The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens have one of the best rivalries in football, but lately, the Steelers have dominated. They’ve won eight of their last nine matchups against the Ravens. Despite being one of the best players in the league, Lamar Jackson has only beaten the Steelers once as a starter. According to Alex Highsmith, the reason the Steelers have had the Ravens’ number is because they’ve been better in big moments
“I think we just do a good job of making the big plays in the weighty moments,” Highsmith said Thursday via the team’s YouTube channel. “If you look back at the series since I’ve been here, even a few years before I got here, it’s always been some crazy play in the fourth quarter.
“Somebody making a crazy play, somebody getting a turnover, or somebody getting a sack. I think it goes back to, like Coach [Mike] Tomlin showed a clip of [Antonio Brown’s] Immaculate Extension today. I think it’s just we’ve been the ones who make those weighty plays, and so we gotta do it again this Saturday.”
Highsmith makes a good point. Usually, the Steelers and Ravens find themselves in close contests. Their last 10 games have been decided by one score. That tends to make every big play matter more. The Steelers have made several memorable plays against the Ravens too.
Brown’s Immaculate Extension in 2016 probably is the biggest example. That play came with barely any time left on the clock, and with that win, the Steelers locked up the AFC North title. It’s one of the greatest plays in franchise history, and it’s a defining moment in this rivalry.
There are examples from before then too. Troy Polamalu’s pick-six in the 2008 AFC Championship Game was mesmerizing. It sent the Steelers to Super Bowl XLIII, making it potentially the most important play in this rivalry’s history.
Even the most recent game has a perfect example of the Steelers showing up in weighty moments. The Ravens made a late push to tie the game, scoring a touchdown with around a minute left on the clock. The ensuing two-point conversion attempt was arguably the biggest play of the game, and in that moment, the Steelers came up with a huge stop, taking Jackson down short of the end zone.
The Ravens have won their fair share of these battles too. The division crown hangs in the balance, so the Ravens are going to bring their best. To win, the Steelers will likely need to continue stepping up in those big moments. Tomlin showed them Brown’s play for a reason. Sometimes, that’s what it takes to win the AFC North.
