Coming off one of the most disappointing losses in the Mike Tomlin era, the Pittsburgh Steelers responded with one of the most satisfying victories.
Facing a winner-take-all game with the AFC North title on the line, the Steelers trailed by 10 points in the first half and overcame two four-point deficits in the fourth quarter to defeat the Baltimore Ravens, 26-24, on Sunday night at Acrisure Stadium.
Aaron Rodgers threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Austin III with 55 seconds left, and Ravens rookie Tyler Loop missed a potential winning 44-yard field goal as time expired to cap a frenetic back-and-forth final quarter.
The reward for winning their first division title since 2020 and locking down the No. 4 seed is a home playoff game for the Steelers (10-7), who haven’t won in the postseason since 2016. They will face the Houston Texans (12-5), the AFC’s No. 5 seed, on “Monday Night Football” in the wild-card round. The Steelers have won three of their past four games, the lone blemish in that span being the 13-6 loss at Cleveland a week earlier.
“I’m just happy for those guys in that locker room,” Tomlin said. “They fought and fought and fought not only tonight, but throughout this journey. And so we move forward. I’m thankful for that. I’m excited about what lies ahead.”
The Ravens (8-9), meantime, were denied a third consecutive division title despite getting three touchdown passes, including two in the fourth quarter, from Lamar Jackson.
The Steelers led three times in the fourth quarter, but it looked like they were on their way to a stunning defeat after Chris Boswell missed the extra point following Austin’s touchdown, and the Ravens had the ball on the Steelers 24-yard line in the final seconds.
Loop pushed his last field goal try wide right, setting off a wild celebration from the home crowd. He had been 8 of 8 from between 40 and 49 yards as he lined up for the final attempt.
“Our crowd was too lit today,” Austin said. “There was no way he was going to hit that.”
The Steelers had to overcome Jackson’s touchdown passes of 50 and 64 yards to Zay Flowers in the final 8:42. His touchdown pass with 2:20 left erased a 20-17 deficit and came after the Steelers had taken the lead on Kenny Gainwell’s 2-yard touchdown run with 3:49 left.
“It’s not always pretty, but a W is a W and we’re looking forward to keeping it rolling,” said outside linebacker Nick Herbig, who had one of the Steelers’ five sacks.
The Ravens’ Derrick Henry had 126 yards rushing, but the Steelers defense stiffened after he gained 112 in the first half.
T.J. Watt, playing in his first game since missing three with a partially collapsed lung, had an interception off a deflected pass that led to a field goal and 13-10 lead in the third quarter.
Rodgers completed 31 of 47 passes for 294 yards and directed a pair of touchdown drives in the fourth.
“Aaron is always calm, cool and collected,” Gainwell said. “We went out and executed.”
Trailing 10-0 after one quarter, the Steelers had a chance to tie the score on the final play of the half. A pass interference call in the end zone gave the Steelers the ball at the 1 with 0:02 left.
Tomlin left his offense on the field, and the Steelers put in a jumbo package but did not use the “tush push” personnel. Jonnu Smith went in motion to the right, and Rodgers pitched left to Gainwell. The misdirection fooled no one, Gainwell was tackled for a 1-yard loss and the Ravens took a 10-3 lead into the locker room.
The Steelers got the ball to open the second half, and they again advanced to the 1. This time, they didn’t come away empty-handed. Connor Heyward bulled in for touchdown on first-and-goal, and the score was tied 10-10. The score came after Heyward got a yard on fourth-and-1, with big brother Cameron Heyward pushing him forward.
The 12-play, 67-yard touchdown drive, the first for the Steelers since DK Metcalf’s suspension, featured a 28-yard completion to Adam Thielen that got the offense inside the red zone. Rodgers also had a 14-yard completion to Pat Freiermuth.
The Steelers got the ball back three plays later at the Ravens 26 when Alex Highsmith batted back a pass, and the ball landed in T.J. Watt’s arms.
When the drive stalled at the 7, Boswell’s 25-yard field goal gave the Steelers their first lead, 13-10, with 4:28 left in the third.
The Ravens regained the lead 17-13 with 8:42 left when Jackson threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Flowers. Highsmith nearly had Jackson sacked on the third-down play. Jackson broke free and floated a deep pass to Flowers, who got behind linebacker Patrick Queen for the score.
On the next series, Jaylen Warren broke free for a 15-yard run that put the ball at the Ravens 38. On third-and-8, Rodgers threaded a pass down the middle to Freiermuth for a 31-yard gain to the Ravens 5.
Rodgers dealt with communication issues, and he was forced to use the Steelers’ final two timeouts. On third-and-2, Gainwell ran right with a handoff and cut inside for the touchdown.
The lead, though, didn’t even last until the two-minute warning. On third-and-1 from the 36, Jackson found Flowers again alone behind the secondary, and the 64-yard touchdown pass stunned the home crowd.
Austin caught a 16-yard pass to get the ball past midfield. Gainwell gained 15 yards on a screen. On third-and-10, Rodgers found Austin in single coverage behind corner Chidobe Awuzie down the left sideline, and the 26-yard touchdown catch gave the Steelers a 26-24 lead.
“I’m not going to lie,” Austin said, “That was probably the biggest catch of my career.”
The Ravens returned the kickoff to their 47, but they faced a fourth-and-7 from the 50 with 21 seconds left. Jackson uncorked another deep pass, and Isaiah Likely came down with it at the 24 for a 26-yard gain.
It looked like the Ravens would send the Steelers to a heartbreaking defeat. Then, Loop trotted onto the field.
“I was talking to Jaylen, and he said he wasn’t watching. I said I’ll watch for you,” Gainwell said. “I said he’s going to miss it, and he missed it. It was home from there.”
The Ravens took the game’s opening kickoff and went 85 yards in eight plays to take a 7-0 lead on Jackson’s 38-yard touchdown pass to Devontez Walker. It came after the Steelers stopped Henry for no gain, setting up a fourth-and-3. Walker got behind free safety Jalen Ramsey and was open behind the secondary when Jackson hit him across the middle.
Facing a fourth-and-1, the Steelers broke out a new version of the “tush push” that featured Cameron Heyward as a blocker, taking over for the injured Darnell Washington. Connor Heyward was stuffed for no gain, giving the Ravens possession at the Steelers 45.
This turnover on downs led to Loop’s 40-yard field goal early in the second quarter.
The Steelers cut the deficit to one score when Boswell kicked a 57-yard field goal with 8:52 left in the half. They got the ball back one last time in the half with 3:09 remaining. Rodgers led the offense from the 9 to the doorstep of the end zone but could not get the Steelers any closer.
