The Baltimore Ravens are convinced they had the Steelers beat, but, in the end, the scoreboard disagreed.

Quarterback Lamar Jackson told Sports Illustrated’s Adam Schultz he thought his team would be the victor of the rivalry game.

“We were right there, we had them beat, offense had to find our groove, we didn’t find it,” Jackson said. “(The) defense played a great game, kept stopping them, kept giving us opportunities, we just gotta do what we do, finish drives.”

Schultz described the Ravens’ mishaps during Sunday’s game at Acrisure Stadium as “self-inflicted wounds” as the Steelers pulled ahead in the AFC North with a 17-10 win.

The Ravens had 244 yards of offense in the first half and were averaging 5.6 yards per carry rushing. But then came a couple defensive moves that resulted in a fumble to end one Ravens drive and force a field goal attempt during another. The Steelers defense stepped up for the second half with an interception in the end zone and a strip-sack fumble, allowing 91 total yards in the half for the Ravens.

Jackson told Schultz those miscues all happened at the exact wrong time in the game.

Calling the game “bizarre,” CBS Sports writer Bryan DeArdo said the Steelers offense had a rough start but the Ravens gave the game away. The second-half interception in the end zone by Steelers rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr. resulted in a game-winning touchdown by Steelers wide receiver George Pickens with just over a minute left in the game.

DeArdo wrote that Ravens receivers had several drops and the Steelers were able to capitalize on those mistakes.

“The Ravens had several opportunities to put the game away, but they never did,” he wrote.

Yahoo! Sports NFL writer Charles McDonald also focused on the Ravens’ dropped passes, fumbles and sacks in a failed attempt to put the score out of reach, calling the team’s performance “clumsy.”

“There was just too many things going wrong,” Ravens tight end Mark Andrews told McDonald after the game. “It’s almost like a sleeping giant, man. We need to wake up.”

McDonald wrote that the Ravens’ self-inflicted problems can be fixed. Maybe that’ll happen before the two teams meet again in early January for the last game of the season.

“It’s a disappointing loss for us,” head coach John Harbaugh told McDonald.

Related:

• Madden Monday: After Steelers' win, fans calling for Matt Canada's firing won't get their wish
• Feats of Strength/Airing of Grievances: Steelers' splash plays outweigh offensive struggles to beat Ravens
• First Call: Ravens explain weird 2nd-quarter decision; looking at Steelers’ 1st opponent after the bye

Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Renatta by email at rsignorini@triblive.com or via Twitter .