OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The effort was valiant. The result still a loss. But there is plenty to take away from that 19-14 defeat to undefeated Pittsburgh.
"We're a very resilient, very persistent, mentally tough team and only getting tougher because of the things that we're facing," said Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh on Thursday during his day-after-game press conference.
The Ravens, decimated by COVID-19, were down several starters because of the virus.
As for Wednesday’s loss, the most controversial sequence came at the end of the first half. Two plays, zero points for Baltimore in the last 26 seconds. The officials allowed the clock to run and not charge the slow-moving Steelers with a delay of game penalty for not getting back set at the line of scrimmage in a timely fashion. Harbaugh said he hasn’t received any clarification from the NFL as to why there was no clock stoppage.
"No we have not. It’s pretty early, just the day after the game. I have put a call in but I haven’t heard anything back."
The Ravens’ defense, without a handful of starters, showed up in a big way in Pittsburgh. The unit allowed the Steelers only one touchdown out of four trips inside the ten yard line.
"I thought our defense played really, really well, played hard, played well," said Harbaugh. "The red zone was an area we had targeted to improve upon and it was really good to see us step up and improve in that area."
Baltimore (6-5) is now fighting for its playoff life with five games to go. Next up is the rescheduled game against the Cowboys on Tuesday.
The Ravens should be healthier for that game as more players come off the reserve/COVID-19 list. If all goes to plan quarterback Lamar Jackson should come off the list this weekend. Will he be available against the Cowboys? Harbaugh did not give a definitive answer. He only said:
"As far as the COVID guys coming back, they all have their different days when they are possibly allowed to come back but those are medical decisions in the end, not coaching decisions. So, when the doctors clear them to practice that’s when we’ll have them."
Will Lamar Jackson be available for the #Ravens game Tuesday vs. the #Cowboys? Here is John Harbaugh's response regarding players coming off the reserve/COVID-19 list. Lamar's quarantine should end this weekend. That and more coming up on @WMAR2News at 5pm. pic.twitter.com/QXJQZHruIP
— Shawn Stepner (@StepnerWMAR) December 3, 2020
As far as injuries are concerned, Harbaugh was pretty tight-lipped on those as well. He said there were no major, season-ending injuries from Wednesday. Quarterback Robert Griffin III and cornerbacks Jimmy Smith and Marcus Peters all dealt with issues against the Steelers.
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