Baltimore — After a 17-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Baltimore Ravens’ NFL-best six-game winning streak came to an end, but the team’s low manpower count accomplished one important goal: avoiding a major injury to a starter in the regular season finale.
The Ravens (13-4) knew there would be no postseason implications for them from their game on Saturday against their division opponent, having secured the AFC North championship and the No. 1 seed in the AFC a week prior. This is the reason why Baltimore decided not to start wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Zay Flowers, guard Kevin Zeitler, middle linebacker Roquan Smith, safety Kyle Hamilton, and cornerback Marlon Humphrey, who are all favorites to win the NFL MVP award. They have made 12 career Pro Bowl appearances and accounted for 94 starts this season.
Conversely, the Steelers required a victory to maintain their chances of making the playoffs. The Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans will now need to assist them on Sunday.
The Steelers are now waiting. For T.J. Watt’s status as well as their chances of making the playoffs. In a game that didn’t matter to first-place Baltimore, the Steelers defeated their bitter rivals, but late in the third quarter, Watt seemed to suffer a left knee injury after tumbling awkwardly following a leap and running into teammate Montravius Adams.
As teammates knelt by Watt and athletic trainers hurried to his side, Watt punched the ground with his fist. After spending a few minutes in the blue medical tent on the sidelines and returning to the locker room, he was declared out. Watt was having a season worthy of Defensive Player of the Year, leading the NFL with 19 sacks, when he was chosen by his teammates earlier this week as the Steelers MVP.
Watt was the one consistency throughout a season when the Steelers defense absorbed a lot of hits, consistently ruining games off the edge. He recorded two sacks, two quarterback hits and three tackles for loss against the Ravens.
From a mathematical standpoint, the Steelers’ chances of making the playoffs depend on Buffalo losing, Jacksonville losing or drawing, or Houston and Indianapolis drawing. But in all honesty, their best chance of making the playoffs depends on their great pass rusher’s health.
Crucial play: Mason Rudolph, the quarterback, hit Diontae Johnson on a slant play that opened the fourth quarter. Johnson outran the entire Ravens secondary and scored a touchdown, which was good for 71 yards. Johnson took the ball from Rudolph, who had a difficult game despite the bad weather, and ran 56.1 yards after the catch to score the game-winning touchdown to break a 7-7 tie.
Startling statistic: Running back Najee Harris became the first player in Steelers history to surpass 1,000 yards in each of his first three seasons with a 4-yard gain in the third quarter. Through the first three weeks of the season, Harris was a part of an ineffective ground game; however, with Rudolph starting at quarterback, he came alive. He achieved his first stretch of back-to-back games with at least 100 rushing yards this season against the Ravens, building up his two-touchdown, 122-yard performance against Seattle with 122 yards and a touchdown.
QB breakdown: Rudolph’s third start wasn’t quite as successful as his previous two, despite having assisted the Steelers in two of their finest offensive outings. Mostly short passes, he completed 18 of 20 attempts for 152 yards and a touchdown. Rudolph was sacked three times and lost possession of the ball three times, which did not help in the freezing, driving rain. Just before halftime, the Steelers had a chance to break a 7-7 deadlock, but Rudolph fumbled the ball on third down and lost it, forcing them to miss a field goal at the conclusion of the second quarter. Following a delay-of-game penalty on the Steelers’ opening drive in the third quarter, Rudolph mishandled the snap, forcing the team to punt after Harris had started the drive with a 15-yard rush. On third down, Rudolph made amends by hitting Johnson with a laser pass for a 71-yard score.
Two words to sum up the game: shoddy punt-fest Thirteen punts and four turnovers between the two teams during their awful play. — Brooke Pryor
The Ravens’ offense, led by backup quarterback Tyler Huntley, was sluggish, resulting in a season low of 224 yards and tying a season low of 10 points. This demonstrated just how much Baltimore needs Jackson to be well.
Safety Geno Stone (knee), linebacker Del’Shawn Phillips (shoulder), and defensive end Brent Urban (concussion evaluation) were the only Baltimore injuries that were announced. All three players left the game in the second half and did not come back.
Following their two-week vacation, the Ravens will host a divisional playoff game at M&T Bank Stadium on January 20 or 21. After the 2020 campaign, Baltimore is trying to win its first postseason game.
Positive trend: In the six games that the Ravens have played without Mark Andrews due to ankle surgery, Isaiah Likely scored his fifth touchdown, this time from 27 yards. That is a tie for the most by a tight end since Week 12 with Sam LaPorta of Detroit. Probably currently owns the most touchdown catches by a Baltimore player since 2021 with three catches of 25 yards or more. Likely, who had nine catches in the first ten games this season while Andrews was the top tight end target, has made quite the comeback.