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Mike Preston’s report card: Position-by-position grades for Ravens’ 16-13 overtime loss to Steelers | COMMENTARY

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Here’s how the Ravens graded out at each position after a 16-13 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday in the regular-season finale at M&T Bank Stadium:

Quarterback

Tyler Huntley seemed overmatched and at times tried to do too much, which got him and the Ravens in trouble. He ran the ball well (12 carries for 72 yards), but threw two interceptions and failed to recover a fumble after a bad snap when he should have just fallen on the ball. The problem with Huntley is that he is just a one-read player. If the initial receiver isn’t open, he struggles to get to his No. 2 option without panicking. Opposing teams have figured out that tight end Mark Andrews is his go-to guy. Huntley has to learn to find other open receivers. Grade: D

Running back

Just like last week against the Los Angeles Rams, the Ravens’ running backs dominated the second half and were able to get some yards by bouncing outside the tackles. But the big plays from Latavius Murray were just runs up the middle in which the Ravens beat the Steelers one-on-one. The big question is what took the Ravens so long to run the ball? Pittsburgh came into the game with one of the worst run defenses in the NFL and the Ravens didn’t start pounding away until the second half. The Ravens finished with 249 rushing yards, most of which came in the second half. Grade: A

Offensive line

Right guard Kevin Zeitler has been the team’s best offensive lineman and it showed again Sunday. He was dominant at the point of attack and made some good blocks in the running game in the second half. The rest of the group was shaky as usual, even though right tackle Patrick Mekari had a solid performance while battling through an injury. Center Bradley Bozeman had a poor snap in the shotgun formation early in the game that led to a fumble. Rookie left guard Ben Cleveland has trouble bending and isn’t much of a pass blocker. Left tackle Alejandro Villanueva held up at times, but the Ravens can’t count on him week-to-week to stop the other team’s top pass rusher. The Ravens ran the ball well, at least. Grade: C-

Receivers

Other than Andrews, the Ravens don’t get their other receivers in the mix. Andrews is a great weapon, but Huntley has tunnel vision when looking his way. Marquise Brown is intriguing because it’s hard to predict which Brown will show up from game to game. He certainly hasn’t been a dominant performer ever since starting quarterback Lamar Jackson got hurt Dec. 12 against the Browns. His drop in the end zone at the end of the first half is unacceptable, and so was his drop of a deep pass along the right sideline in the last minute of regulation. He can’t be considered a No. 1 receiver. Again, Huntley didn’t get other receivers involved like Rashod Bateman or even Brown, who combined for five catches for 52 yards. Grade: D

Defensive line

These guys were stellar up front, particularly defensive end Calais Campbell. He was strong against the run and in pursuit, finishing with six tackles, including one for a loss. Nose tackle Brandon Williams (six tackles) was also strong against the run and the Steelers couldn’t move him in the middle of the field. Pittsburgh had only 79 rushing yards on 30 carries, and a lot of those yards came on end-arounds by receiver Chase Claypool. Both Campbell and Williams have played well in recent weeks in what could be their final seasons in Baltimore. Grade: B+

Linebackers

Outside linebacker Tyus Bowser was having a good game until he hurt his ankle in the second half. Fellow outside linebacker Justin Houston also got decent pressure and forced quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to step up several times, but the Ravens don’t have a dominant pass rusher, and that hurts. Inside linebacker Josh Bynes had eight tackles and Patrick Queen had three, but Queen is a liability in pass coverage and misses tackles in the open field. He doesn’t just get faked out, but embarrassed. Grade: C+

Secondary

The Ravens got a reprieve because Pittsburgh likes to throw short passes with Roethlisberger. Baltimore did a decent job of making tackles on short patterns, too, especially slants. Safety Chuck Clark had eight tackles and played well in run support. He has also become a presence on the backend in pass defense. The Ravens, though, had chances for two easy interceptions and failed to hang onto the ball. Big players make big plays in big games, and the Ravens’ corners and safeties didn’t take advantage of the opportunities. In crunch-time, they couldn’t get it done. Grade: C-

Special teams

Justin Tucker converted on field-goal attempts of 24 and 46 yards, but the Ravens didn’t get a lot out of punter Sam Koch, who has struggled in recent games. Koch averaged only 38.3 yards on seven punts and didn’t improve the Ravens’ field position much in the fourth quarter. Rain and a heavy ball hurt punters, but Koch has always done well regardless of the weather conditions. Returner Devin Duvernay appeared closed to breaking a kickoff return but couldn’t get past that first wave. But at least he was running north and south instead of east and west. Grade: C+

Coaching

Physically and mentally, the Ravens were ready for this game. There would be some serious problems if they weren’t. Offensively, it’s hard to understand why it took coordinator Greg Roman so long to run the ball. That interception on the pass to Andrews in the end zone early in the fourth quarter was a big mistake. Defensively, the game plan was sound, and for the most part the Ravens controlled the Steelers’ offense. But in the end, they couldn’t make a play and the Steelers weren’t going to be denied. That’s not coaching, but the result of missing a game-changing player like cornerback Marcus Peters or Marlon Humphrey, even though Humphrey had struggled this season before being injured. Grade: C-

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