3 Ravens players under pressure and why they could perform

How to beat the Ravens?

This week, the Pittsburgh Steelers will look to limit Baltimore’s strengths: a strong running game, a defense that wins up front, a quarterback playing at a career-best level. But, inevitably, they will have to look for their weaknesses, picking off the Ravens at the joints where they are not so well oiled.

After a marathon 12-5 regular season, the Ravens need to be acutely aware of their weaknesses and, more specifically, which players their opponents will target. What pressure will some of these players, who throughout the season have been criticized by their own fans, be under this Saturday?

Here’s a look at which players are under pressure and why the Ravens’ weak spots may not be as vulnerable as you think:

Cornerback Brandon Stephens

THE coup for the Ravens defense was abrupt and welcome. After making personnel changes at safety in Week 11, the Ravens finished the season ranked first in pass defense and allowed just five passing touchdowns in their final seven games.

But if there’s one high school guy to pick on, it’s Brandon Stephens. And opponents – including the Steelers – do it regularly. No one was targeted more times (102), and no one gave up more yards (906) from distance. Stephens also leads the Ravens with five pass interference flags. His coverage grade on Pro Football Focus went from 50th among cornerbacks last year to 95th this season.

Stephens hasn’t played this many snaps this early in the season since The Ravens traded for Tre’Davious Whitebut he showed signs of improvement. Over his last six games, Stephens hasn’t allowed more than 49 yards and his yards per target average has fallen below 10.0. Whether it’s the Ravens’ tweaked scheme, the improved safety play, or the strengthening of Stephens, teams aren’t attacking him deep like they were early in the season.

The Ravens have been bullish on Stephens despite his overall decline in effectiveness, saying his game is technically sound but luck and other factors have worked against him. The Steelers plan to use George Pickens and Pat Freiermuth, taking advantage of their height against the 6-foot-1 corner. During week 11, Pittsburgh gained 86 yards against Stephens.

Defensive coordinator Zach Orr remained confident, noting that he spoke this week with coach John Harbaugh about how well Stephens has been in practice.

“It’s one play, next play, whatever happens — whether it’s a good play or a bad play — he moves on,” Orr said. “We are happy with B-Steve. We love it when teams try to challenge him, and we know he’s up for the challenge.

Guard Daniel Faalele

Although general manager Eric DeCosta said the Ravens’ revamped offensive line would struggle early in the season, Baltimore’s 0-2 start angered fans. Much of that frustration was directed at Daniel Faalele, the 6-foot-8 lineman who found himself in a new position at right guard and appearing exposed on film cutouts.

Months later, after be selected as a Pro Bowl alternateFaalele feels much more comfortable. He didn’t admit to feeling left out — which, frankly, he often did — but said he had to block out a lot of noise.

“I felt like fingers were being pointed in every direction,” he said. “I just felt like I just had to focus on myself and what I needed to improve on, and then I just focused on my teammates and my coaches and told myself what I needed to work on.”

He was part of an offensive line with a tremendous accomplishment: setting the highest yards per carry average (5.8) in NFL history. This week, Faalele said he wasn’t even aware of the record, which broke the Browns’ mark in 1963 with Hall of Famer Jim Brown in the backfield.

According to Pro Football Focus, Faalele scored above his season-long blocking mark during the Ravens’ 4-0 run to end the season. He’s allowed just one sack this season, and after drawing six flags in his first 10 weeks, he hasn’t had one in his last seven games.

That said, if we have to pick players to target on this offensive line, it’s the guards. Faalele (49th of 77) and Patrick Mekari (51st of 77) are PFF’s lowest-rated players along Baltimore’s line and, between them, Faalele has given up the most quarterback hurries (28). Faalele struggled with pass blocking in both matchups against Pittsburgh (pass blocking is Mekari’s strength). The Steelers should be healthier for this game (as opposed to week 16), with defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi set to line up against Faalele up front.

The Ravens have done a good job in recent weeks of alleviating pressure and mauling in the running game. The line seems consistent, Faalele said. He doesn’t get caught up in his individual performance, which is probably the mental approach he needs. More importantly, the blockers who work with him trust him to do his part.

“I think he’s doing well,” Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum said. “Chasing him or attacking him, I don’t know how teams are going to do that. But whatever challenge he faces, my money is on him.

Kicker Justin Tucker

The Ravens have been fortunate to play many games with the best kicker in the NFL. The difference this week is that Pittsburgh’s Chris Boswell (41 of 44 on field goals) has a much better claim to the title than Justin Tucker.

By the most important metric, this is the nadir of Tucker’s career. He only converted 73.3% of his attempts. Most of his misses came in the six weeks before the Ravens left, and most of them were to the left.

Since his leave, however, Tucker’s performances have been uneventful, which is a good thing for a kicker. He’s made two field goals of 50-plus yards in the Ravens’ last four games, and he hasn’t missed an extra point. One of his field goals came against Pittsburgh in Week 16 in pretty dreary weather.

As he has been throughout this season, Tucker was stoic this week in talking about his turnaround, which for him hasn’t been a turnaround at all.

“I felt like I was just doing my job,” he said. “Forget what everyone else out here thinks. We just care about taking care of our job, getting the ball through the uprights when given the opportunity and just trusting that our technique will get us through and help our team win goals. football matches.

During his postseason career, Tucker is 18-for-22, including in the 2012 Super Bowl where he was 4-for-4, helping heal a city that was emotionally crippled by Billy’s failure Cundiff against the Patriots in 2011. Inside 40 yards, he never missed a field goal in the playoffs. If Tucker did not experience the problems of the regular seasonBaltimore fans’ confidence in him would likely be high.

It’s worth wondering how the Ravens will respond if this weekend’s icy conditions are accompanied by swirling winds. In Week 18, Baltimore twice took a chance on fourth down in Cleveland territory on a particularly windy day with the AFC North title on the line (although, admittedly, it could afford to be more aggressive against an anemic Browns offense). If it comes to kicking, the Steelers must be feeling good: Boswell is 13-of-15 on attempts of 50-plus yards, while Tucker is 6-of-11.

But Tucker’s competitiveness could be an advantage. Special teams coordinator Chris Horton praised Tucker’s play over the past four weeks and said the Ravens expect the kicker to have long set the standard of excellence at the position.

“I think what we want to see from him, we see it, and I think we saw it,” Horton said. “And, for us, it just doesn’t worry us. We kicked him out. He knows his job, and he wants to go, and he wants to kick, and I think he’s in a good position right now.