Ben Roethlisberger capped off his stellar 18-year career by leading the Steelers to a come-from-behind win in Baltimore. A year later, Roethlisberger's successor, Kenny Pickett, led Pittsburgh to a dramatic, last-minute win in Baltimore that kept the Steelers' playoff hopes alive.
A month after leaving the first Steelers-Ravens game early, Pickett's game-winning touchdown pass to Najee Harris lifted Pittsburgh to a 16-13 win. The win keeps Pittsburgh (8-8) alive in the race to earn the AFC's seventh playoff seed. The Steelers have won five of their six games after a 3-7 start.
Trailing 13-3, Pickett helped lead two second-half scoring drives that ended with Chris Boswell field goals. The Steelers defense then forced a punt before watching Pickett orchestrate an 80-yard, game-winning drive that culminated with his 10-yard pass to Harris with 56 seconds left.
Pickett's completions of 20 yards to Pat Freiermuth and 28 yards to Steven Sims set up his game-winning touchdown pass. Pittsburgh's defense then finished the job when Minkah Fitzpatrick picked off Tyler Huntley with 13 seconds left.
Pickett was aided all night by Harris, who recorded his first 100-yard rushing performance of the season. The Ravens offense was lead by Mark Andrews, whose 100 yards on nine catches wasn't enough on a night where points were at a premium. The loss dropped Baltimore to 10-6 and 1.5 games behind Cincinnati for first place in the AFC North.
Here's a full breakdown of what transpired on Sunday night.
Pittsburgh overcame several self-inflicted wounds that included Boswell's missed first-half field goal and Cam Heyward's unnecessary roughness penalty that led to the Ravens' only touchdown just before halftime. Both players made up for those miscues in the second half. Boswell made both of his second-half field goal tries, while Heyward was part of a big third-down stop that set up Pittsburgh's game-winning drive.
The Steelers defense made several other big stops throughout the game. And while they struggled in the red zone for most of the game, Pittsburgh's offense found the end zone when it needed to. Pickett, Harris and Jaylen Warren (who rushed for 76 yards on 12 carries) took advantage of an exceptional effort by the Steelers offensive line that helped Pittsburgh rack up 198 rushing yards.
Baltimore's defense was unable to make a game-changing play during the Steelers' last two possessions. The pass rush was a nonfactor at that point in the game, while Baltimore's secondary struggled to contain Pickett and the Steelers' passing attack. Throughout the night, Baltimore's defense was also unable to slow down the Steelers' duo of Harris and Warren, who combined to run for 187 yards on 34 carries.
On offense, the Ravens largely leaned on Andrews and J.K. Dobbins. While both players were largely effective, Baltimore's lack of offensive diversity contributed to the Ravens scoring just three points during the game's final 30 minutes. It also contributed to the Ravens converting on less than half of their dozen third-down situations.
Trailing 13-9, the Steelers needed a stop by their defense in order to give the ball back to their offense after Baltimore's defense forced a punt with 6:32 left. Pittsburgh got its necessary stop when Heyward and linebacker Mark Robinson combined to stuff Dobbins for no gain on a third-and-2 play from the Ravens' 44-yard-line with 5:05 left.
The stop gave the Steelers more than enough time to mount a game-winning drive that saw Pickett go 5 of 6 for 64 yards.
Pickett and Harris were unable to score on a pass near the Ravens' end zone earlier in the game. The duo wasn't denied with the game on the line, as Harris managed to pull down Pickett's pass that came after Pickett evaded Baltimore's pass rush. The game-winning touchdown pass was Pickett's second in as many weeks after he threw the game-winning pass to George Pickens against Las Vegas on Christmas Eve.
"I thought we really kind of got a hold of ourselves at the half and had some real frank conversations and had the type of focus that was needed to finish the game out, and for that, I'm thankful.
"Can't say enough about our young [quarterback]. He smiles in the face of it. He's always ready to be that guy in the moments that we need him to be that guy." -- Steelers coach Mike Tomlin on his team and his rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett
The Steelers will host the Browns in a game Pittsburgh needs to win in order to keep its playoff hopes alive. The Steelers also need a Jets win in Miami and a Patriots loss in Buffalo in order to have a shot at the postseason. Pittsburgh fell to Cleveland when the two teams first met back in Week 3.
Baltimore will travel to Cincinnati for a game that will surely impact the AFC playoff seedings. The game may determine who wins the AFC North if Cincinnati is unable to defeat Buffalo on Monday night. Regardless, the Ravens have already clinched their spot in the playoffs.
Had Huntley lofted that throw and given it a little arch, we could've been looking at a different situation entirely and a big gain for Baltimore. Instead, he throws a bullet and the Steelers pick it off to ensure the win.
The Steelers stay alive! Minkah Fitzpatrick picks off Huntley to clinch the 16-13 win for Pittsburgh.
On that drive, Pickett was 5 of 6 passing for 64 yards and that touchdown to Harris. Clutch.
Kenny Pickett to Najee Harris and the Steelers have taken the lead!
Freiermuth should be the call here.
This is Najee Harris' first 100-yard rushing game of the season.
Kenny Pickett is not afraid of the moment. With the season on the line, the rookie hits a 20-yarder to Freiermuth and then hits Sims for 28 on the very next play. Pittsburgh is now knocking on the door of the red zone.
Diving catch by Steven Sims gives the Steelers a first down deep in Ravens territory. Pickett made a big completion to Freiermuth on the previous play.
Steelers have a first down at their own 30 with three minutes left. Still have all three of their timeouts.
A bit of redemption for Cam Heyward. His penalty in the first half sparked a Ravens touchdown. That third down stop of Dobbins now gives the Steelers the offense back with just over four minutes to go down the field and potentially win this game and keep their playoff hopes alive.
Dobbins stuffed by Heyward on third down, so the Steelers offense will get the ball with about 4 minutes left with all three of their timeouts.
Neither team has forced a turnover so far. The Steelers could use one now. Feels like the Steelers won't score unless they get a short field.
Steelers hanging on by a thread. The sack of Pickett on second down put them in an impossible spot to convert. If Baltimore runs the ball effectively on this drive, they'll chew off a ton of clock.
Steelers have to punt after Pickett takes a sack on second down. Defense can maybe allow one first down here.
Diontae Johnson appeared to make a circus catch but doesn't look like he got both feet in bounds.
Big PBU by Terrell Edmunds forces a Ravens punt. That hit on Likely also wiped out a FG attempt by Tucker.
All that said, the Steelers again pinned back inside their 10, and a FG won't do them any good this time.
Huge return by Hill that immediately puts Baltimore in Pittsburgh territory.
Pickett misfires on third down, so Boswell makes his third FG and Steelers' deficit is now four points with 9:44 left.
Steelers need a stop and a TD, not an easy task.
Pickens hits Johnson on third down and the Steelers are in the red zone. Johnson didn't look injured at all after getting some good YAC.
Pickett feels the Hamilton pressure that time around and gets the ball out to Pickens for a 15-yard gain. You can feel the urgency the Steelers are playing with right now.
Pittsburgh is going to have more success in the air if they're going to win this game. Pickett has just 68 yards on 8 of 15 passing. Steelers would be wise to get Harris and Warren more involved in the passing game. Or go up tempo and let Pickett be more aggressive.
Steelers have a first down at their own 15 as the third quarter comes to a close. Ravens up 13-6 after both teams kicked field goals during the quarter.
T.J. Watt sack forces a Ravens punt to the Steelers' 5. Worst starting position of the night so far for either team.
Dobbins up to 91 yards rushing on a 6.5 yards per carry average.
Fitzpatrick back in the game, but Dobbins rips off another big run as Baltimore has a first down near midfield.
