Mike Preston Grades The Ravens Playoff Win In Pittsburgh
Mike Preston covers the Ravens and writes a column for the Baltimore Ravens Sports section.
Mike grades the Ravens the day after every game and here are his grades for the Wild Card win in Pittsburgh.
Mike started out by giving Joe Flacco a grade of B+ saying "he played a solid game, and his elusiveness led to several big plays." The offensive line received a grade of B+ and the running backs received a C+. Mike graded the receivers high giving them an A- saying "the Steelers couldn't handle the Ravens receivers and Joe Flacco wasn't afraid to take chances down-field to Torrey Smith and Steve Smith."
As for the Defense Mike gave the D line a grade of B+ saying "the Steelers couldn't run the football because the Ravens outworked them at the line of scrimmage." Linebackers received a grade of B+ while the secondary received a C with Mike saying "they had trouble making tackles as Pittsburgh completed short passes, but this group wasn't intimidated by the Steelers and challenged them at the line of scrimmage."
With regards to the special teams unit Mike gave them a C saying "the penalty for having 12 men on the field on the field goal attempt was unacceptable. They also had a punt blocked." Finally Mike graded the coaching staff with a B+ saying "after a month of playing poorly, the Ravens came out strong against the Steelers."