Aaron Rodgers threw the winning touchdown pass to Calvin Austin III with 55 seconds left, Baltimore’s Tyler Loup missed a 44-yard field goal as time expired, and the Steelers defeated the Ravens 26-24. This gave Pittsburgh the AFC North title and ended the Ravens’ season.
Pittsburgh (10-7) hosts Houston (12-5) in the playoff opener on January 13th after a competitive fourth quarter that saw the lead change hands four times, including three points in the final four minutes.
The Ravens were poised to regain the lead one last time after Lamar Jackson connected with Isaiah Likely for a 28-yard gain that put the Ravens within looping range.
As the Steelers rushed onto the field to celebrate their first divisional title in five years, the rookie’s kick took no chances and went right of the goal post.
Rodgers passed for a season-high 294 yards, including a 26-yard toss to Austin to make it 26-24. Chris Boswell missed the extra point, giving the Ravens a chance to win with a field goal.
Despite dealing with back pain, Jackson passed for 238 yards and three scores, including one to Zai Flowers in the fourth quarter. Flowers’ TD runs from 50 and 64 yards, respectively, gave Baltimore the lead.
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Lamar Jackson found Zay Flowers wide open against the Steelers late in the fourth quarter.
Pittsburgh has responded each time, and will now host the Texans looking to end a playoff win drought that lasted until the 2016 AFC Championship Game.
Pittsburgh’s running back duo of Kenneth Gainwell and Jalen Warren combined for 173 yards as the Steelers bounced back from last week’s loss to Cleveland, ending a largely disappointing season for Jackson and the Ravens.
Leader in statistics:
pittsburgh steelers
Passing: Aaron Rodgers, 31-of-47, 294 yards, 1 TD Rushing: Jalen Warren, 14 carries, 66 yards Receiving: Kenneth Gainwell, 8 catches, 64 yards
baltimore ravens
Passing: Lamar Jackson, 11/18, 238 yards, 3 TDs, 1 rushing: Derrick Henry, 20 carries, 126 yards receiving: Zai Flowers, 4 catches, 138 yards, 2 TDs
The Steelers were trailing by 10 points early and it looked like a repeat of the devastation they suffered against Baltimore in the first round of last season’s playoffs seemed possible.
The defense, which has been pushed around by Derrick Henry many times since joining the Ravens last season, finally fought back, and the offense, which played without suspended wide receiver DK Metcalf, slowly found its footing.
Henry ran for 126 yards for the Ravens, becoming just the ninth player in NFL history to reach 13,000 career rushing yards, but was largely held back in the second half, leading to an improbable shootout.
Jackson’s first touchdown pass to Flowers was beautiful. The two-time MVP ducked out of reach of two potential tacklers and floated a pass to the onrushing Flowers to give the Ravens a 17-13 lead.
With 3:49 left, Gainwell sprinted from 2 yards left to put Pittsburgh back in the lead. The Ravens, seeking to become the first team since the AFC North’s creation in 2003 to win three straight division titles, needed all three plays to regain the lead when Jackson lofted a wide-open Flowers pass for a 64-yard score.
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With one minute left in the Ravens game, Aaron Rodgers found Calvin Austin III in the end zone.
In what could have been the last game of his 21-year career, Rodgers gained 65 yards over the Steelers in six plays, ending with a rainbow down the left sideline of Austin, who was left alone with a Ravens defender down.
Boswell then missed his first extra point of the season after scoring 40 in a row, opening the door for the Ravens. Baltimore looked poised to end the season of their longtime rivals for the second time in 12 months before the loop kicked right in and stayed there.
The victory marked the 193rd regular season win of Steelers coach Mike Tomlin’s career, tying him with Hall of Famer Chuck Noll for the franchise record and ninth on the NFL career list.
Tomlin’s 40th meeting with Ravens coach John Harbaugh (only Hall of Famers George Halas and Curly Lambeau had more) was the most memorable.
I wonder if it’s also the last ruins that can be seen. After a checkered 18 seasons, Harbaugh faces questions about his future.
Tomlin, the longest-serving head coach in a major North American professional sport, enters the postseason with a club that has only occasionally looked like a championship contender. The real test awaits next week.
Watch every moment of the NFL Playoffs and Super Bowl I in Santa Clara, California live on Sky Sports NFL.
