Staying the course: No matter how much film you watch leading into a game, the other team is always doing the same thing.
And sometimes, that means you are going to see looks you haven’t seen before.
That was the case for the Steelers offense on Sunday, as the Ravens defense mixed some things up.
“We kind of got some of the looks that we expected,” said receiver George Pickens. “A lot of them, I would probably say 65% of them, weren’t the looks from film. A team is always going to try to switch it up and get your guys confused.”
While the offense might not have been able to get the ball in the end zone, they were able to adjust to what the Ravens were throwing at them and make it work.
“They did a good job,” said quarterback Russell Wilson. “We knew it was going to be a battle back and forth in this game. I knew it was going to be a tougher will in the end. That’s just how these games are.
“It was huge for us to be able to respond. I think that we reacted and responded really well on certain things, especially as the game went on. We kind of started figuring out what they were trying to do, and I think we just stayed the course.”
And when it comes to Steelers-Ravens, you have to stay the course. This was Wilson’s first experience with the heated rivalry, and it turned out to be what he expected.
“Just the passion, just the winning,” said Wilson, who is now 4-0 as a starter for the Steelers. “Winning is everything, just to be able to get a huge win, that was really big.
“I think obviously to play in front of our fans. Obviously, this is my first time (playing in a Steelers-Ravens game). It’s such an honor to be a Pittsburgh Steeler. What a gift it is and to wear the black and gold and to be in front of our fans for the first time, obviously the amount of history.
“We knew this was going to be a game of a long battle throughout. We knew it was going to come down to the wire, and we were able to pull it out.”
Wilson, who was 23 of 36 for 205 yards and an interception, was thankful for the job the defense did, holding the Ravens to just 16 points, and especially the big stop on the two-point conversion.
“Our defense was unbelievable,” said Wilson. “Obviously, guys like T.J. (Watt), Cam (Heyward), Minkah (Fitzpatrick). I thought Payton Wilson’s play was a heck of a play. DeShon Elliott has been playing so great for us.
“It was a great team effort. Obviously, for a guy like (Patrick) Queen to be able to step up and make big plays against a team he used to play for, I know that meant a lot for him as well.”
The game was tight throughout, and Wilson knew the key for all three phases was to just stay the course, something that has led to their success the last few weeks.
“I think the biggest thing for us knowing it was going to come down to the wire is staying calm in the midst of it,” said Wilson. “Staying calm in the midst of the storm of the game. I think we did a really good job of that as the fourth quarter went on and the games went on.
“We knew it was going to be a battle. It was kind of ugly at first, how physical the game was and penalties and this and that, and we just had to get rid of some of the penalties. We were putting ourselves in third and 15 and third and 20 too much. As the game came down to it, we were obviously able to get key first downs in key moments as well.”