And…exhale. Do me a favor: inhale and exhale again, because that Steelers-Ravens game was nothing short of physically miserable until Najee Harris inched his way past the line-to-gain for the game-clinching first down in the 18-16 victory. 

The NFL never ceases to amaze me, to puzzle me, to inexplicably exhibit the same Achilles heels for all-world players year in and year out. 

For reigning NFL MVP and, entering Sunday, the betting favorite to lift the award for the second-consecutive season, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, that Achilles heel is the Pittsburgh Steelers. After yesterday’s two-point loss, Jackson now holds a miserable 1-4 record against his bitter rivals. Sure, you could argue that the win-loss record of a quarterback is not an individual statistic, but Lamar’s career numbers against the Steelers are miserable: a 57.0% completion rate, a 5:8 touchdown:interception ratio, and a 66.7 passer rating. If you compare that to his career numbers, he has a 64.8% completion rate, a touchdown:interception ratio slightly above 3:1, and a passer rating of 100.6. The difference is night and day.

The Ravens’ offense as a unit came into the game ranked number one in total yardage, rushing yardage, and total points, relying on Lamar Jackson and another MVP candidate in running back Derrick Henry. The Steelers’ defense out-played the best offense in football, forcing three turnovers—including Henry’s first fumble in over 500 (no, that is not a typo) touches, which occurred on the second play of the game—and limited Baltimore to 110 total yards below their season average, 58 rushing yards below their season average, and, most importantly, 16 points below their season average.

Of course, it was not all glamorous, as the Steelers’ offense was miserable in its own right, scoring 18 points (all from Boswell’s right foot), as this became the eighth-straight game in the rivalry during which neither team could score more than 20 points. 

The Steelers’ offense—especially in the first half—was dreadful. Russell Wilson was sacked four times, as the offensive line was simply overmatched by the Baltimore pass rush. Pittsburgh was out-gained by 100 yards win the opening thirty minutes of action, but found themselves ahead 9-7 thanks to two Ravens’ fumbles leading to short fields (which, naturally, would result in Chris Boswell field goals), and the usually reliable Justin Tucker missing two field goals for the Ravens. 

One of those fumbles was both forced and recovered by offseason signing Patrick Queen, who coincidentally came over to the Steelers from Baltimore on a 3-year, $41 million deal. During the buildup to the game, Queen had mentioned that there was no indication from the Ravens’ front office that they wanted to bring him back, which turned this into a revenge game for the man wearing the number six for the black-and-yellow. 

What a revenge game it was. Queen amassed ten total tackles, including a tackle for loss, and forced and recovered the fumble and the end of the first half that ensured the Steelers would go into the locker room with a two-point lead.

He was not the only stellar contributor on defense yesterday. Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. was targeted only three times, but allowed zero catches, forced two incompletions, and earned an 86.4 Pro Football Focus grade (for whatever that is worth). Rookie third-round linebacker Payton Wilson made a game-saving interception in the second half, tracking running back Justice Hill from behind on a wheel route and wrestling the ball from his grasp before Hill secured possession. Had Wilson not intervened, the Ravens would have had the ball in field-goal range.

The defense as a unit has been extraordinary this year. Through ten games, the Steelers have allowed 162 points—an average of 16.2 points per game. That is the lowest points per game through ten games since 2008, when they beat the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII.

Let us circle back to the offense, though, because it could conceivably become a problem in the future. The Steelers have won two games this season without scoring a touchdown. They beat the Falcons 18-10 in week 1 with six field goals from Chris Boswell, and they beat the Ravens 18-16 yesterday with the same production. Those are both wins—they are 2-0 when scoring zero touchdowns. However, the bigger concern is red zone offense. Boswell’s field goals came from the 14, 34, 14, 39, 8, and 32 yard lines. Russell Wilson also threw an interception when the Steelers had the football on the Ravens’ 5-yard line.

If you are keeping track at home, that is a zero percent red zone conversion rate. Zero touchdowns in four trips, and only nine points. That, simply, cannot happen. I am a huge fan of Russell Wilson and what he has brought to the team since his insertion into the starting lineup, but it may be time to use Justin Fields a bit in the red zone, if for no reason other than his mobility. 

Per Alan Saunders of Steelers Now, “Both Justin Fields and Russell Wilson have led 11 drives inside the opponent’s 10-yard line. Wilson: 4 TDs, 5 FGs, 3.9 pts/drive; Fields: 8 TDs, 1 FG, 5.4 pts/drive”. Obviously, those statistics do not tell the entire story. There is a dependency on matchup (i.e., the strength of the defense against which you are facing), the situation (are you trying to win the game, bleed clock, etc.?), and a multitude of other factors. However, there is certainly evidence to suggest that Fields’ dual-threat nature poses a problem for opposing defenses. In fact, for the first time since his benching, Fields saw game action yesterday, and was utilized on the final two (non-kneel down) plays, using his legs on the first play to make it third-and-one, and then handing the ball off to Najee Harris for the game-clinching first-down run.

Regardless of how they won, the Steelers are 8-2, and one game behind the Kansas City Chiefs for the number one seed in the AFC. They have five victories against teams that currently own winning records. They just beat the best offense in football without putting the ball in the end zone.

We are only one win away from another winning season. However, if that is the biggest thing that the Steelers accomplish this year, it will be a colossal disappointment. It will be interesting to see if Thursday’s game against Cleveland is a letdown spot after such an emotionally-draining victory.

It still boggles the mind how poorly Lamar Jackson continues to play against the Steelers. At some point, he will probably make me eat my words, but for now, it seems as though he cannot escape the enveloping black and yellow fog, no matter how well he is playing at the time. After all, football is weird.