 |
| Joe Flacco completed 24 of 35 passes (68.6%) for 251 yards and a touchdown in a Thanksgiving home win that could save Baltimore's season. |
Cory Puffett
Before I get into my recap, I think the most important thing
is to express how thankful I am that the injury to Le’Veon Bell was not more
serious than it was. I wasn’t sure he’d play football again, let alone get up
and walk off the field.
The rookie had a big day. He said it’s always been his dream
to play on Thanksgiving. And just like in every other game he’s played this
year, he made the most of the opportunity. He had 73 rushing yards and a
touchdown in addition to 63 receiving yards on seven catches. I pray that one
play doesn’t end his career.
Overall, the Steelers played well. Their defense struggled
early but then picked it up down the stretch. Similarly, the offense couldn’t
sustain drives in the first half, but found success in the second.
The Ravens played well all game. The second half would lead
some to believe that the defense let up, but that isn’t true. And though the
Ravens didn’t score very much, they scored often. So though they were only able
to find the end zone once, they still found a way to win.
Justin Tucker was on
last night. Five-for-five from an average of more than 40 yards out is a pretty
damn good night.
I was equally impressed with Joe Flacco. It was far from a
perfect night, but he has made more good throws in the last two weeks than he
had all season leading up to then; and they don’t appear to be fluky throws.
With their victory, the Ravens have an opportunity to go out
and prove to the country that they are for real. They will likely not still
hold the sixth playoff spot once this weekend concludes, but they have a tough
schedule ahead of them. If they can overcome that and secure a playoff spot, a
lot of people, myself included, will be hard-pressed to find a reason to pick
against them in the playoffs.
The Steelers’ stumble on Thanksgiving all but takes them out
of the playoff picture. They aren’t mathematically eliminated, but the math
also doesn’t give them very kind odds.
Final Score:
Pittsburgh Steelers – 20
Baltimore Ravens – 22
No comments:
Post a Comment