PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Steelers needed quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to play great to beat the Baltimore Ravens without running back Le'Veon Bell.
And maybe that was the problem.
Roethlisberger threw for 334 yards and a touchdown in the Steelers’ 30-17 loss in an AFC wild-card game. But he also reverted back to the form that had been noticeably absent during the Steelers' four-game winning streak at the end of the rgular-season.
Roethlisberger too often held onto the ball too long against the Ravens, trying to make big plays that rarely materialized against a suspect secondary that has had seven different starting cornerbacks this season.
As a result, the Ravens sacked Roethlisberger five times after the veteran had been dropped just twice in the Steelers’ four previous games combined.
Roethlisberger did not receive great protection from his offensive line. But all five of the Ravens’ sacks came on play in which they rushed just four passers, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
That was the most sacks the Steelers allowed this season against a standard pass rush, and it suggests that there were problems both with protection and with Roethlisberger not getting rid of the ball sooner.
“This is going to sting for awhile,” Roethlisberger said after the Steelers lost their third consecutive postseason game. “I didn’t play well enough to win.”
There were extenuating circumstances to the Roethlisberger-led offense managing just one touchdown after it had scored six in a 43-23 win over the Ravens two months earlier at Heinz Field.
The loss of Bell, who did not play against the Ravens because of a hyperextended right knee, deprived the Steelers of one of the most complete players in the NFL not to mention an All-Pro selection in 2014.
The play that most showed how much the Steelers missed Bell came in the fourth quarter with Pittsburgh trailing 23-15.
Roethlisberger, under duress, attempted a dump pass to newly signed running back Ben Tate. The ball bounced off Tate’s hands and into the arms of diving Ravens outside linebacker Terrell Suggs at the Steelers' 21-yard line.
A play that might have gone for a big gain had Bell played turned into the turnover that effectively sealed the Steelers’ fate.
“I [put] too much heat on the high ball for [Tate]. That’s just something where he’s not used to playing with me,” Roethlisberger said. “I have to know better and get him a better and more catchable ball.”
Roethlisberger admirably shouldered an inordinate amount of blame after the deflating loss even though the Steelers were highly penalized in the game and also allowed Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco to get way too comfortable in the pocket.
But when asked if he too much of the loss on himself, especially given the absence of Bell, Roethlisberger said, “I don’t think that I played well enough and feel that it is my fault that we lost the game.”