Steelers vs. Ravens: What they're saying in Baltimore after loss

The Pittsburgh Steelers pulled out a wild road win Sunday at Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium, defeating their rival Ravens 27-22 and taking the lead in the AFC North.

The Steelers squeaked away with the win after a potential, go-ahead Ravens touchdown was taken off the board with less than three minutes in the fourth quarter. Ravens Quarterback Lamar Jackson appeared to find tight end Isaiah Likely for a 13-yard touchdown in the middle of the end zone, but upon review, the play was ruled an incomplete pass.

The Baltimore Banner’s Childs Walker said the result dims the Ravens’ playoff hopes, writing that the Ravens couldn’t overcome a dysfunctional first half and “sketchy officiating.”

On the other hand, Walker wrote, the Steelers seized the game with an “unexpectedly bold attack.”

“We assumed the Pittsburgh offense would be the same low-ambition outfit that has Steelers fans calling for an end to the Mike Tomlin era,” Walker wrote. “But (Quarterback Aaron) Rodgers spit in the eye of expectations, dropping a 52-yard bomb to DK Metcalf, who had dusted Marlon Humphrey, on his first snap of the game. Rodgers finished the drive by rope-a-doping the Baltimore defense with the longest fake you ever saw, then ambling into the end zone, fractured left wrist be damned.

“The Steelers were here to fight.”

Frank Platko of SBNation’s Baltimore Beatdown found all phases of the Ravens’ game responsible for the loss.

He gave Jackson a C+ grade.

“Jackson was not helped at all but poor pass protection at times, dropped passes, and a questionably overturned touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely late in the fourth quarter that would have put the Ravens ahead,” Platko wrote. “Jackson was still subpar by his standards, and the Ravens needed him to be better, but he put them in position to win the game late.”

BaltimoreRavens.com’s Clifton Brown wrote the Ravens’ frustrations with officiating is understandable, but they need to move on.

Not scoring more touchdowns in the red zone, and losing home games, is costing the Ravens, Brown said. He predicts an important rematch in Week 18 when the Ravens visit Acrisure Stadium to take on the Steelers again.

“The Steelers haven’t clinched anything yet, but they have now clearly emerged as the biggest obstacle standing between Baltimore and the playoffs,” Brown said.

“The division title may come down to Week 18, when the Ravens will get another crack at the Steelers in Pittsburgh. But in this game, Rodgers raised his career record to 4-0 against the Ravens as a starter and showed he was more than capable of being a problem for Baltimore’s defense.”