Where Was Rashod Bateman?

Ravens wide receiver only had one target vs. Steelers

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Rashod Bateman is making an impact for the Ravens after missing the first part of the season following surgery.

However, he was targeted just once and did not have a reception in a 20-19 loss to Pittsburgh in Week 13. 

Ravens coach John Harbaugh said that's just the way the game played out. 

“I’d like to see everybody more involved. I mean, I think part of it is we like it when a number of guys are targeted," Harbaugh said. "It doesn’t always work out that way; you can’t create that. I think when you start chasing that, that’s when problems happen."

On the season, Bateman has 25 receptions for 301 yards. He is still looking for his first career touchdown. 

Tight end Mark Andrews led the Ravens with nine targets and four catches for 50 yards against Pittsburgh.

Running back Devonta Freeman had eight targets and had five catches for 75 yards. Marquise Brown was targeted seven times and finished with five receptions for 55 yards. 

Sammy Watkins caught four passes on six targets for 39 yards with a touchdown.

The Ravens are simply focused on winning games.  

"I see every coach and every quarterback in the league get asked that question, ‘How do you get this guy or that guy more involved?’ As soon as you start chasing numbers of catches for guys, what are you chasing? What are you doing? That’s not how the game works," Harbaugh said. "But we do want everybody involved, and we want it to be because we’re operating effectively and efficiently with our offense, and the ball is getting spread around based on what the coverage dictates – that’s what you hope for.”


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Todd Karpovich
TODD KARPOVICH

Twitter: @toddkarpovich Email: todd.karpovich@gmail.com Skype: todd.karpovich Todd Karpovich has been a contributor for ESPN, Forbes, the Associated Press, Lindy's, and The Baltimore Sun, among other media outlets nationwide. He is the co-author of “If These Walls Could Talk: Stories from the Baltimore Ravens Sideline, Locker Room, and Press Box,” “Skipper Supreme: Buck Showalter and the Baltimore Orioles,” and the author of “Manchester United (Europe's Best Soccer Clubs).” Karpovich, a Baltimore native, is a graduate of Calvert Hall College high school, Randolph-Macon College in Virginia, and has a Masters of Science from Towson University.