Baltimore Ravens banking on defense in playoff game against Pittsburgh
BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Ravens seem to have figured it out on defense at the right time.
They've limited their opponents to less than 17 points during their four-game win streak to end the regular season.
But now, defensive coordinator Zach Orr and his squad are getting set to play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday night at M&T Bank Stadium.
Over the last three games, Baltimore (12-5) has allowed an average of 9.7 points per game while the pass defense has ranked first in every major statistical category since week 11.
"I think that just kind of shows the unity and the bond and the family-type atmosphere that we have here," Orr said. "Because we say it's a family, but a lot of times, when things start going bad, you get tested. Guys start turning their back on each other and we never did that."
Orr continued that he always had "the confidence that we'll be able to get this thing going in the right direction. It's because we did stick together and we did have each other's back."
The Ravens finished first in the AFC North, and are the No.3-seed in the playoffs. Pittsburgh (10-7) finished second in the AFC North and are the No. 6 seed.
The teams split both games in the regular-season.
All-Pro defense
Safety Kyle Hamilton and Roquan Smith were voted by fellow players to the NFL All-Pro team.
Hamilton was second on the Ravens with 107 tackles. He also contributed two sacks and nine pass breakups. Smith led Baltimore with 154 tackles.
Still no Flowers
Wide receiver Zay Flowers, who suffered a knee injury last week against Cleveland, missed practice on Wednesday for the second time this week. It's looking more doubtful that the team's top receiver will be available on Saturday.
Running back Justice Hill was a full-go at practice on Wednesday. He had been dealing with a concussion and then an illness.
Monken garnering attention
Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken, who has interest from other teams as their head coach, said he's only focused on Pittsburgh.
Monken has guided the Ravens to the top offense in the NFL.
"Everything is about the Steelers," Monken said. "First of all, when anybody puts in a request, it's really a compliment to the organization, our staff and our players. You can't do it without really good players, really good staff, a great organization and an unbelievable head coach, but there's nothing about that that factors in right now, other than beating the Steelers."
