Steelers escape Ravens’ late push, win AFC North title

PITTSBURGH — In a rock fight that turned into a fourth-quarter track meet, it had a huge impact on the losing team. pittsburgh steelers Green Baltimore Ravens 26-24 And AFC North won By narrowest margin as a Ravens kicker tyler loop Missed the game-winning 44-yard field goal attempt.

rioter chris boswellAutomatic for most of the 2025 season, missed his first extra point attempt in more than two seasons with 55 seconds remaining, leaving the Steelers up by just two points. quarterback lamar jackson Converted his second fourth down of the day Isaiah possibly With 14 seconds remaining, Loup was setting up the winning field goal.

The Steelers took a 20–17 lead with 3:49 left, but it came at a cost as Rodgers had to burn the final timeout when in-helmet communications went down. Rodgers changed his helmet before the third-down call, but seconds after lining up, he called timeout and demonstratively pointed to his helmet. The Steelers bounced back and scored a touchdown. kenneth gainwell One play later.

However, Pittsburgh effectively shut down the Ravens’ rushing attack after a 79-yard first quarter. derrick henryJackson takes advantage of Steelers’ secondary with speedy wide receiver Jai PhoolFlowers overcame the Steelers secondary twice for touchdowns of 50 and 64 yards in the fourth quarter,

The Steelers retook the lead with a 26-yard touchdown. aaron rodgers To calvin austin iii There were 55 seconds left, but Boswell missed his first extra point attempt since Week 15 of the 2023 season. indianapolis colts,

Baltimore Ravens (8-9)

The Ravens faced a season of uncertainty after the loss when Loop’s 44-yard field goal went wide right. Loup, who had made 90% of his field goals during his rookie season, missed the kick as time expired.

The Ravens are facing questions about the future of coach John Harbaugh and Jackson. Harbaugh’s job security has come under scrutiny after the Ravens went from being preseason Super Bowl favorites to missing the playoffs for the first time since 2021. It marked the third time in Harbaugh’s 18 seasons that the Ravens finished with a losing record.

Baltimore also has to address Jackson’s contract, whose salary cap hit has increased to $74.5 million this offseason.

Most Amazing Performance: Flowers scored his first go-ahead touchdown since Week 14 of the 2023 season when he caught a 50-yard pass from Jackson. This is the fourth consecutive week the Pro Bowl wide receiver has scored. Prior to this streak, he had gone 12 consecutive weeks without a touchdown.

Statistics to know: Jackson’s time to throw a 50-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter was 5.37 seconds. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, this was his longest throw of any touchdown pass he has thrown during the 2025 season. Jackson buys time by blitzing the Steelers outside linebacker alex highsmith before making a deep throw to Flowers that gave Baltimore a 17–13 lead with 8:42 left in the game.

Viewing Trends: Henry’s dominance early in games. Henry has rushed for more than 100 yards in the first half in the last two games – 106 yards at Green Bay and 112 yards at Pittsburgh – which is quite an accomplishment. In the last 20 seasons, this has happened only once and it was Henry who accomplished it. In 2018, he rushed for over 100 total yards in the first half of his Week 14 and 15 games when he was with. tennessee titans,

Best quotes from the locker room: Jackson reacted to the defeat, saying: “We did everything we could to avoid losing. [It’s] Destructive. [I am] Furious. [I am feeling] All kinds [emotions]I don’t know, I’m everywhere with it right now,” — jameson hensley

Ravens offseason guide: Jackson is Baltimore’s top priority

Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)

What is meant by QB performance: Coming off a terrible performance in the loss to the Browns, Aaron Rodgers said during the week that he didn’t have too many “back-to-back stinkers”. The regular season finish wasn’t too bad, but he couldn’t bounce back with Rodgers’ typical cold weather performance. Rodgers, who completed 31 of 47 for 294 yards, had high accomplishments including a 20-yard run to convert a third down and a long and 30-yard fourth-quarter dart. Pat FreiermuthBut he also had lows like a wide-open miss jonu smith Taking third-down sacks in the first half and fourth quarter started the Ravens’ ensuing touchdown drives.

In his Wednesday press conference before the game, the 42-year-old left the door open to playing again next season, but it’s unclear if it will be in Pittsburgh or how this last performance might factor into that decision.

Viewing Trends: Gainwell, voted the team MVP just days before Sunday’s regular season finale, led the Steelers in targets (9) and receptions (8) in the game. East philadelphia eagles‘The backup played a role as a dual-threat pass catcher and runner after signing. One-year, $1.79 million contract With the Steelers in free agency. Rodgers said earlier this season that he told Gainwell his goal was to get him paid this offseason, and it appears the quarterback will accomplish that — whether in Pittsburgh or elsewhere.

Gainwell said Friday he is ready to stay with the Steelers. “This experience has been amazing for me,” he said. “It’s definitely something I would love to experience again, but obviously the free agency thing, it’s different, but it’s really something I would love to come back and be a part of.”

turn: tj wattThird quarter interception. back to my first game Lung partially destroyed on 10th DecemberWatt intercepted Jackson on third down on the Ravens’ first play of the second half. Despite starting their drive at Baltimore’s 26-yard line, the Steelers’ offense stalled at the 7-yard line and had to settle for a field goal. It was enough to give the Steelers a three-point lead at that point, but it left the door open for the Ravens.

Best quotes from the locker room: steelers defensive captain cameron hayward On how close it was in the end between victory and defeat: “I’m not going to ask questions. The good Lord made a good decision tonight. I’m grateful and we’ll keep moving forward.” , brooke prior

Next game: versus houston texans, Monday, January 12 at 8:15 pm ET (ESPN/ABC)