The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens 18-16 on Sunday despite not scoring a touchdown. It marked Pittsburgh’s eighth win in nine games against the Ravens. Former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger credited Mike Tomlin for Pittsburgh’s success against the Ravens on his latest Footbahlin podcast and said he thinks that Tomlin is simply outcoaching John Harbaugh.
“I really think that Mike Tomlin was cooking in [John] Harbaugh’s kitchen,” Roethlisberger said. “I just think that Tomlin’s out-coaching him. It’s not just Tomlin. It’s not just head-to-head, but taking a timeout before the two-point conversion to see what they’re in. I just think the way that Coach Belichick used to outcoach certain teams, it just feels like what we’re doing to them.”
There’s no doubt that the Steelers have a mental edge over the Ravens at this point. The Steelers have successfully shut down Lamar Jackson, who’s now 1-4 against Pittsburgh, while forcing three turnovers and limiting what the Ravens could do offensively. Baltimore entered the game with the best offense in football, but Jackson completed under 50% of his passes while RB Derrick Henry ran for just 65 yards against Pittsburgh.
Tomlin has always gotten praise for how he manages the locker room, and the Steelers have just seemed like the more prepared team and the team that’s ready to go from the jump against the Ravens as of late. It’s a series that’s usually back and forth, but Pittsburgh hasn’t faltered against the Ravens, no matter how good they’ve looked against the rest of the league. It helps that they have a supremely talented defense, but they’ve been able to stop the Ravens’ offense like no other team over the past few seasons. Tomlin and the coaching staff deserve credit for creating a good game plan to get a stop.
In-game, Tomlin also made a smart decision to call a timeout after he saw what the Ravens’ personnel looked like before their two-point conversion, which could’ve tied the game up. Tomlin said that seeing the play before the conversion helped influence the timeout, and the ensuing defensive play call helped stymie Baltimore’s attempt to pick up the two. It was a huge play in helping Pittsburgh win the game, and Tomlin deserves credit for using a timeout in that situation.
It just feels like the Steelers have Baltimore’s number right now, and Tomlin deserves praise for instilling the confidence in the Steelers to come right out from the jump, make plays, and have the right gameplan every game they play the Ravens. Harbaugh is a good coach, someone who’s won a Super Bowl, and he had the Ravens playing like one of the best teams in football heading into their matchup against Pittsburgh. However, they didn’t have a lot of answers for the Steelers. The players certainly did their part for the Steelers, but Tomlin should also get his due.
