Steelers miss chance to clinch AFC North because of 'two negative plays'
All season long, the Pittsburgh Steelers have depended on a standard formula for winning: stop the run, protect the ball, force the opponent into mistakes.
It's not glitzy, but that's exactly how Pittsburgh put itself into position to win the AFC North on Saturday. Unfortunately for the Steelers, they strayed from that recipe and absorbed a 34-17 beatdown from the Baltimore Ravens.
Instead of clinching its first division title since 2020, Pittsburgh (10-5) fell into a first-place tie with the Ravens with two games to play.
Baltimore rushed for 220 yards, including 162 by Derrick Henry. The Ravens also took advantage of two giveaways by Pittsburgh quarterback Russell Wilson — a second-quarter fumble at the end of a 19-yard run that Baltimore recovered on its own 4-yard line, and a pick-6 by Marlon Humphrey that made it 31-17 with 13 minutes left.
"We didn't do what we need to do to secure victory today," coach Mike Tomlin said. "Really, specifically, we didn't control the run game. We never did. When you don't, you've got to do some splash plays or win the turnover battle in a significant way. And we didn't do that either."
Pittsburgh came into the game tied for first in the NFL with a plus-18 turnover differential. The Steelers picked off Lamar Jackson early in the fourth quarter while trailing 24-17, but Wilson's ill-timed interception came just two plays later to effectively seal the deal.
"We had a chance late in the game," Wilson said. "The interception just hurt us. Really, two negative plays."
The first one came when Wilson broke into the open and appeared on course to score a touchdown for a 14-7 lead. Bearing down on the end zone after taking off on an impromptu scramble, Wilson was struck by Baltimore safety Ar'Darius Washington. The quarterback lost control of the ball and Ravens linebacker Kyle Van Noy pounced on it, ruining Pittsburgh's opportunity to move in front early in a game it ultimately never led.
"Just thought (I) had a chance to get into the end zone," Wilson said. "I tried to cut back and got hit. Right before I hit the ground, the ball came out. Unacceptable. Can't happen."
Oh, but it did. So did that pivotal 37-yard interception return by Humphrey.
"I put that game on me. There were two great opportunities there," Wilson said. "Obviously, going to the end zone, I was going for it. I'm not going to fear going for it. And the interception was a difficult play for us.
"There's a lot of good things we've been doing all year. We can't let a tough game like this take us to a negative state of mind."
Indeed. Although the Steelers lost to Baltimore for only the second time in the last 10 meetings between the bitter foes, Pittsburgh can still clinch the division crown by beating Kansas City at home on Christmas Day and defeating the Bengals at home in the finale.
"We can't worry about the next two. We've just got to worry about this next one coming up," Wilson said. "The game on Wednesday, it's going to be a great environment. We've been on the road the past two weeks. To play in front of our fans, the Terrible Towels and all that on a special day, it's going to be a great battle. The best we can do is keep our head up and understand that the best days are ahead."
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