WEDNESDAY DAYTIME FOOTBALL Ravens-Steelers Recap

will be doing a Friday pre view show. I don't know if Week thirteen Patrick can get much wonkier than

Week twelve. This this felt like a fitting end to this week, right, a week that started about a week ago and came all the way back around to the next Wednesday, where we finally get this game and we're we're looking at an actual game that's it's like, hey, this is worth watching, and then r G three kind of pulls up lamb uh Luke Wilson for some reason forgets to secure football after catching it, and uh, we're

deprived of what would have been a fun Wednesday afternoon. Well, I can clearly see what you were rooting for their minga Fitzpatrick did make a nice play I think you're talking about, um, the last play of the first half. We can get to that that there was a lot um that went on in this game, and there's you know, of course all the COVID nineteen situation on both sides of the ball. Really you know, the Steelers lose their center pouncy uh coming into the game. That was like,

I'll literally happened on Wednesday. So the news just didn't

stop coming. Um. But it was surprising that, considering all that Baltimore had lost, primarily Lamar Jackson, that this game stayed close throughout and that we got to a point where there was a measurement at the very end, which you know, came down to the millimeters where who knows, the Ravens almost got the ball back with Trace McSorley back in our lives with a chance to go win the game, and we are deprived of a legendary Trace McSorley legacy drive opportunity where you know, maybe he could

throw the ball, you know, three Steelers could fall down in Hollywood, Brow could walk into the ins and again, which honestly, as you mentioned the way week twelve with that wasn't out of the realm of possibility. It could have been weird. Yeah, there's a few things I do want to get to. But one of my biggest takeaways here just moving forward because the fact that the Steelers struggled to put them away and and just how this

game actually flowed. I don't know how much you can project everything into the future in general this year, but especially after this insane week for both of these teams. That you know, for the Steelers is just like, okay, you can put the extra w in the standings and move on. The bigger problem is their long term stuff. They lose Pouncy and they lose Bud Dupree at the end of that game, and that it looked like a serious injury. We won't we won't have um news on that.

You hurt for Dupre who is in a franchise tag year heading into free agency. But if they don't get him back and they won't have Pounty back Um for their next game at least against Washington, and then that that's trouble for Pittsburgh, especially in in circumstances where people are legitimate looking at looking at the schedule and thinking of the sixteen and oh is an option. Uh, it's a possibility, But I mean this team is mainly concerned with its playoff viability and if you if you don't

have you know, your best most consistent offensive lineman. I know bud Dupree was beating with the PFF folks earlier. I think we're probably gonna see what he actually means to the team. Uh if he if he can't play, I miss that what they have him ranked low. He's been very active this year. Yeah, there there was there was a disagreement with regards to how the players are ranked, and uh, bud Dupree hopped in and I you know, immediately stepped out because nerds versus jocks, versus nerds versus

just incessant conversation over and over again. I just don't want to hear it. Those guys aren't nerds. They evaluate football players. And you know, bud dupre is a football player. He has it right to his own opinion. But yeah, other than that, you know, ass and on conversation, he is a good football player. He does provide value, uh to the team, and we see how good that defense could be. But in terms of the game, because I know, the big takeaway with the Pittsburgh Steelers in that game

as well. You know that was a depleted Ravens team. Like, if you're gonna throw out a game, throw out a game that happens on a weird Wednesday that's been delayed five times, that should have been played the week before, where half of one team is missing, and it's there was just a lot going on. If you're gonna throw out a game and say, hey, maybe this we don't take away all those things from it, it's gonna be

what happened earlier today. I agree with that, especially when you consider all the drop passes by the Steelers to UH two in the in the red zone. I mean, Deonte Johnson dropped a touchdown in the first half, and who who else was it that dropped well I thought

would have been a touchdown in the first half. Maybe that was James Washington who came came down with the big play at the end, and then Deonte Johnson had another drop late in the game which helped set up UM the Ravens wild touchdown when mc sorley came in there. It was a little it was a little disappointing that r G three didn't finish this game. At the time, UM we got into the fourth quarter, he actually had more yards running than anyone in the game had running

or seaving. So that's the type of game that it was. He only had about twenty two yards passing coming into the fourth quarter, but he kept them close enough. And I do think it tells you a little bit of just about the makeup of the organization that they're gonna get some players back before this Cowboys game, and that, to me is a just a crucial game for them because they're gonna have to find ways to win games

shorthanded against bad teams. In Dallas is a bad team. Uh, And this thing today I think was encouraging when it comes to that they can still run the ball. Yeah, they were able to run the ball. They're doing it with tight ends off the street. You know, we mentioned Luke Wilson's drop. They're they're bringing in new players and having them have to immediately contribute, and I think hopefully, um,

you know, obviously I'm a stand Uh people know that, Lamar. Yeah, you just you just kind of look at what he's been able to accomplish with the offensive line kind of falling apart um and again you know that uh we saw you know, Holly would have to touchdown late. But there was a play in the first half where T. J. Watt is like putting the clamps on him and running them out of bounds, like they had forty yards. They

had forty yards passing before that play. If there was something to take away for them, you know, they did get you know, the running game did look pretty good. I think they I agreed with Consworth's point that whatever Pittsburgh's um, whatever Baltimore is doing to Pittsburgh in terms of their run defense, people really should be looking at that now. I know not every team as Lamar Jackson, but some other teams have mobile quarterbacks. RT three is

no Lamar Jackson. They they ran the ball down Pittsburgh throw in the first matchup. That was as dominant of first half as they've seen by about any team all year. They ended up blowing that game because the turnovers. The turnovers didn't help today, but they they got some things done. I think they can move forward with running the ball. Yeah,

if Baltimore Lamar Jackson all that was standing. If Baltimore can have a third string guard playing tackle and still run the ball, uh, you know, with its backup quarterback, then there is a means with which you can run on this Steelers defense. I know that that game next week for pittsburgh's tricky because you know they're on a short week against Washington, who I think is playing really well, you know for Washington. Um. But if you're gonna, yeah,

I have think I think they've been pretty good. I think they've been the best team in the NFC East on balance, and and I think they can they can compete with Pittsburgh. I was gonna if you're gonna lose, if you're gonna lose a game, Actually, Pittsburgh should prefer to lose an NFC game because it could come down to conference record when it when it comes down to the Chiefs. But their schedule the rest of the way, uh,

is not easy at all. And this, to me was for a lot of people who haven't watched the Steelers done, was the ultimate big breeze game. That's the nickname I gave them. People think it was kind of like derogatory, and I was thinking more like breeze, like solid, maybe

not prime breeze, but good, very efficient breeze. It's more just that they're, uh, they're a dinky dunk offense right now, that's just know what they are, and that's why they can't really handle drops because they're not gonna make up for it with big plays. Yeah, and it also you know, it protects your quarterback. Even though Ben did took it take a massive hit, a couple of hits today that

was that was rare um. But you know, it keeps it keeps them upright, it keeps his You know, my my dog is still upset with your commentary on the football team. Uh you know, she makes an appearance, but but what's her name? How many dogs do you have, by the way, just the one? Okay, I thought you had like a multiple pet situation, but maybe there's there's there's an army of cats, but there's that's what I mean. So you have multiple cats, a dog, two kids, including

an infant. Do you ever think, like, once you get the kid, do we need these pets still? Yeah? I mean, I mean, no offense to this, this beautiful creature behind me. But there's uh yeah, we're full. We're all full of here. Hopefully everybody else could have a fulfilling situation with their with their furry friends. But see she's she's that's literally upset, uh with with with this conversation. I don't even know. I don't even know where we live. I don't know

where we are. Just got too excited about the football team there and Alex Smith Pittsburgh. It's funny because Pittsburgh, you know, they don't feel like a sixteen and a type of team, but they're also clearly one of the best teams in the league. So I feel must feel like people are a little too eager to to like dismiss what they've done because they're a little lucky to

be undefeated. It's like, yeah, okay, they're a little lucky, but they have a pretty efficient offense, not a great running game, a great defense, and they're in that tier of like tier two to five for me in the NFL behind that. And that's the thing, like we I hate to break it to everybody, but like, if you're gonna win fifteen or sixteen football games, you're you're gonna be lucky. Like that's it's not something that that you do.

And it's just like, yeah, we we did that really good. Like, you know, blades of grass can can change an entire season. You know, we saw what happened with the Cowboys and their quarterback with the Giants, Um start running back. I mean, uh, it's it's not easy to do. And so if you if you, if you win them all, then it's an incredible accomplishment. It doesn't matter like if you squeak by or like Willie Sneed drops a pass or something like you just you want all your football games. They were

piste though they were pissed. I got a little bit of postgame and Ben Roethlisberger is still standing there. By the way, Mina kimes Um called him grew Brees instead of Big. I've been calling him Big Brees and she went with grew Brees and that's better. That's actually better. And now her nickname is displaced mine, which is unfortunate for me, but I think that's that's a better. No, why would you don't be defeated? Brees is funny? No, No,

it's it's funny. But Big Brees you know it. You know it makes you think, like what if they're basically the same players? Just wanted significantly he uh Roethlisberger And we'll wrap up pretty quickly. I know you want to get get to your family here in this game. Was we need to move on to week thirteen for the good of society. Uh. He he was like really commenting how this game wasn't good enough, and he was all pissed.

And then Mike Tomlin said that they were JV in all three phrases, so they definitely came into it thinking they were gonna be the zombie Ravens by a lot, I think and enjoy it, and and Roethlisberger made a good point that he thought the toughest part about the whole last week was just mental kind of being trying to stay ready and not knowing exactly what to do, and that that's why it was a weird game, and

division games are weird. People really underrate that fact. Division games where the two teams know each other are we weird. To give him a little bit of a pass, and now they get a short week and the Ravens get a slightly longer week before they play your Dallas Cowboys, Who's are dogs. He used to be. I've tried to get this the going, and you're trying to make it, but I'm just a little too good at the honesty thing, all right, I think, um, I think that'll do it.

That this felt like, um, this felt like what it was like as much as we were going to get like this was it. This was the culmination of where we've been pointing to all season. Um r G three and four turnovers in the first like ten minutes of a game on a Wednesday afternoon. But I don't think it is. We're probably heading for more. We're probably getting weirder, Pats, I wouldn't put it past to be significantly weirder. Alright, check out Patrick Clayban three times a week on Fantasy

Live on NFL Network. We will be back with you on Friday. So that's a day later than our normal preview show, our our TV show pushed partly because of this weird game, so we're all we're all adjusting. That will air on NFL Network on Saturday morning, of course. Uh, and we might have a little bit of a special surprise guest on Friday for part of the show, for part of the show, just part. We'll see. That's a tea, just a little bit of a tease until then, see

you cut it off. Until then. It's like I was just thing, I mean that h