BALTIMORE — In a reversal of fortune Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers grabbed a halftime lead and held on for a victory.
Barely.
The Steelers survived a second-half rally by the Baltimore Ravens and a controversial instant replay call to defeat the Baltimore Ravens, 27-22, at M&T Bank Stadium in a showdown for first place in the AFC North.
The Steelers led 17-3 in the first half, by eight points at the break and twice by 11 points in the third quarter. They withstood scores on four consecutive drives by the Ravens and improved to 7-6 on the season. The Ravens dropped to 6-7.
The Ravens had a potential go-ahead touchdown taken away in the fourth quarter when Lamar Jackson’s pass to tight end Isaiah Likely in the end zone was reversed by instant replay.
The Steelers had lost five of their previous seven games, including two in a row in which they held a halftime lead. They have lost four games overall in which they led at intermission.
Aaron Rodgers unleashed the deep passing on the Ravens, completing 23 of 34 passes for a season-high 284 yards and one touchdown. He also ran for a 1-yard touchdown.
DK Metcalf caught seven passes for 148 yards, and running back Jaylen Warren had a 38-yard touchdown catch on a screen pass.
The Ravens rushed for 217 yards against the Steelers and piled up 420. The Steelers won despite rushing for just 34 yards.
The Steelers took a 17-9 lead into halftime on the strength of touchdown runs from Rodgers and Kenny Gainwell. It was not indicative of the way the half unfolded. The Steelers had just 22 yards rushing at halftime compared to 148 passing.
Rodgers came out throwing to open the second half and hit Metcalf with a 41-yard gain.
The Steelers got the ball first to open the second half, and for the first time this season, they got points on that first possession after Rodgers’ third-down pass into the end zone was deflected by Kyle Van Noy. Chris Boswell kicked 28-yard field goal.
The Ravens answered with Jackson’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely that cut the Steelers’ lead to 20-16. The score was set up by Keaton Mitchell’s 55-yard run. Mitchell would have scored if not for James Pierre pushing him out of bounds at the 7.
One of Rodgers’ shortest passes of the game resulted in a 38-yard touchdown. On third-and-4, Rodgers flipped a screen pass to Warren, who ran down the right sideline for the score. It came three plays after Rodgers found Calvin Austin for a 31-yard completion on another third-down pass.
When the Ravens’ next drive stalled at the Steelers 10, Tyler Loop kicked a 28-yard field goal to pull the Ravens within 27-19 with 13 minutes, 43 seconds remaining.
For just the second time in the game, the Steelers went three-and-out, and the Ravens regained possession with 11:19 left. On the next play, Jackson threw a 33-yard completion to Zay Flowers. The Ravens converted a fourth-and-1 from the 24. The Steelers pressured Jackson into throwing incompletions on second and third down, and Loop kicked a 36-yard field goal with 7:10 to play.
A pivotal moment came 13 seconds later. Rodgers’ pass was batted back to him, and he had the ball wrestled away by Teddye Buchanan. The Ravens thought they had a turnover at the Steelers 32, but replay determined that Rodgers was down by contact, resulting in a completion of minus-9 yards.
The Steelers had to punt, but the Ravens took over at their 22 instead of the Steelers 36. Facing a fourth-and-5 at the 46, Jackson completed a 6-yard pass to Flowers. Jackson and Flowers then hooked up for a 33-yard completion that gave the Ravens a first down at the 13.
The Ravens thought they had scored a go-ahead touchdown on the next play when Jackson hooked up with Likely in the end zone. The touchdown was reversed upon review, and the play was ruled an incomplete pass with Likely failing to maintain possession.
On fourth-and-5 from the 8, Jackson stepped up in the pocket and looked for tight end Mark Andrews in the end zone. Patrick Queen broke it up, giving the ball back to the Steelers with 2:22 remaining.
The Steelers punted following a three-and-out, and the Ravens took over at their 26 with 1:56 left. Jackson led the Ravens to Steelers 30, but the game ended when Alex Highsmith sacked him for an 8-yard loss.
After going the entire 2024 season without scoring a touchdown on the opening drive, the Steelers did it for the fifth time in 13 tries this year to take a 7-3 lead.
Rodgers capped off an 8-play, 65-yard drive when he faked a handoff to Warren and scored on a 1-yard jog around left end.
The Steelers came out with aggressive approach with Rodgers connecting with Metcalf for 55 yards on the first play. The Steelers executed a fourth-and-1 “tush push” from the Ravens 4 with Connor Heyward gaining 2 yards.
Boswell’s 23-yard field goal gave the Steelers a 10-3 lead. It was set up by a 28-yard completion to Metcalf that gave the Steelers a first down at the Ravens 33.
The Steelers got the ball back three plays later on a Pierre interception. Jackson rolled to the right and tried to lob the ball to an open receiver, but it was short and Pierre grabbed the pass and returned the ball to the Steelers 36. When the drive stalled at the 13, Boswell kicked a 32-yard field goal — or so the Steelers thought. A personal foul call against the Ravens extended the drive, giving the Steelers a first down at the Ravens 6.
Gainwell scored on the next play when he took a pitch from Rodgers and went in untouched around the left end. The touchdown gave the Steelers a 17-3 lead with 6:05 left in the half.
The Ravens finally awakened, and Jackson ran for an 8-yard touchdown with 16 seconds left in the half. Loop missed the extra point, keeping the score 17-9. The drive began at the 40 after Boswell’s kickoff was short of the landing zone. Two penalties against the Steelers on third-down plays helped extend the drive. Jackson’s touchdown run came on the 13th play of the drive.
A testament to the hard-hitting nature of the game was that four Steelers players left with concussion symptoms: Darnell Washington and Andrus Peat on offense and Malik Harrison and Brandin Echols on defense. Echols was the only one to return.