With the offense playing inconsistently almost the entire game, John Harbaugh decided on a costly gamble near the end and lost.
It was a decision that will ultimately help define this Ravens season.
Lamar Jackson threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Sammy Watkins with 12 seconds left that pulled the Ravens to within one point. However, Jackson could not connect with Mark Andrews on the 2-point conversion and the Ravens fell to the Steelers 20-19.
After the game, the players and coaches defended the decision.
Injuries played a role in not taking the game into overtime.
“It’s what we should do. We’re in a hostile environment,” Andrews said. “Obviously, [on the] two-minute drive, Sammy and a bunch of guys were stepping up and making plays, [Devin Duvernay] and all of those guys. We get down there and score a touchdown. Things were rolling. One catch and things are different.”
The win kept the Steelers playoffs hopes alive and dropped the Ravens out of the top spot in the AFC playoffs from No. 1 to three. Baltimore is still first place in the AFC North because Cincinnati lost to the Los Angeles Chargers 41-22.
The #Ravens are still atop the AFCN but they're doing it with smoke and mirrors. Besides the things highlighted below they've given up a league-leading 43 sacks. pic.twitter.com/HQKR71V5ha
— Tony Lombardi (@RSRLombardi) December 6, 2021
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger showed Jackson the importance of getting rid of the ball quicker.
Jackson took seven sacks, threw a costly interception that ended a potential scoring drive on the game’s first possession and was again running for his life much of the day . Meanwhile, Roethlisberger avoided Baltimore’s pass rush and did not have a turnover, which helped decide the game.
“The ball was being held, trying to push the ball downfield a little bit at times,” coach John Harbaugh said. “We gave them enough time to get to him for sure. There were plenty of times where he ran out of there too and made some huge plays, extending plays. That does … We talk about that in our press conferences quite a bit. So that’s kind of Lamar’s a unique guy that way. [But] seven sacks are too many.”
Roethlisberger threw a 5-yard touchdown to Diontae Johnson and converted the two-point conversion with just over a minute left in the game, but the Ravens were able to score on the next possession but the 2-point conversion fell short.
“It was cool. I really didn’t — when I looked at the score, I saw it was 19-20,” Jackson said. “Perfect play call. We’re going to make it happen. [We] just came up short.”
Baltimore has scored fewer than 20 points in each of the past four games. The Ravens have also lost three consecutive games to the Steelers.
The Ravens defense had played well the entire game but the offense did not give them any support and they faded in the second half of the game. Pittsburgh scored 17 points in the fourth quarter.
“It just comes down to execution [and] doing the little things right,” nose tackle Brandon Williams said. “They get paid, too. So, they’re going to make some good plays against some different fronts. So, kudos to them as well. But like I said, we were still rolling. We were still doing everything we needed to do; they just got us a few times.”
Baltimore got a 41-yard pass interference penalty on Minkah Fitzpatrick against Marquise Brown on the next possession. However, the Ravens had to settle for a 28-yard field goal by Justin Tucker.
That proved to be costly because the Steelers were able to put together the go-ahead drive.
The decision to go for two was largely based on more injuries in the secondary, including one to top cornerback Marlon Humphrey, who could be out for an extended time.
“Marlon Humphrey has an issue. We’ll get an MRI, but it could be a while for Marlon. So, we’ll see,” Harbaugh said.
Jackson was 23 of 37 for 253 yards with a touchdown and an interception for an 80.1 rating. He also ran for 55 yards on eight carries.
Jackson has thrown more interceptions over his past four games (9) than he did in his in 2019 when he was named NFL MVP when he had just six picks.
Roethlisberger completed 21 of 31 passes for 236 yards with two touchdowns and a 111.8 rating.
