Someone asked Mike Tomlin at his news conference Tuesday if he thought the Baltimore Ravens had the Steelers’ number, and he said he did not.
Of course they do. It’s right there in the phone book.
And if that is not the number the questioner meant, then the other one is right there in the Steelers’ media information booklets. It says the Ravens have won the past four games against the Steelers, six of the past seven and the past two at Heinz Field, including one in the playoffs.
They not only have the Steelers’ number, but they also own them. The Steelers will win the AFC North Division title if they beat Baltimore on Christmas Day. Baltimore will own the title with wins in its final two games.
“I think oftentimes when we are faced with an opportunity or a big game like this, we talk about the game itself,” Tomlin said. “But for those of us that are in the profession, these are fun weeks from a preparation standpoint. I am excited about continuing that process with the staff and starting that process with the players when they get in here tomorrow.”
The process has been generally less exciting for them once the game begins with the Ravens over the past several years. That includes the second-to-last game of 2015 in Baltimore, when a four-win Ravens team with a third-string quarterback embarrassed them and nearly ruined their playoff chances.
Mike Tomlin is 10-12 vs. Ravens coach John Harbaugh. Ben Roethlisberger is 9-8 vs. Baltimore in his career, and his statistics are way off what they are against the rest of the league combined.
Much of that has to do with the Ravens having a good team most of this century, especially on defense.
Whatever they do, the Steelers need to ditch that offensive game plan they used Nov. 6 in Baltimore when they lost, 21-14. They did not open things up until they fell behind, 21-0, in the fourth quarter, and it became readily apparent that handing the ball to Le’Veon Bell was not going to work. He had the ball on 12 of the Steelers’ 24 offensive plays in the first half. His 32 yards rushing that day are his season low.
The Ravens and Steelers have changed since they last met. For one, Roethlisberger did not miss the previous game after meniscus knee surgery, as he did when he played in Baltimore Nov. 6. For another, the Steelers defense has improved. But what hasn’t changed is a Ravens defense that ranks No. 2 in the NFL against the run, allowing only 82.1 yards per game.
If the Steelers are going to win this one, it will be on the arm of Roethlisberger. Even after he possibly lost yet another receiver as tight end Ladarius Green goes through the league’s concussion protocol this week, it will be on Roethlisberger to outplay Joe Flacco, bring home another AFC North Division title and put his team in position to make a run for the Super Bowl.
He and his offense did not do that in Baltimore the past two games — failing in Baltimore last season with Ryan Mallett at quarterback after the Ravens signed him 12 days earlier. They needed the Buffalo Bills to put them in the playoffs the final week.
Another loss on Christmas to the Ravens would create the need for help from others again to squeeze the Steelers into a playoff spot.
Naturally, Tomlin was in no mood Tuesday to look back on any poor performances against Baltimore or anyone else.
“I’m not going to make excuses for our negative performances. They are what they are. You can draw whatever conclusions you desire to draw,” he said. “We’re focused on this opportunity and this play that’s in front of us now. We’re all a product of our experiences, positive and negative. Hopefully, we’ve grown and learned from the negative ones just as much as we have, or more so, than we have the positive ones.”
The Steelers need Roethlisberger to have a game like he had more than two years ago when he last beat Baltimore, Nov. 2, 2014, at Heinz Field. He passed for 340 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions. He had a 136.6 passer rating, and the Steelers won, 43-23.
In his next two games against Baltimore, both losses, the Steelers combined to score 31 points.
Roethlisberger has a career passer rating of 94. It is 83.2 vs. Baltimore. He has 28 touchdown passes and 19 interceptions in those 17 games against the Ravens, a ratio of 1.47 TD passes for every interception. Against the rest of the league, he has thrown 1.94 TD passes for every interception.
It is time for Ben Roethlisberger to find the Baltimore Ravens’ number again.
Ed Bouchette: ebouchette@post-gazette.com.
First Published: December 21, 2016, 5:00 a.m.
