The Steelers were never in the game. By losing the wild card game against the Ravens, the Steelers’ wait for a Super Bowl continues. After the home team took a 21-0 lead at halftime, Mike Tomlin really couldn’t mount his O-line again. Lamar Jackson showed his eagerness to win by scoring 2 TDs before halftime, ensuring they were dominant. They never made a comeback.

Disappointed with the loss, the Steelers HC Mike Tomlin took shots at the Ravens in his own style. He went all praise for the Ravens QB and said, “We had a group today that was obvious and really, you know, the X-factor was Lamar’s unique talents. It seems like every time we got him behind the sticks, he made up for it.” No one expected that from the coach, particularly after the loss. While Jackson was talented, their O-line stars, like Derrick Henry, were also unstoppable.

In the entire game, the Ravens’ rushing game was top-notch. While the Steelers failed to score a touchdown in 11 rushes for 29 yards, Henry-led Ravens scored 2 touchdowns in 50 rushes for 299 rushing yards. Henry alone scored 2 touchdowns with 26 rushes for 186 times almost 6X yards of their rivals. The O-line supported Lamar Jackson well, who recorded 2 TDs in 16 of 21 passes (76.1% completion rate) in 175 passing yards.

It’s clear. Lamar Jackson has impressed everyone as a dual-threat quarterback. He became the first NFL player with 4000+ passing and 800+ rushing yards. On Saturday, he displayed his dominant style with 15 rushes for 81 yards. But the Steelers made mistakes too.

Entering the playoffs after losing the last 4 games, it was expected to be a tough game. But the HC couldn’t materialize his players. After the loss, he pointed out the shortcomings of his team.

Mike Tomlin revealed his failed demand from the Steelers

In all 4 games that the Steelers lost as the regular season ended, they failed to score more than 17 points. Something was not right. They failed again in the wildcard game, scoring only 14 points. The HC revealed his demand and said, “You know, we just had moved the ball enough or consistently enough, scored enough points, particularly in January football man. You gotta score points. And we weren’t able to do that.” That was honest.

For Mike Tomlin, it’s his 16th consecutive season without a Super Bowl. And since 2020, they haven’t won a wild-card game. That’s very painful. With a 45.5% (5 of 11) third down efficiency, they were much behind the Ravens who had a 66.7% (10 of 15) 3rd down efficiency. The home team also decimated them in the red zone efficiency with 75% compared to the Steelers’ zero.

In the end, they lost, sending the Steeler Nation into mourning. They will have to dig deep and find the answers to their poor run in the playoffs. That’s their priority.