In a most unlikely turn of events, the Pittsburgh Steelers offense was able to turn around a dreadful day to rally late and win the 2021 season finale in Baltimore, 16-13 in overtime.

In an even less likely development, the Jacksonville Jaguars (3-14) stunned the Indianapolis Colts (9-8), 26-11. That eliminated the Colts from playoff contention and kept the Steelers alive.

Although the Steelers playoff dreams were almost crushed a few hours later when the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers went to overtime tied at 29-29. The Steelers would have been elimintaed if those two teams tied. Which almost happened. But, thankfully for all of Western Pennsylvania, the Raiders made a field goal in the final seconds of overtime to win it 35-32.

DANIEL CARLSON FOR THE WIN.

What a way to end the 2021 season! #LACvsLV #RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/LpERrW7WQ6

— NFL (@NFL) January 10, 2022

So the Steelers advanced to the playoffs and will meet the Kansas City Chiefs next Sunday.

Thanks, Daniel Carlson! You are officially a Pittsburgh sports legend.

But even before that chaos went down out west, there was plenty to fret about regarding coming out of the Steelers victory in Ben Roethlisberger’s final regular-season game.

And lots of “Feats of Strength,” too.

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FEATS OF STRENGTH

#DUUUVAL: Let’s acknowledge the real heroes first: “OUR” Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Steelers’ second-half comeback in Baltimore will be remembered fondly, but it would’ve happened in a vacuum if not for the Jaguars’ stunning upset over the Colts.

The Jags were 14.5-point underdogs at kickoff. Their ashamed fans wore clown outfits to the game.

Jacksonville has sent in the clowns

(via @BoldCityBrigade)pic.twitter.com/G0Qxa0dg0t

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) January 9, 2022

But Jacksonville blew out Indy. The Colts didn’t have a touchdown until the fourth quarter and committed two turnovers. Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence was 23 of 32 for 223 yards and two touchdowns.

Easy money @TrevorLawrencee | @SuccessfulQuon pic.twitter.com/aX8TjPahRw

— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) January 9, 2022

The defense also limited Indy star running back Johnathan Taylor to 15 carries for 77 yards.

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Big Ben’s big turnaround: At halftime, “Big Ben’s Last Ride” was looking like a jalopy being driven off a cliff.

Roethlisberger was high and inaccurate to receivers early. He was 8 of 16 for 66 yards and had an interception for a 37.1 passer rating in the first half.

Without the threat of a run game because of a Najee Harris arm injury in the first half, the Ravens dared the Steelers to pass. And Roethlisberger couldn’t.

Keep in mind, that was against a Baltimore defense that was the worst in football against the pass entering the game.

But in the fourth quarter, Roethlisberger led a touchdown drive. He then led the winning field goal drive in overtime.

“Do you expect anything different in this rivalry and this place?” Roethlisberger said after the game. “It’s special anytime you can come to this place and get a win.”

Big Ben finished 30 of 44 for 244 yards and a touchdown with a rating of 80.1. Certainly not a box score that will be read at his Hall of Fame induction. But it was a fourth quarter and overtime that should be referenced during his speech. Through three quarters, Roethlisberger was 11 of 19 for 95 yards. He was 19 of 25 for 149 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter and overtime.

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The boys bounced back: Harris came back in the second half after that elbow injury during the opening series. The rookie running back was wearing a wrap around his elbow and gutted out the rest of the game. He looked tentative at first, but he had a stellar 15-yard run around the left edge in overtime that set up Chris Boswell’s deciding field goal.

Don’t forget the one-handed catch he made in overtime as well.

Ray-Ray McCloud failed to hold onto a potential first-down conversion on a second-down throw in overtime. But he caught a crucial 10-yard pass on fourth-and-8 later in that possession, before Harris’ run.

Rookie tight end Pat Freiermuth angered coach Mike Tomlin when he didn’t come up with the necessary yardage on the final third down of regulation. But he also made a critical 14-yard catch-and-run in overtime.

“The growth and development of these young guys throughout this journey — and the negativity usually associated with that growth and development — did not take away from their efforts. They smiled in the face of it,” Tomlin said after the win.

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Credit when it is due: We’ll get to some defensive faults in a minute. But credit the Steelers for the three takeaways they got, especially Cameron Sutton’s interception in the end zone on the first play of the fourth quarter.

HUGE PICK!

: CBS pic.twitter.com/inUNbfhTPJ

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) January 9, 2022

That was just Sutton’s second interception of the season.

The Steelers were also good defensively when it came to third and fourth downs. In those possession situations, the Steelers defense was successful 12 times in 16 tries.

Now, how did the offense do on possession downs? Well, that’s why we have an “Airing of Grievances” section, too.

Speaking of which…

AIRING OF GRIEVANCES

Failure to take advantage: Baltimore quarterback Tyler Huntley threw that second-half interception in the end zone to Sutton.

The ensuing drive resulted in a punt.

The Steelers were also gifted two turnovers and a failed fake punt in the first half. Those plays resulted in exactly three points for Pittsburgh.

The Ravens were anemic offensively just like the Steelers were. Whatever mishaps they had could’ve spelled doom much earlier against a real NFL offense. But they were playing the Steelers. So no big deal.

The three drives after those turnovers from Baltimore gained 29 yards, 11 yards and 1 yard. And they resulted in just one Chris Boswell field goal.

Three points off of three turnovers and a failed fake punt is a joke.

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Third-down debacles: The Steelers began the game 1 of 8 on third-down conversions.

Some notable failed attempts included Benny Snell getting stuffed on third-and-1 on the team’s first possession in the third quarter.

Their initial third-down attempt of the game was a typical short-of-the-sticks completion that came up short of the yard-line to gain. They needed eight. Harris got only four, and he was injured on the play.

On the next drive, same thing. Diontae Johnson caught a short pass and ran within a yard of the marker and got drilled a yard short. He also was dinged up but was able to return.

And then there was the Freiermuth third-and-4 completion at the end of regulation, which resulted in only 3 yards.

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Gashed again: The run defense was pathetic early in the second half, proving why it earned its way to the bottom of the NFL rankings.

Once the Ravens dedicated the offense to handoffs for Latavius Murray, the game flipped from an ugly slugfest to Baltimore ripping through the Steelers on the ground.

Murray looked like Eric Dickerson, churning up 150 yards on 16 carries for an average of 9.4 yards per attempt.

That included a 46-yard touchdown jaunt, the longest of the season for a Ravens running back.

.@LataviusM breaks OUT for the TD ️️️️

Tune in on CBS! pic.twitter.com/kvQx3KTGvM

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) January 9, 2022

As a team, the Ravens finished with 249 yards on the ground — the fourth team to exceed 200 yards rushing against the Steelers this year.

“Man, we’ve got a lot of warts. But we’re here,” Tomlin said of the team’s likely playoff position after the game. “That’s been our position since September. And I am just appreciative of that mental fortitude being displayed by those men in that locker room.”

Now the Steelers visit the Kansas City Chiefs. The Steelers lost at Arrowhead, 36-10, on Dec. 26. That was a game that resulted in a lot more grievances than this one did.

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