The Baltimore Ravens suffered a heartbreaking defeat at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers by the final score of 20-19. It was a sloppy game once again for Baltimore on the offensive side of the ball, the Ravens’ defense struggled mightily in the fourth quarter, and Pittsburgh was able to escape with a close victory in a game that could have gone in either direction.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson finished the game completing 23-37 passes for 253 yards to go along with one touchdown and one interception. His turnover was a costly one in the red zone very early in the game, and if he would have thrown the ball away, the three points that Justin Tucker would have most likely gotten would have proven to be the difference in the game.
The running game looked a tad better than usual, with Jackson leading the way with 55 yards on eight carries but running back Devonta Freeman contributing 52 yards of his own on 14 carries. The pass game was nothing to write home about.
Baltimore’s offensive line struggled at times, but played well in other moments. A few of the sacks that they gave up came from dominating play from players such as T.J. Watt and Chris Wormley.
On defense, the Ravens’ unit gave up just two touchdowns and played well for the majority of the contest, but they faltered in the fourth quarter. They gave up multiple untimely big plays, couldn’t tackle, and gave up a few chunk plays in the run game.
The biggest moment of the game came when Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh decided to go for two points to win the contest with the team down 20-19. Tight end Mark Andrews broke across the formation and was open, but Watt disrupted Jackson’s timing and the two couldn’t connect, cementing the Ravens’ loss. It was a key play call in a massive situation, but it ultimately didn’t pay off.
Baltimore has some soul searching to do on offense and their defense also must tighten up in certain areas. What they’ve been able to do this season despite going through so many injuries is remarkable, but every loss hurts regardless, especially one to a division rival that most likely should have gone the other way if just one or two plays had more positive results in favor of the Ravens.