Following each game in the 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers season, I will highlight the event, or string of events, in the game that was the turning point. Not all turning points will be earth-shattering but are meant to give a unique look at how we arrived at the outcome of the game, one that may be hard to see during the live watch.
The Pittsburgh Steelers lost in such spectacular fashion on Saturday that you can probably point to one of the opening few drives as the true turning point to the game. The very fact that the Steelers fell into a 21-0 hole changed how the rest of the game was played. But I will look at the brief glimmer of hope that the Steelers had and how that was ultimately wiped out very quickly by Derrick Henry and the Baltimore Ravens run game.
Coming out of halftime, the Steelers had one hope. They needed to force a quick three-and-out on the Ravens and then quickly score a touchdown. They were able to do that to cut the deficit to 14 points with over eight minutes remaining in the third quarter. It wasn’t going to be easy, but that’s doable.
The defense already forced a stop on the Ravens to open the half. Do it one more time, and the Steelers might be in business. As we know, they weren’t able to do that. It was quite the opposite as Derrick Henry ripped off a 44-yard touchdown on the fourth play of the drive to steal all of the momentum right back and effectively end the Steelers’ chances.
Elandon Roberts was mirroring Lamar Jackson and cleared out of the hole. Patrick Queen drifted a little too far to the right after Henry’s first cut and left a huge cutback lane with no help right up the middle of the field.
The Ravens took advantage of some of the Steelers’ halftime adjustments after Jackson gashed them on the ground in the first half. Ravens OT Ronnie Stanley said the Steelers were playing “risky,” and they took advantage of it on this play.
At that point, the Steelers’ season truly felt over. The Steelers responded again with another nice touchdown, but at that point, it was too little, too late.
