Pittsburgh Steelers' Flaws Exposed in Sloppy Week 12 Win vs. Ravens

The Pittsburgh Steelers are 11-0 and have a legitimate chance of chasing perfection during the 2020 regular season. After a wild week that saw the game postponed three separate times, the Steelers finally played the Baltimore Ravens on Wednesday and came away victorious.

However, the Ravens were far from full strength, with key players like Lamar Jackson, Mark Andrews, Matt Judon and J.K. Dobbins on the reserve/COVID-19 list. The Steelers didn't blow out Baltimore's skeleton crew and easily could have lost the game if not for a few key Ravens mistakes.

Pittsburgh may be perfect in the win-loss column, but they are far from a perfect team. A few of the team's biggest flaws were exposed against Baltimore on Wednesday. We'll dive into those here, along with a couple of other key takeaways.

This Team Is Far from Unbeatable

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Rapper and Steelers celebrity fan Snoop Dogg once boasted "perfection is perfected."

This isn't a claim that the 2020 Steelers can make. They should feel lucky to escape Week 12 with a win—and perhaps fortunate that an ill-prepared and injury-hampered Robert Griffin III couldn't provide more for the Ravens at quarterback.

Griffin passed for just 33 yards with an interception that was returned for a critical touchdown in the 19-14 contest. Some horrible clock management at the end of the first half left Griffin and the Ravens on the Pittsburgh 1-yard line and with zero points.

On Wednesday, the Steelers made several key errors of their own. They twice settled for field goals in the red zone, they were just 6 of 16 on third- and fourth-down conversion attempts, and a fumbled punt led to Baltimore's first points of the day. The Steelers' first trip to the red zone ended with a Ben Roethlisberger interception.

Against a fully-staffed Ravens roster, this sort of performance would likely have resulted in a loss.

"We’re fortunate tonight. It’s good to proceed with the victory. I acknowledge that. But not a lot happened tonight to be proud of or excited about," head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters after the game.

While the Steelers weren't exactly at full strength either—Maurkice Pouncey and James Conner landed on the reserve/COVID-19 list and pass-rusher Bud Dupree left with a knee injury—winning sloppily isn't new for Pittsburgh this season.

The Steelers have now won six games by seven points or fewer with three of those wins coming against teams with a losing record. The Steelers aren't perfect, and with the quality opponents like the Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts left on the schedule, they may not finish with a perfect record either.

The Offense Needs to Be Better

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As previously mentioned, the Steelers were without center Maurkice Pouncey and running back James Conner. That certainly hurt their offense, but it doesn't fully excuse another lackluster performance from Roethlisberger and Co.

Yes, the Steelers still amassed 334 yards and won the game. However, they only produced 12 offensive points and went 6-of-14 on third down and 0-2 on fourth down. They averaged just 3.4 yards per carry as a team and only scored once in the second half.

While the Steelers offense is certainly better with Big Ben under center than it was with the combo platter of Devlin Hodges and Mason Rudolph last season, Pittsburgh is not a particularly efficient offensive team. It came in ranked 27th in yards per carry and 22nd in net yards per pass attempt.

As was the case for virtually all of 2019, the defense has often carried the Steelers in 2020. That may not be a possible playoff formula next month, especially now that two of the team's top defenders are done for the year.

The Steelers had already lost star linebacker Devin Bush. On Wednesday, they lost pass-rusher Bud Dupree to what is believed to be a torn ACL.

The Pittsburgh defense—ranked first in points allowed—is good enough to get by, but it isn't likely to completely shut down teams like the Kansas City Chiefs in the postseason.

If the Steelers hope to chase a Lombardi Trophy and not just a stellar regular-season record, they're going to have to raise their level of play on the offensive side of the ball.

The Defense Is Still Full of Playmakers

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While it's hard to find many positives from this win—aside from the fact that, you know, Pittsburgh won—the Steelers should feel confident that their defense is still loaded with game-changing players.

Cornerback Joe Haden set the tone defensively with a 14-yard pick-six in the first quarter. T.J. Watt added two more sacks to his Defensive-Player-of-the-Year resume, and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick had a couple of key batted passes.

In all, the Ravens produced just 219 yards of offense on Wednesday, with 70 of those yards coming on a 70-yard bomb from third-string quarterback Trace McSorley. The Pittsburgh defense only surrendered seven points and has now given up 10 or fewer points in each of its last three games.

Is the defense better with Bush and Dupree on the field? Absolutely. Was it playing a Ravens offense missing several key starters? Positively. However, there is enough playmaking talent left for the Steelers to feel good about their chances of winning with defense over the final five weeks.

The real test will come in the postseason, where teams like the Kansas City Chiefs and Tennessee Titans—who were a missed field goal away from forcing overtime in Week 7—will be lurking. If the defense can keep those games close, though, the Steelers will have a good chance to advance.

Pittsburgh may not be perfect. It may need better results from its offense and special team. It may be missing key defenders. But it's still going to be a tough out for any opponent once it's win-or-go-home time.