Pittsburgh Steelers Report Card after loss to Ravens

Defensive Line: The Ravens are one of the worst rushing teams in the NFL but managed to 72 yards on their first 18 carries. Overall though Ray Rice was a non-factor and Baltimore ended up averaging only three yards per carry on the night. Brett Keisel’s comeback was a short one as he re-injured his foot. The front three didn’t do anything of impact but Cam Heyward and Ziggy Hood combined to make 13 tackles. Grade: B

Nov 28, 2013; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith (82) catches the ball in front of Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Cortez Allen (28) during a NFL football game on Thanksgiving at M

Linebackers: Jason Worilds was outstanding again, recording two sacks, eight tackles and a forced fumble in the first half alone. Worilds was double and triple teamed in the second half often so he didn’t have much of an impact the rest of the night but it was another good showing. It will be a shame to see LaMarr Woodley get his job back on the left side as he hasn’t been nearly as productive as Worilds when he has been healthy.

Lawrence Timmons had a decent night with eight tackles, but rookie Jarvis Jones continues to struggle. It’s also worth noting the lack of overall pressure. The Steelers sent five or more pass rushers on eight of Joe Flacco’s 19 second-half dropbacks, and couldn’t get to him. Flacco was 6-of-8 against added pressure in the second half and 7-of-10 overall, his highest completion percentage against additional pressure this season. Coming into the game Flacco ranked 31st in the NFL against the blitz. Grade: B-

Secondary: The secondary allowed big plays, including an early 54-yarder to Torrey Smith that set up the first touchdown. Ike Taylor also took a costly pass interference penalty that set up a score. Troy Polamalu continue to guess wrong and leave the rest of the secondary hanging out to dry.

On the night Flacco completed 24-of-35 for 251 yards. More importantly, the Ravens converted on third down 10-of-17 times. It was the most third down conversions they had in a game all season and marked the first time all year they converted over 50 percent of their opportunities. Grade: D+

Special Teams: The Steelers were overdue for an awful special teams performance to cost them a game. Unfortunately for them it came against the Ravens again. They allowed kickoff returns of 32 and 73 yards by Jacoby Jones in the third quarter which proved to be killers. In addition, Shaun Suisham’s botched field goal attempt is beyond words as it eventually turned out to be a big play in the game. Grade: F

Coaching: You can’t allow big plays and have special teams breakdowns when you are fighting for a playoff spot. While the offense came around in the second half, in a big game the Steelers couldn’t afford a slow start and being shutout for the first time this season in the first half. Grade: D