12 October 2023
The Ravens were on the Steelers’ 23-yard line facing a fourth-and-2. Quarterback Lamar Jackson had just connected with wide receiver Nelson Agholor for 8 yards and the clock was ticking toward the end of the first half. A chip-shot field goal attempt from the most accurate kicker in NFL history, Justin Tucker awaited.
Except, with 19 seconds left, center Tyler Linderbaum thought he saw linebacker Kwon Alexander cross into the neutral zone and snapped the ball to Jackson, who wasn’t expecting it and quickly found himself being chased by Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt before flinging a pass well over the head of receiver Zay Flowers up the right sideline and watching it fall harmlessly to the turf in the end zone.
Instead of almost certainly taking a 13-3 lead to the locker room in a game Baltimore had largely controlled over the first 30 minutes, the score stayed, ominously, a touchdown apart. The plan, Ravens coach John Harbaugh said, was to let the clock run down further to leave no time for the Steelers but that there was a “miscommunication” in the “heat of battle.”
“That was just one of those things operationally that we just have to get better at,” Harbaugh said.
It was only one of many, and it cost the Ravens in a bungling, mistake-filled game they had no business losing but did, 17-10. The Steelers (3-2) have now won six of their past seven against the Ravens (3-2), and this one had a familiar refrain to some of those previous showdowns with their AFC North rivals.
Or, perhaps, it was one the Ravens deserved to lose, given all their self-inflicted mishaps, especially down the stretch.
Trailing for the first time all day, 14-10, and with just over a minute to play, Jackson dropped back to pass from his 44-yard line after having just hit rookie Zay Flowers for a 19-yard gain when linebacker Alex Highsmith flew into the backfield and strip-sacked the quarterback. Watt scooped up the ball and returned it to Baltimore’s 19-yard line. Chris Boswell added a 42-yard field goal to seal the improbable comeback victory in front of an announced 67,272 at Acrisure Stadium, but the Ravens’ problems began long before that.
Clinging to a two-point lead with just under 6 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Ravens caught a break when the Steelers’ Gunner Olszewski fumbled a punt return and cornerback Kevon Seymour recovered the ball and returned it to Pittsburgh’s 7. Only they botched their good fortune when on a third-and-goal from the 5-yard line, Jackson was intercepted in the end zone by 6-foot-2 rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr. on an attempted fade to 5-foot-11 Odell Beckham Jr.
“I was just trying to get my boy a shot,” Jackson said. “We’ve just got to get in sync — that’s all.”
That could be said for the rest of the team, too.
The Steelers then drove 80 yards in eight plays, with quarterback Kenny Pickett connecting with wide receiver George Pickens down the right sideline for a 41-yard touchdown past cornerback Marlon Humphrey — making his season debut after mid-August foot surgery — to give the Steelers their first lead at 14-10 and the last score they’d need.
“You kind of get beat sometimes when you blitz the house, and that was one of those times,” Humphrey said. “You obviously don’t want to be on the end of the game-winner, but it happens at the corner position, so you just try to limit those to where you can contest those catches and hopefully break it up.”
It was also one of those times when the Ravens beat themselves, again.
As the case was in their Week 3 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, there were ample opportunities for the Ravens to come out on top. Again, they couldn’t get out of their own way.
“We had opportunities,” linebacker Patrick Queen said. “We didn’t capitalize unfortunately. Same old scenario every time. I’m pretty sick of it. Gotta clean it up.”
That included early in the fourth quarter when leading 10-3 and with the ball on their 14-yard line and the crowd suddenly awakened, Miles Killebrew broke through the line and blocked Jordan Stout’s punt, sending the ball out of the back of the end zone for a safety.
After Olszewski returned Stout’s 60-yard free kick 24 yards to give the offense the ball on its 44, Pittsburgh drove 49 yards on nine plays with Boswell connecting on a 25-yard field goal midway through the quarter.
Never mind that in the first half, the Ravens outgained the Steelers 244-88. Or that they had the ball for 18:24, compared with just 11:36 for the Steelers. Or that they ran 43 plays to Pittsburgh’s 26 and drove into Pittsburgh territory on each of their first three possessions.
There were other miscues, too.
Tight end Mark Andrews dropped what would have been a 4-yard touchdown pass from Jackson in the second quarter. One play later, wide receiver Rashod Bateman followed suit. Baltimore settled for a 23-yard field goal from Justin Tucker, but on their next possession and with the offense on the move again, Justice Hill fumbled just as he crossed midfield and the Steelers recovered.
It was one of four fumbles on the day by the Ravens, who have coughed it up 12 times in five games, the second-most in the NFL. They lost six of them, including two more Sunday.
It didn’t help, either, that the Ravens weren’t able and didn’t try to move the ball on the ground when they had the lead in the second half. Despite rushing for 100 yards in the first half, Baltimore had just eight rushing attempts for 25 yards over the final two quarters and was 0-for-6 on third down. The Steelers also outgained them 201-91 in total yards in the second half.
Still, they had chances to win the game, until they ran out of them.
“It just felt like at times, there was just too many things going wrong,” Andrews said. “It’s almost like a sleeping giant, man. We need to wake up.”
Week 6
Ravens vs. Titans
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London
Sunday, 9:30 a.m.
TV: NFL Network
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
Line: Ravens by 4
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