackson connects with TE Mark Andrews for a TD in the rain

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson connected with tight end Mark Andrews for a franchise-record 48th touchdown of the season.

The Baltimore Ravens got off to a slow start in this one but are heating up quickly. Baltimore safety Chuck Clark sacked San Francisco quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, forcing a fumble which Brandon Williams recovered. Two plays later and the Ravens found the end zone on a 20-yard completion to tight end Mark Andrews.

 

After a three-yard run on first down by Justice Hill, Lamar Jackson looked to his most trusted weapon Mark Andrews. Andrews made the catch and backed into the end zone for his seventh touchdown grab of the season.

With that touchdown, two franchise records were set. Andrews tied for the most single-season touchdown receptions for Ravens tight ends. And the score was the 48th touchdown of the season for Baltimore, breaking the franchise’s single-season record.

The conditions look far from ideal for both teams, yet both have made plays in the passing game in the early stages. In spite of the heavy rain and cold weather, both teams don’t seem to be shying away from throwing the football.

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