EDITOR'S NOTE: This is another in a series of articles looking back ay some of the highlights from the 2024 season.
The first of three battles with Baltimore in the 2024 campaign came down to a two-point conversion attempt with just over a minute left in regulation.
And, perhaps, a timeout called by the Steelers.
They were playing chess, not checkers, on Nov. 17 at Acrisure Stadium.
"I wanted to see what structure they were in," head coach Mike Tomlin maintained regarding the timeout he opted to call after Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson's 16-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Zay Flowers had brought Baltimore to within 18-16 with 1:06 left in the fourth quarter.
An alternate approach might have been to save all three of his timeouts for a chance at an eventual game-winning field goal had the Ravens tied the game.
But Tomlin was thinking about preserving the lead, not having a chance to break a tie before overtime.
He waited until just before the ball was snapped on the two-point try to call the first of his three timeouts.
The whistles blew but the ball ended up being snapped, and Jackson made a move to his right before realizing the play had been blown dead.
"Thankfully, we even saw some of the semblance of the schematics of what they intended to run," Tomlin continued. "I think that made them change and go the other direction.
"Obviously particularly Mr. (Lamar) Jackson is a little bit less dangerous when he is going to his left than his right. So we're thankful for that."
The Ravens were initially in a formation that included wide receivers Nelson Agholor and Tylan Wallace, tight end Mark Andrews, running back Justice Hill and fullback Patrick Ricard.
The Steelers were in a nickel defense that included safety Damontae Kazee as the fifth defensive back.
When the two teams lined up following the timeout the Ravens had substituted tight end Isaiah Likely for Ricard and the Steelers had switched to their base defense (defensive lineman Dean Lowry replaced Kazee).
"We have two-point plays called," Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said. "We called one, they called timeout, we called the next one."
On the next one Wallace motioned from left to right prior to the snap as Agholor and Likely appeared to be trying to quickly work through some pre-snap confusion.
At the snap outside linebacker Nick Herbig exploded off the ball and got inside of Agholor's attempted block.
Herbig couldn't get to Jackson, who was running left, but he got in the way of pulling guard Patrick Mekari and pulling center Tyler Linderbaum.
That left Jackson 1-on-1 with cornerback Joey Porter Jr., unblocked, as it turned out, on the left edge.
Porter wrapped up Jackson at the Steelers' 7-yard line.
A desperation flip by Jackson landed far short of its apparent intended target, Likely, who had initially helped double-team defensive tackle Cam Heyward before peeling off and attempting to block inside linebacker Elandon Roberts in the end zone.
"It was a QB run," Jackson confirmed. "They just stopped it. They did a god job."
The Steelers registered a first down while making Baltimore exhaust its supply of timeouts on the subsequent possession and then had quarterback Russell Wilson kneel down twice to run out the clock.
"We just understood everybody just do their job," inside linebacker Patrick Queen maintained regarding the critical two-point try. "We don't have to do anything spectacular. Get out there and make a stop. Joey (Porter), who's usually the quiet one, he stopped them and two-point conversion.
"He gave everybody confidence to go out there and get the stop."
