Steelers Reporter Says 17-10 Win Was Gift Wrapped By Ravens' John Harbaugh's Poor Decision Making

The Pittsburgh Steelers found a way to win another tough AFC North clash with the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday afternoon. The club got a game-changing play on special teams, did enough defensively, and got a shot of offense when they needed to come away with the 17-10 win and first place in the division entering the bye week. Pittsburgh clawed their way to victory, but had lots of help from the Ravens along the way. 

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson placed the blame for the loss on his receiving corps, who had several drops that could've gone for scores, but Ray Fittipaldo said the responsibility lies with the man in charge. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette scribe said during the Monday edition of the North Shore Drive podcast that Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh made several questionable decisions that led to the Ravens fumbling away the 10-3 lead the team had built at halftime.

The first of the Ravens' bench boss' curious decisions was to have the offense hurry up to try and convert a fourth down play with less than :30 seconds left in the first half while they were well within kicker Justin Tucker's range. After a pair of incomplete passes by Jackson, the team called timeout with :45 seconds left. Jackson completed a pass to Nelson Agholor to set up a fourth and two and Jackson couldn't connect with rookie receiver Zay Flowers leading to a turnover on downs. The team had a very good chance to send Pittsburgh to the locker room at the half with a 13-3 deficit, but decided to try and go for the jugular and missed. 

Fittipaldo said that he understood the call by Harbaugh to try and put the Steelers in a tougher position coming out of the break, but still questioned why not just take the points against a Pittsburgh squad that has been starved of offense so far this season. 

Steelers' Win Comes Largely Thanks To 2 Big Harbaugh Blunders    

The decision to not take points at the end of the first half was a miss for the Ravens' Head Coach, but ultimately it was two calls in the second half that led to Pittsburgh being able to steal away a win in a classic low-scoring Ravens-Steelers slugfest. The first of these came in the fourth quarter after Pittsburgh had a serious gaffe of their own. 

After a tremendous punt block by Miles Killebrew for a safety, Pittsburgh managed to drive down the field for three points from the leg of Chris Boswell. The Ravens got the ball back, but had a quick three-and-out forcing them to punt. On the ensuing play, Pittsburgh returner Gunner Olszewski ran into teammate Connor Heyward and coughed up the ball. The Ravens recovered with excellent field position and another chance to put the Steelers away. 

Baltimore tried a run play on first down and goal by Justice Hill for a three-yard gain. Then Jackson completed a short pass to tight end Mark Andrews that was stuffed by Kwon Alexander for a one-yard loss. The Ravens called a timeout before running a play on third down as Flowers went to the line looking confused about the play call. After the timeout, the Ravens tried a throw to Odell Beckham Jr. in the back of the end zone, but Jackson was picked off by rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr.

Fittipaldo said he understood the decision to put the ball in the hands of their well-paid franchise quarterback, but ultimately it was a poor understanding of the situation in his opinion. He added that Harbaugh needed to be more aware of Jackson's career struggles against Pittsburgh. 

"I thought his coach put him in a bad situation there," he said of Jackson on the play. "Terrible throw, but if you’re Harbaugh, just take the easy points and you probably walk out of Acrisure Stadium with a victory."   

The interception by Porter gave Pittsburgh the ball back on their own 20-yard-line, but they mustered a 41-yard touchdown with Kenny Pickett connecting with George Pickens for the big play. The Ravens had single coverage on Pickens, which was another confusing move by Harbaugh, according to Fittipaldo. With no Diontae Johnson or Pat Freiermuth on the field due to injury, he said the only option for Pittsburgh was to go to Pickens at that moment, and the Ravens should've known that. 

He added he knows the Ravens like to be aggressive, but in his mind, there was one guy that was going to beat them, and he did. Fittipaldo credited Pickett for the throw and Pickens for hauling it in for the score, but ultimately said this was a case of a coach not understanding the situation. 

There's never one cause for a team winning or losing a game in the NFL. Pittsburgh had some big plays in key moments and won the turnover battle, but if Harbaugh had taken points or doubled Pickens, it might've been a different result. 

Do you agree that Harbaugh handed Pittsburgh the win? How much did coaching decisions factor on the opposing sideline into the victory for the Steelers?