The Pittsburgh Steelers used an impressive defensive effort, a blocked punt and a clutch Kenny Pickett-George Pickens connection to beat the Baltimore Ravens 17-10 at Acrisure Stadium and improve to 3-2 on the season.
The Steelers won the toss and deferred, so the Ravens opened with possession. K Chris Boswell’s opening kickoff was a touchback. Baltimore gained eight yards on its first play of the game, an eight-yard reception by WR Rashod Bateman. On 3rd and 2, QB Lamar Jackson ran for 26 yards and a first down at the Pittsburgh 41. But Jackson had three straight incompletions after that, and the Ravens were forced to punt. P Jordan Stout pinned the Steelers at their own four-yard line.
RB Najee Harris ran for back-to-back two-yard gains, and then QB Kenny Pickett found TE Connor Heyward for a gain of six and a first down. On 3rd and 4 a few plays later, Pickett was incomplete to WR George Pickens and the Steelers were forced to punt. P Brad Wing sent his first punt of the game 47 yards and it was returned 8 yards to the Baltimore 41 by WR Devin Duvernay.
The Ravens moved down the field quickly, with two first-down receptions to WR Nelson Agholor on the second and third play of the drive. An 11-yard run by RB Gus Edwards on second and four set up a 14-yard rushing touchdown by RB Justice Hill two plays later. Justin Tucker’s extra point gave the Ravens a 7-0 lead with 6:15 left in the first quarter.
The Steelers followed with a three-and-out. Wing’s punt was 44 yards and Duvernay returned it to the Baltimore 32. Three straight runs gave the Ravens a first down, and then TE Mark Andrews gained 16 yards over the middle for a first down to the Pittsburgh 30. The Ravens eventually drove to the Pittsburgh 4, but on third-and-goal, Bateman dropped a touchdown and the Ravens settled for a Justin Tucker field goal. That put them up 10-0 with 12:23 left in the second quarter.
Pittsburgh’s third drive started at its own 10-yard line after a penalty by Miles Killebrew on the kick return. On second down, Pickett went deep to WR George Pickens for a 21-yard gain, and then hit WR Allen Robinson II for an eight-yard gain, followed by a four-yard run by Warren for a first down. A 12-yard completion to Heyward on third-and-six a few plays later resulted in another first down, and the Steelers had some momentum at the Baltimore 42. But on 3rd and 7, Pickett was sacked by former Steelers CB Arthur Maulet and the drive ended. Wing’s punt pinned the Ravens at their eight-yard line as they maintained a 10-0 lead with 8:09 left in the first half.
Baltimore picked up a first down on the second play of the drive on a nine-yard run by Gus Edwards. The next play, Jackson hit Andrews for 13 yards and a first down. Two plays later, DL Larry Ogunjobi punched the ball out from RB Justice Hill and S Damontae Kazee recovered, and the Steelers took over at their own 49.
On second down, Pickett went back to Pickens for 11 yards and a first down on a throw over the middle. Pickens then took an end around down to the Baltimore 24. On 3rd and 11 from the Baltimore 25, Pickett was forced to throw it away and Boswell came on for a field goal. He was good from 43 yards, and the Steelers cut into the lead and made it 10-3 with 3:16 left in the first half.
The Ravens picked up a first down on the first play of their drive, and then a few plays later on 3rd and 11, Jackson went back to Andrews for 19 yards and another first down. On the next play though, OLB T.J. Watt sacked Jackson for a loss of nine yards. On 3rd and 18 with 1:07 left in the first half, Jackson avoided a sack and went to WR Zay Flowers for a 29-yard gain down to the Pittsburgh 31. On 4th and 2 with time running out at the end of the half, the Ravens went for it and didn’t get a conversion.
The Steelers got the ball to start the second half and once again went three-and-out. Wing’s punt was just 43 yards to the Ravens 23, where it was fair caught for Devin Duvernay. On the second play of Baltimore’s drive, Jackson went to Flowers for a gain of 20 and a first down. On 3rd and 6, Jackson was stopped short of the first down and the Ravens punted.
The Steelers picked up two first downs on their drive, but on 2nd and 4, Pickett was sacked for a loss of six. On 3rd and 10, Pickett was incomplete and the Steelers punted with 5:54 left in the third quarter. Wing’s punt was fair caught at the Baltimore 18.
On the first play of Baltimore’s drive, Jackson went to Agholor for a 30-yard gain. On the next play, an Alex Highsmith sack was negated by defensive holding by Minkah Fitzpatrick. Kwon Alexander got a sack a few plays later though, and the Steelers forced a punt.
After taking over at their own 15, the Steelers picked up a first down on back-to-back runs and then went to WR George Pickens for 23 yards and a first down. Two plays later, Pickens came through again with a 13-yard reception down to the Baltimore 37. But Pickett was sacked on fourth down and took the Steelers out of field goal range, and Wing punted 42 yards for a touchback.
A three-and-out by Baltimore led to a blocked punt by the Steelers, which cut into the Baltimore lead and made it 10-5 with 11:12 left in the fourth quarter.
The Steelers started their drive at their own 44 following the punt return from the safety, and on 3rd and 8, Jaylen Warren gained 22 yards on a reception. He then ran for nine yards, and the Steelers offense looked to be in business. Warren took off for a 16-yard run down to the Baltimore five-yard line, but on 3rd and 5, Pickett was incomplete to Allen Robinson II in the end zone. The Steelers brought out the field goal unit, and Boswell was good from 25 yards. With 7:10 left in the game, the Ravens led 10-8.
The Ravens took over at their own 25, and on 3rd and 3, the Steelers got a stop and the Ravens would punt. But on the punt return, Gunner Olszewski fumbled and the Ravens recovered, taking over inside the Pittsburgh 10. On third-and-goal, rookie corner Joey Porter Jr. picked off Jackson in the end zone and the Steelers remained down two points.
On 3rd and 9, Pickett found Robinson for a 10-yard gain and a first down. On 3rd and 4 a few plays later, Pickett went to Pickens, who made a contested catch along the sidelines for 21 yards and another first down at the Baltimore 42. Two plays later, Pickett went deep to Pickens for 41 yards and a touchdown. The Steelers went for two and didn’t get it, so with 1:17 left the Steelers led 14-10.
The Ravens took over at their own 25, and on the first play of the drive, Jackson found Flowers for a 19-yard gain to the Baltimore 44. But on the next play, Alex Highsmith strip-sacked Jackson and T.J. Watt recovered the fumble, and the Steelers got the ball at the Baltimore 18-yard line.
Baltimore had two timeouts, but the Steelers knelt and made the Ravens burn both of their timeouts. The Steelers knelt again on third down, and then Boswell made a 42-yard field goal to make it 17-10 with 49 seconds left. A third-down penalty for illegal formation by the Steelers stopped the clock, and so the Ravens would have more time to try and tie the score.
The Ravens opened the drive at their 25-yard line, and an incompletion on first down was followed by a holding penalty on second down. On 2nd and 20 with 35 seconds left, Jackson went to Andrews for a gain of 13, and Jackson was incomplete on third down. On 4th and 7 with 20 seconds left, Jackson was sacked by Watt and the Steelers won.
At 3-2, the Steelers head into their bye at first place in the AFC North. The Ravens also fall to 3-2.
