John Harbaugh Evaluates Ravens O-Line After Steelers Loss

There's plenty of blame to go around for the Baltimore Ravens' 27-22 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 14, which cost them sole possession of first place in the AFC North standings. However, more often than not, games are won and lost in the trenches and this game was no different.

While the Ravens were able to run the ball well, racking up 200-plus yards on the ground for the second time this season and first since Week 1, they had some key lapses in pass protection. Those breakdowns led to a pair of sacks and some pressures, preventing two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson from staying in the pocket and going through his progressions.

Head coach John Harbaugh told reporters the day after the game that he thought the offensive line "played well all in all,” especially tackles Ronnie Stanley and Roger Rosengarten, as well as center Tyler Linderbaum.

"I thought the two tackles played two of their best games [this season]," Harbaugh said. "Roger overset one time [and] got beat inside on a certain type of a pass protection. Tyler played really well."

As for the Ravens' much-maligned starting offensive guards, the coaches liked what they saw from third-year Andrew Vorhees on the left and fourth-year pro Daniel Faalale on the right when it came to blocking for the run, but they each left much to be desired as pass protectors.

"I thought the guards played exceptionally well in the run game," Harbaugh said. "They were moving people; they were wearing people out. So, that was good to see. I thought they were mostly good in the pass game, but too inconsistent, probably. "

Faalele, in particular, has been the lightning rod for the consistent struggles of the offense line as a whole because of how regularly and glaringly his missed blocks, blown assignments, inability to finish, and reps lost go viral seemingly every week.

While his overall metrics haven't always matched the tape week in and week out, they were aligned to paint the same unfortunate picture against the Steelers as he was credited with allowing 4 pressures and was the Ravens' lowest graded offensive lineman in terms of pass protection by Pro Football Focus with a mark of 45.3.

"Every player has plays they want back," Harbaugh said. "I can think of one where Daniel was hard-setting, like a hard-play action where it was more of a drop-back pass type of protection, he got overextended and got beat like that. That really shouldn't happen. He should be setting a different way there; he knows that. So, that was a mistake, [but] lots of other times, it was good."

Vorhees didn't grade out as bad as Faalele, but he had his fair share of gaffes as a blocker as well, that included a costly holding penalty on the Ravens final possession of the game in the first play of the drive. The untimely mistake further backed them up after a questionable holding penalty on the punt that set them up at their own 26-yard line.

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