The offenses for the Steelers and Ravens entered Sunday's meeting at Acrisure Stadium red-hot.
So, of course, Sunday's game turned into an old-fashioned typical Steelers-Ravens game.
The Steelers limited Baltimore's explosive passing game to 205 yards and stopped a two-point conversion try with just over one minute remaining, and Chris Boswell kicked six field goals as they handed the Ravens an 18-16 defeat in the first of two meetings between the two teams this season.
The Steelers (8-2) forced three turnovers in the game, two fumbles and an interception, as they beat the Ravens (7-4) for the eighth time in their past nine meetings and extended their lead in the AFC North in what was their first division game of the season.
Game action photos from the Steelers' Week 11 game against the Baltimore Ravens at Acrisure Stadium
Baltimore, which entered the game leading the NFL in total yards per game at just over 440 and points per game at 31.8, struggled to gain much traction against the Steelers defense throughout the game. Reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson completed just 16 of 33 passes for 207 yards with one interception, falling to 1-4 in five career starts against Pittsburgh.
"I like the way our guys responded to the challenge, particularly our defense," said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. "A lot was written and said about that offense coming into this game, and rightfully so. They have a lot of talent. They have a lot of weapons. They have good schematics."
The Steelers largely rendered them meaningless.
"Lamar is a great talent," said Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward. "But we've got great players over here, too."
Russell Wilson, making his fourth start of the season for the Steelers, threw for 205 yards with one interception, while the Steelers rushed for 122 yards.
The Steelers struck first thanks to their defense, which forced a Derrick Henry fumble on his second carry of the game. Nick Herbig, starting in place of injured Alex Highsmith, stripped the ball from behind and safety DeShon Elliott, a former Ravens player, recovered it at the Baltimore 42.
The Steelers turned that into a 32-yard Boswell field goal and a 3-0 lead.
The Ravens looked to tie the game at 3-3 midward the quarter after Jackson connected with tight end Isaiah Likely for a 42-yard gain. But Justin Tucker, who came into the game as the most accurate kicker in NFL history, pushed a 47-yard attempt wide left.
The Steelers, however, could not take advantage of the field position, with Wilson coming up short on a third-and-1 sneak and Najee Harris then getting stopped for no gain on fourth down, turning the ball over on downs.
But the Ravens again stalled, this time at the Pittsburgh 32. Tucker this time missed a 50-yard field goal attempt wide left, keeping the Steelers' lead at 3-0.
The Steelers went to a no-huddle attack after getting the ball back at their own 16 early in the second quarter and maneuvered to the Baltimore 30. But Wilson was sacked on third down and they settled for another Boswell field goal, this one from 52 yards that gave them a 6-0 lead.
The Ravens finally got their offense clicking late in the half, as Derrick Henry, who had 17 yards on his first five carries, broke free for a 31-yard run, getting tackled by his shoelaces by Minkah Fitzpatrick to save a touchdown.
That proved to be delaying the inevitable, however, as Henry wound up scoring from the 1 to give Baltimore a 7-6 lead with 1:16 remaining in the first half.
The Steelers chose to punt the ball on fourth-and-1 from their own 39 with less than one minute remaining in the half, but the defense again made a big play for the Steelers.
Sniffing out a first-down screen to Likely, former Ravens star Patrick Queen stripped Likely of the ball and recovered it at the Baltimore 19.
"it's a screen, which is like a run, and you can't take a knee there," said Ravens head coach John Harbaugh. "They have three time outs. (If) you take a knee, they're calling a time out, you're punting from your own 12-yard line or whatever it was. So you've got to try to get at least a good play to start so they don't call a time-out, so it was just a fumble."
But with only 29 seconds on the clock, the Steelers settled for a 32-yard Boswell field goal and a 9-7 halftime lead.
The Steelers got the ball to open the second half and drove to the Baltimore 39 after a Wilson pass to Jaylen Warren came up one yard short of a first down. Boswell again made a field goal, this one from 57 yards to extend the Steelers' lead to 12-7.
The Ravens, however, mounted a drive to answer, going 34 yards on 11 plays before settling for another Tucker field goal attempt. Tucker made the 54-yarder, cutting the lead to 12-10 midway through the third quarter.
The Steelers pushed their advantage back to a five-point lead on their next possession despite two questionable holding penalties called on right tackle Broderick Jones. Facing second-and-15, Wilson connected with George Pickens down the sideline for a 37-yard completion to the Baltimore 12. But a second-down run by Harris led to a 1-yard loss and Wilson's third-down pass to Van Jefferson fell incomplete, forcing Boswell onto the field for a 27-yard field goal.
The Steelers had a long drive on their next possession after forcing a three-and-out from the Ravens, finished off by a T.J. Watt sack. Taking over at the 32, the Steelers drove to the Baltimore 5, mixing the pass and run. But Wilson was intercepted by Marlon Humphrey in the end zone on a pass intended for Darnell Washington and the score remained 15-10 with 9:23 remaining in the game.
The Steelers, however, returned the favor on Baltimore's ensuing possession, as rookie linebacker Payton Wilson took the ball away from Hill on a wheel route down the sideline at the Pittsburgh 36 with 8:14 remaining in the game.
"It was a wheel route and I just played the ball," said Wilson. "As soon as his hands went up, I stuck my hands between his and played through his hands. The ball hit my hands and when we came down, I ripped it out."
The Steelers drove into Baltimore territory again, this time with Boswell kicking a 50-yard field goal to extend their lead to 18-10 with 3:29 remaining in the game.
The Ravens drove from their own 31, with Jackson converting a pair of third downs, to score on a 16-yard pass to Zay Flowers, but the Steelers strung Jackson out on a two-point conversion run and Jackson just tossed the ball into the air while being tackled by Joey Porter Jr.
"I was just making a play for our defense," said Porter.
"It was a QB run. They just stopped it. They did a good job," said Jackson.
The Ravens chose to kick the ball deep with 1:06 remaining and all three timeouts. Harris got no gain on first down, and Justin Fields, in at quarterback, ran for nine yards on second down, sliding short of the first-down marker. Harris then picked up the first down to force the Ravens to use their final timeout.