5 thoughts from Steelers' season-ending loss to Ravens

Five things we learned from Ravens 28, Steelers 10:

1. Repeat performance

It wasn’t just that the Steelers scored one offensive touchdown for the eighth time in the past nine games. It was the way the offense stagnated more than at any other time this season that stood out in the loss.

Not only were the 168 yards of offense a season low, it was 61 yards fewer than the Steelers gained in their previous worst showing.

Of the 10 drives that didn’t involve running out the clock at the end of each half, the Steelers only had one extend beyond 28 yards and one than produced more than two first downs. That was the 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that spanned the first and second quarters.

2. Duck for cover

Despite the heavy rain, “Duck” Hodges was out of his element against the Ravens, and his downward spiral culminated with 9-of-25 completions for 95 yards.

The best thing that can be said about Hodges’ effort was that he didn’t thrown an interception. On the other hand, he lost a fumble late in the first half and provided the Ravens with a safety in the fourth quarter when he was called for intentional grounding in the end zone. Those were nine points attributed to Hodges mistakes.

After winning his first three starts, Hodges received a wake-up call in his final three. He completed 43 of 80 passes for 381 yards, one touchdown and six interceptions in losses to Buffalo, the New York Jets and Baltimore. That equated to a 39.6 passer rating.

When he wasn’t running for his life, Hodges also was harassed into nine sacks over the final three games.

3. Not so special

No special teams player endured a worse final stretch than punter Jordan Berry, whose fumble in the driving rain resulted in a recovery in the end zone for the Ravens. The touchdown hiked the Ravens’ lead to 26-10 with 4:36 remaining.

Berry’s gaffe came on the heels of mistakes against Buffalo, when he had a 22-yard punt, and Arizona, when he was dropped in the backfield trying to run with a fake punt that had been called off.

Not to be outdone, the Steelers punt return unit was unable to stop a fake by the Ravens from their 11 in the fourth quarter.

At least kicker Chris Boswell finished off his bounce-back season by making his only field-goal attempt.

4. Sack masters

With three sacks, the Steelers finished with an NFL-high 54, marking the third consecutive season they topped 50, something no other team had done since 2000.

T.J. Watt fell short of the single-season record of 16 sacks, settling for a half-sack that raised his team-high total to 14.5. Bud Dupree finished with 11.5 sacks, and Cameron Heyward increased his total to nine.

The Steelers were the only team in the NFL to have three players record at least nine sacks. The last time the Steelers had three players with at least nine sacks was in 2001 when Jason Gildon (12), Kendrell Bell (9) and Joey Porter (9) accomplished the feat.

The Steelers also led the NFL with 19 forced fumbles and 17 fumble recoveries.

5. 2020 vision

The final piece of the 2020 schedule was finalized when the Denver Broncos defeated the Oakland Raiders, 16-15.

As the second-place team in the AFC West, the Broncos will visit Heinz Field next season. The Raiders entered the finale in second place, but the Broncos leapfrogged them with their fourth win in the final five games.

The second-place team in the AFC East, the Buffalo Bills, will host the Steelers next season.

The rest of the 2020 schedule includes home games against the Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Denver and AFC North games against the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns.

The remaining road portion features trips to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Buffalo, New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys in addition to annual visits to Baltimore, Cincinnati and Cleveland.

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