Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Baltimore Ravens: Full Report Card Grades for Pittsburgh

Judging from the Pittsburgh Steelers' 26-6 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night, the team we saw in the second half of Sunday's win over the Cleveland Browns is closer to the real Steelers than the team we saw in the first half.

The Steelers (1-1) committed three turnovers and once again failed to extract a takeaway. They didn't force any turnovers during their 0-4 start last year, and they're continuing that troublesome trend this year. 

Tight end Owen Daniels caught both of the Ravens' touchdowns. The first one came on a two-yard pass from Joe Flacco to open the game's scoring in the first quarter. The second came on a one-yard pass in the third quarter to make it 17-6 after the Steelers had narrowed a 10-0 deficit to 10-6.

The Steelers defense toughened up at times in the red zone. The Ravens (1-1) had to settle for four field goals from Justin Tucker, but that was enough against the Steelers offense.

Ben Roethlisberger's streak of 30 straight games with a touchdown pass ended in this game. He was 22-for-37 for 217 yards and an interception. He was sacked twice, both times by Elvis Dumervil.

Pittsburgh failed to sack Flacco, who completed 21 of 29 passes for 166 yards and those two touchdowns to Daniels.

Led by Bernard Pierce, who ran the ball 22 times for 96 yards, the Ravens amassed 157 rushing yards on 36 carries. That's an average of 4.36 yards per carry.

The Steelers were again plagued by penalties. They were flagged nine times for 75 yards after being called for 11 penalties in their season opener.

The good news for the Steelers is they have 10 days to rest up and work on their problems. The bad news is their Week 3 game is at Carolina. The Panthers won at Tampa Bay with backup quarterback Derek Anderson in Week 1.

The Steelers usually can't count on a win at Baltimore, but they way they lost Thursday was unsettling. Here's how they did at each position.

Ben Roethlisberger did not have a good game.

He completed 59 percent of his passes (22 of 37) but was off the mark on several throws. It's not like he was under a ton of pressure throughout the night. He was sacked twice, but according to ESPN.com, he was only hit three times.

After completing 14 of his first 18 passes, Roethlisberger went 8 for 19.

Roethlisberber's one interception came just before the two-minute warning with the Steelers already down 20. There wasn't much he could do about it. It was a good play by Haloti Ngata, who tipped it and plucked it out of the air.

Grade: C

It's hard for Steelers fans to watch Le'Veon Bell run and not get excited about his future.

He gained 59 yards on 11 carries (5.4 yards per carry) and at times ran with an athleticism that eventually can make him one of the game's top running backs. Bell again was a versatile weapon, catching five passes for 48 yards. Only Antonio Brown caught more passes and had more receiving yards for the Steelers than Bell.

LeGarrette Blount will drag this unit's grade down a little. He ran the ball three times, twice for one yard each on the Steelers' first possession and then for six yards on 2nd-and-7 early in the second quarter. The Steelers had to punt two plays later.

Grade: B+

Antonio Brown caught seven passes for 90 yards despite missing part of the game because of a concussion scare.

Markus Wheaton further established himself as the Steelers' No. 2 receiver with five catches for 38 yards. 

Brown and Wheaton also picked up nice chunks of yardage on end-around plays. Wheaton ran twice for 22 yards, and Brown ran twice for 10 yards.

However, the grade here takes a big hit because of the fumbles by Justin Brown and Heath Miller.

The Steelers offense looked smooth on Pittsburgh's first possession, reaching the Ravens' 16 when Justin Brown caught a six-yard pass. Brown coughed up the ball, though, to kill that drive.

Miller's fumble came with just over 14 minutes left in the game and the Steelers trailing 20-6. He caught a five-yard pass at the Steelers' 25 and dropped the ball after being hit by rookie C.J. Mosley. The Ravens converted that turnover into a field goal to make it a three-possession game, and it was pretty much over at that point.

No Steelers receiver caught a ball in the second half until Antonio Brown's reception with 3:09 left in the game and the Steelers down 26-6.

Part of the reason for that drought was Roethlisberger's inaccuracy, but there were several drops.

Grade: D

Marcus Gilbert is the fifth-highest paid Steeler with his new five-year, $30 million contract, according to Spotrac.

So far, that money hasn't been well spent. Gilbert was beaten by Elvis Dumervil on both of the Ravens' sacks.

The first sack came with the Steelers down 10-3 in the final two minutes of the first half. They had a first down at the Ravens' 42, then lost eight yards on the sack. Two plays later, Gilbert false-started on 3rd-and-4 at the Ravens' 36. The Steelers eventually had to punt and couldn't put points on the board before halftime.

The second sack came early in the third quarter on 2nd-and-5 at the Ravens' 21. The Steelers had to settle for a field goal to make the score 10-6, and the Ravens made it 17-6 on their next possession.

Other than Gilbert, no other offensive lineman had obvious pass protection problems. 

In terms of run blocking, the Steelers ran the ball 18 times for 99 yards, an average of 5.5 yards per carry.

Grade: C+

One of the few encouraging signs in this game was the Steelers' improvement against the run after leaving canyon-like holes for Browns running backs Sunday.

Justin Forsett had a 41-yard run after the Ravens had gone up 23-6 in the fourth quarter. Bernard Pierce picked up 17 yards right before Joe Flacco took a knee in the final minute. Take away those two garbage-time gains, and the Steelers allowed 99 yards on 34 carries, less than three yards per carry.

The Ravens reached the red zone six times and scored two touchdowns, both of them on passes. The defensive line was stern enough to force Baltimore to settle for four field goals.

Grade: B

Not only was Joe Flacco not sacked, he was barely pressured.

According to ESPN.com, no Steeler had a quarterback hit.

This unit shares some of the culpability for tight end Owen Daniels' two touchdown catches. The first, a two-yard connection, gave the Ravens a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. The other, for one yard, made it 17-6 and essentially broke the Steelers' backs in the third quarter.

The unit also deserves its share of the credit for containing the Ravens' running backs. But linebackers need to get to the quarterback. Flacco was way too comfortable in the pocket.

Grade: D

The Steelers again failed to force a turnover. The front seven had a lot to do with that, but it's the secondary that needs to clean up with interceptions.

Ravens' tight ends Owen Daniels and Dennis Pitta combined for eight receptions, the same number that Ravens' wide receivers caught. It's mostly on safeties Troy Polamalu and Mike Mitchell to stop tight ends.

Mike Mitchell -- the king of bad angles.

— Ray Fittipaldo (@rayfitt1) September 12, 2014

Defensive backs were guilty of five of the Steelers' nine penalties. Polamalu and Mitchell both were called for unnecessary roughness within a three-play span after the Ravens had moved to the Steelers' 15 with a 10-6 lead in the third quarter. Those infractions aided the touchdown drive that made it 17-6.

Grade: F

Shaun Suisham made both of his field-goal attempts, including a 43-yarder.

Brad Wing averaged 45.8 yards on four punts. He induced one fair catch and pinned the Ravens inside the 20 on another punt.

Jacoby Jones returned two punts for 47 yards. 

Grade: B-

Penalties are still a problem, and it's up to the coaching staff to get the Steelers to play with more discipline.

There were a couple of questionable play calls in the first half.

LeGarrette Blount had just gained six yards on a second-and-7 with the Steelers down 7-0 early in the second quarter, but wasn't on the field for 3rd-and-1. Maybe he was winded after a six-yard run. But it seemed strange that he wasn't out there.

Later in the second quarter, the Steelers trailed 10-0 and had the ball at the Ravens' 8. On 3rd-and-4, they tried an end around to Antonio Brown that went for just one yard. They really needed seven points on that series and got too cute with the play-calling. They settled for a field goal.

Grade: C

This loss was more unsettling for the Steelers than any of the losses during their 0-4 start last season. When they fell behind in those games, they at least fought back. The Steelers didn't look like they had much fight in them against the Ravens on Thursday.

It's nearly impossible to win in the NFL when you commit three turnovers without forcing any. 

The Steelers' defense did a better job stopping the run than it did on Sunday but a worse job rushing the quarterback. Until the defense can pressure passers and wrest the ball away from opposing offenses, the Steelers will remain a .500 team—or worse.

Follow @Steel_Tweets