T.J. Watt, Chris Wormley, depth offensive players highlight Steelers 'Feats of Strength' during upset of Ravens

As we discussed at “Breakfast With Benz” leading up to Sunday’s latest chapter of Pittsburgh Steelers versus Baltimore Ravens, these two teams can’t help themselves.

They don’t know any other way than to play each other close, even if what’s happening on paper suggests the game should be an easy win for one side or the other.

The Ravens came into the game at Heinz Field 8-3 and atop the AFC. The Steelers were on a three-game winless streak, tying the woeful Detroit Lions and yielding 41 points in back-to-back games against the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Chargers.

Yet the Steelers somehow managed to gut out a 20-19 victory, foiling a Baltimore 2-point conversion with 12 seconds left.

As seems to be the case with any win over Baltimore, there was plenty to celebrate and plenty to drive you crazy.

So, let’s recap both ends of the emotional spectrum in this week’s “Airing of Grievances” and “Feats of Strength.”

Feats of strength

The last drive: The Steelers’ winning touchdown drive featured solid contributions from some little-used players.

Backup running back Benny Snell had two carries for 13 yards. Second-string tight end Zach Gentry had two catches, including one on a third down. Reserve guard John Leglue — who was thrust into action in the first half thanks to an injury to starter B.J. Finney — contributed with some steady blocking.

In all, the drive lasted 11 plays and covered 69 yards in 4 minutes, 33 seconds before a touchdown catch by Diontae Johnson.

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The go-ahead score!#ProBowlVote | @Juiceup__3 | @_BigBen7 | : CBS pic.twitter.com/PQhg67PkDN

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) December 6, 2021

The Steelers added a 2-point conversion toss from Ben Roethlisberger to rookie tight end Pat Freiermuth to make the score 20-13.

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I’ll show you!: I guess we undersold the “Chris Wormley Revenge Game” angle all week.

The former Baltimore defensive lineman had five tackles and 2¹⁄₂ sacks in the game. He only had 2¹⁄₂ sacks this season entering the contest.

In all, the Steelers pass rush was stellar against Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson. It accounted for seven sacks. In three starts against the Steelers, the defense has totaled 16 sacks against Jackson.

Watt about that!: Speaking of sacks, T.J. Watt recorded 3¹⁄₂ of them.

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T.J. Watt racks up another sack! 13.5 on the season. #HereWeGo

: #BALvsPIT on CBS
: NFL app pic.twitter.com/KP0nb80xbO

— NFL (@NFL) December 5, 2021

Watt added three additional quarterback hits and pressured Jackson on Baltimore’s failed 2-point conversion at the end of the game.

The two-point attempt is NO GOOD. #BALvsPIT pic.twitter.com/tl74jaHz9x

— NFL (@NFL) December 6, 2021

Watt now has 16 on the season. He’s only the second player to record at least 13 sacks in four straight seasons. The other was Reggie White. The legendary Hall of Famer did so from 1985-88 and again from 1990-93.

Diontae’s day: Johnson led the NFL in drops during 2020. But he had been tagged with just one drop heading into Sunday’s game.

Now he’s got two.

Johnson let a gorgeous pass from Roethlisberger bounce off his fingertips in the end zone with 37 seconds left in the second quarter. Instead of seven points there, the Steelers had to settle for a 53-yard field goal from Chris Boswell to make the score 7-3.

But Johnson redeemed himself, catching eight passes for 105 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Airing of grievances

Same song, different lyrics: The Steelers got off to another lousy start.

It didn’t happen in the same manner as it did against the Chargers or Bengals, but it was maddening in a different way.

Those two teams marched down the field on their opening drives and scored touchdowns. In this game, the Ravens gave the Steelers gifts with two rotten mistakes, and the Steelers did nothing to take advantage.

Baltimore began the game getting to the Steelers’ 10-yard line before Jackson threw an awful interception to Minkah Fitzpatrick in the end zone.

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Lamar Jackson entregó el balón 4 veces la semana pasada y, en el primer drive de hoy, Minkah Fitzpatrick le interceptó

@TUDNMEX por Canal 9#NFLMX #HereWeGo pic.twitter.com/Y79h6oWMiK

— NFL México (@nflmx) December 5, 2021

But the Steelers merely turned that into a punt. On Baltimore’s next drive, normally reliable tight end Mark Andrews had a blatant drop, and the Ravens ended up punting.

Again, though, the Steelers couldn’t capitalize, punting after three snaps. That said, Pressley Harvin’s kick was gorgeous, nestling out of bounds inside the 1-yard line.

Yet Baltimore took the ball and marched 99 yards in 16 plays, culminating in a Devonta Freeman touchdown for the first score of the game.

Touchdown @devontafreeman to cap off a 99-yard drive!!

Tune in now on CBS! pic.twitter.com/ghzyfJMuqY

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 5, 2021

The drive lasted 10 minutes, 27 seconds. It helped lead to a Steelers time of possession deficit of 36:30 to 23:30.

Where did that come from?: Steelers kicker Chris Boswell has been outstanding this year. During the game, he nailed a 53-yard field goal. He is now 6 for 6 on kicks of 50 yards or longer.

But he missed an extra point in the fourth quarter that would have tied the score at 10-10 after Johnson’s first touchdown.

Boswell now has missed two extra points this season. The first one kept the Chicago Bears in a game that ended up being a tight 29-27 Steelers’ victory.

After Johnson’s go-ahead touchdown, Boswell also drew a penalty for knocking the ensuing kickoff out of bounds. So the Ravens got to start their drive at the 40-yard line.

Wretched refs: It was another less-than-NFL-worthy performance from the officials.

A lot of people are upset about a pass interference penalty against Fitzpatrick in the fourth quarter on a deep ball to Marquise Brown. Yes, it was underthrown — almost an old-fashioned, Joe Flacco-style strategic pass interference penalty from the Ravens. But Fitzpatrick did have his hands on Brown, so I’m not upset about that one.

However, the officials also overturned a fantastic 32-yard diving catch by Ray-Ray McCloud. I didn’t see the catch aided by the ground enough to warrant an overrule from the replay judge.

Watt was flagged for a taunt so mild it would’ve even made Cassius Marsh roll his eyes. Johnson got decked along the sidelines during an incomplete pass that looked far more worthy of a penalty than most of the piddly defenseless receivers flags NFL officials usually throw. And Kendrick Green was flagged for a “facemask” infraction when the officials let Baltimore’s Chuck Clark continue a play long after the action was dead.

I don’t know what game the officials were watching. I hope it was as exciting at the end as the one at Heinz Field was.