Getty Ravens RB Gus Edwards only received 3 carries against the Steelers on January 1, 2023.
The Baltimore Ravens came up short of completing the regular season sweep of the Pittsburgh Steelers in a decisive 16-13 defeat in Week 17 but they still managed to rush for over 100 yards for the 15th straight game. Leading the way on the ground was running back J.K. Dobbins who finished with 93 yards on a career-high 17 carries for a healthy 5.5 yards per carry average.
While the third-year pro was able to set a new career-high in carries for a single game, his backfield mate and co-starter at running back, Gus Edwards, recorded one of the lowest totals of his career in both carries and yards with just 3 attempts for a merger 2 yards.
According to Pro Football Reference, he was only on the field for just 9 offensive snaps compared to 26 for Dobbins which was half of the team’s total for the game. Even though he didn’t record single touch or target, fourth-year pro Justice Hill out-snapped Edwards on offense with 17.
In his Monday press conference on January 2, 2023, head coach John Harbaugh expressed his displeasure with the lack of involvement of ‘Gus the Bus’ in the offensive game plan.
“Gus should have played more.”
“I wasn’t happy about that,” Harbaugh said in his press conference on January 2. “In all honesty, Gus should have played more, there’s no doubt about it. Really no excuse for that.”
According to ESPN’s Jamison Hensley, the fifth-year pro’s dismal yardage and attempts totals were his fewest since 2020. Per Pro Football Reference, that game came in Week 11 of that season in a 30-24 loss to the Tennessee Titans where he recorded just 6 yards on 3 carries and both of his career lows came in Week 7 of his rookie season back in 2018 where recorded didn’t gain any yards on a pair of carries in 24-23 loss to the New Orleans Saints.
The decision not to work Edwards into the lineup more should have Harbaugh and Ravens fans understandably frustrated. He was coming off his most productive game of the year last week in the team’s win over the Atlanta Falcons where he rushed for a season-high 99 yards on just 11 carries.
Together, Edwards and Dobbins are arguably the best 1-2-punch running back combo in the league but they will both need to get an adequate amount of carries each week to be as effective and dangerous as they have proved they can be.
Going forward for the remainder of the season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Harbaugh exercise his executive power as the head coach to ensure that imbalances like this don’t happen again by calling up to the booth and instructing offensive Coordinator Greg Roman to get the bus rolling early and often.
Ravens Could Have Two Pro Bowl Defenders Return Soon
Despite having just played a classic AFC North slugfest, the team emerged relatively unscathed on the injury front and actually has some positive outlooks moving forward for a pair of key players that have missed some time.
Starting right tackle Morgan Moses exited the game in the second half with a biceps injury after playing 37 offensive snaps and did not return. He was replaced by utility lineman Patrick Mekari but thankfully “it doesn’t look” like anything serious according to Harbaugh.
“We got out of the game without anything serious to anybody, including Morgan,” he said.
While Harbaugh’s answer about whether he expects star quarterback Lamar Jackson to make his long-awaited return to practice this week was simply “I don’t know”, he was much more forthcoming and optimistic about the return of a pair of elite defenders to the lineup for their season finale matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Coach Harbaugh says Calais Campbell and Marcus Peters both have a chance to play this weekend:
Three-time Pro Bowl cornerback Marcus Peters and six-time defensive end Calais Campbell have both missed the last two games with injuries but they “both have a chance” to play in Week 18 per Harbaugh.
Peters, like Jackson who has missed the last four games with a knee sprain, was ruled out when the final injury report came out but after practicing on a limited basis on Friday, Campbell was a game-time decision. He came out on the field and warmed up prior to the game and was spotted with a bulky brace on his injured knee before being ruled out for the game.
His presence in the heart of the Ravens’ defensive front seven was sorely missed in their Week 17 loss in which the unit allowed a season-high 198 rushing yards to the Steelers and they weren’t able to consistently put pressure on a rookie Kenny Pickett.
Silver Lining Performances
Lost in aftermath of disappointing defeats in narrow losses are the standout showings from players on both sides of the ball and in all three phases that helped put the team in a position to win even if they ultimately came up short. There were quite a few players for the Ravens that would’ve been prime candidates to receive game balls had they come out on top.
TE Mark Andrews
Leading up to the game, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said that “it’s disrespectful” to label the three-time Pro Bowler as just a tight end because he is a “No. 1 receiving option”. Andrews proved him right and then some as his defense had no answers for the First-Team All-Pro on Sunday as he hauled in all 9 of his targets for his third 100-yard receiving game of the season. He was a chain-moving big play machine as two-thirds of his catches resulted in a new set of downs for the offense.
Mark Andrews 1-on-1 vs. safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. Gain of 18.
Mark Andrews double coverage vs. LB and safety. Gain of 19.
Mark Andrews vs. CB Cam Sutton on third-and-6. Gets open quickly but doesn’t get the ball.
“Mark [Andrews] got them in man on some crossing routes, and some sail routes and things like that, and just ran some outstanding routes,” Harbaugh said. “It’s very important to get Mark going. We’ve been talking about that for a number of weeks, that we needed to do that. So, I’m very excited about that part of it, and that’s something definitely to build on.”
DE Brent Urban
Filling in more than just admirably for Campbell in this game was the nine-year journeyman who has been playing well for the team all season in his second stint with the team that drafted him in the fourth round of the NFL Draft out of Virginia in 2014. He recorded 4 total tackles including a beautiful solo tackle for loss where knifed into the backfield to force a third-and-long on an eventual field goal attempt and batted down a pass at the line of scrimmage.
CB Brandon Stephens
While Campbell’s absence was glaring in the defensive line as a whole, the secondary didn’t miss a beat without Peters and actually performed much better against the Steelers’ dangerous core of pass catchers than they did in the first meeting thanks in large part due to the impressive play of the second-year defensive back. Stephens led the team in solo tackles with 7 and finished with 8 in total and recorded a pair of pass breakups including one incredible rep against standout rookie wide receiver George Pickens in a 1-on-1 situation in the end zone on a fade route.
I need more of this from Brandon Stephens please
DT Justin Madubuike
The third-year pro was arguably the Ravens’ most dominant and disruptive defensive player regardless of position in this game with the way he made plays on his own and for his fellow teammates. He finished with three solo tackles, his 5th full sack of the season, and helped second-year outside linebacker Odafe Oweh notch tackle for loss 7 yards in the backfield by bulldozing Steelers’ center Mason Cole, blowing up the play before it could get started.
Get to the QB @JustinMadubuike!!!
OG Ben Powers
Even though the Steelers stifled the Ravens’ running game compared to their usual dominant standards, they still produced several impressive runs, and leading the way on many of them was the fourth-year pro from his left guard spot. Powers was excellent as a puller as he helped pave the way to spring Dobbins for some of his best runs of the game.
Ben Powers is a monster puller (yet again). T.J. Watt runs himself out of the play, with assistance from Pat Ricard. Josh Oliver cleans up the edge with two powerful blocks.
J.K. Dobbins does the rest, hitting 19.02 mph on this 17-yard sprint.
S Chuck Clark
The Ravens’ stalwart veteran defensive back was all over the field and made plays both in coverage as well as run defense. He finished as the team’s leading tackler with 10 total and 6 solos and tied Stephens for the team lead in pass breakups with 2 that included a clutch play on third-and-short to force fourth down and the ensuing field goal was missed.