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Mark Barron takes down Ravens tight end Hayden Hurst in the second quarter Sunday, Oct. 6 2019, at Heinz Field.
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Instant analysis: Steelers drop to 1-4 on the season

Matt Freed/Post-Gazette

Instant analysis: Steelers drop to 1-4 on the season

The Ravens came away from Heinz Field with a 26-23 victory over the Steelers. Here are some initial thoughts on the defeat.

It was over when: With the Steelers driving in overtime, JuJu Smith-Schuster caught a pass that Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey punched out of his hand for a fumble.

The turnover set up Ravens kicker Justin Tucker’s winning field goal.

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Heroes: For once, the Steelers’ pass coverage was a huge strength. The much-maligned secondary tallied three interceptions and gave the Steelers excellent field position on multiple occasions, which was especially critical when the offense struggled early.

Ben Roethlisberger watches from the sideline as his team takes on the Bengals in the first quarter Monday, Sept. 30 2019, at Heinz Field.
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The first came off a tipped pass near the Ravens’ end zone that landed in Kameron Kelly’s hands for his first career interception.

Mike Hilton picked off Lamar Jackson with less than a minute to go in the second quarter, which led to a Chris Boswell field goal.

And finally, in the third quarter, rookie linebacker Devin Bush took the ball right out of Ravens tight end Nick Boyle’s hands for a spectacular interception.

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Jackson had a rough day in general, only throwing for 161 yards and one touchdown in addition to those three picks. It didn’t hurt that the defensive line was also giving Jackson hell all day and eventually tallied five sacks.

Goats: Smith-Schuster’s fumble was bad. That’s obvious.

Randy Fichtner called a very strange first few drives, and a throw by Jaylen Samuels out of the wildcat formation early in the game resulted in an interception near the Steelers’ end zone.

Maybe it’s time to retire the wildcat for a bit.

Steelers tight end Xavier Grimble goes through drills during Mini Camp Wednesday, June. 12, 2019, at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, Pittsburgh.
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Rudolph KO’d: With the Steelers trailing the Ravens 17-13 in the third, Mason Rudolph scrambled in the pocket to keep the play alive and completed a pass to James Washington.

Unfortunately, he also took a brutal hit to the head from Ravens safety Earl Thomas that left Rudolph motionless on the ground and everyone at Heinz Field shocked and horrified.

Rudolph was eventually diagnosed with a concussion and taken to a local hospital for further evaluation. He had been having an efficient but forgettable day before the hit, completing 13 of 20 passes for 131 yards and one touchdown.

But his numbers were no longer the primary concern after that hit. Now, the question going forward is just how severe Rudolph’s head injury is.

Duck call: With Rudolph out, the next man up was Devlin Hodges, who only made the main roster after the Steelers traded Josh Dobbs to the Jaguars a few weeks ago. The third-string QB came in and acquitted himself quite well, going 7 of 9 for 68 yards, rushing for 20 yards and putting the Steelers in a position to succeed.

He was far from spectacular, but you couldn’t have asked for more from a guy who probably never expected to to see the field in 2019, let alone in Week 5.

Next: The Steelers will fly across the country this week to face the Chargers at Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles. The “Sunday Night Football” game will kick off at 8:20 p.m.

Joshua Axelrod: jaxelrod@post-gazette.com and Twitter @jaxel222

First Published: October 6, 2019, 8:41 p.m.

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