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What Went Right, What Went Wrong

What went right, wrong at Ravens

COIN TOSS: Ravens win the toss and elect to defer. The Steelers get the football first.

1:16 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The first quarter was just half over, and the Steelers already had experienced some things go against them. On the game's opening series, Najee Harris injured his arm during a 4-yard catch on a third-and-8; on the Ravens opening series, it seemed as though T.J. Watt tied the single-season sack record with a strip/sack of Tyler Huntley that Henry Mondeaux recovered at the Baltimore 39-yard line, but the stats crew scored it as an aborted play instead; Diontae Johnson took a helmet to the ribs on a 10-yard catch on a third-and-11 from the Ravens 15-yard line on the Steelers second possession; and then on fourth-and-1, with the Steelers lined up to go for it, Benny Snell, who had replaced Harris, was flagged for a false start; and after the penalty, the Steelers settled for a 23-yard field goal from Chris Boswell to take a 3-0 lead with 6:06 remaining in the first quarter.

1:27 p.m. – What Went Right: The Ravens had not even run 10 offensive plays, and the Steelers already had two takeaways. The first was that fumble recovery by Henry Mondeaux, and the second was an interception by Terrell Edmunds on a Tyler Huntley pass for Mark Andrews that was overthrown. The Steelers took over at their 39-yard line.

1:32 p.m. – What Went Wrong: After gaining one first down on a 7-yard completion to Pat Freiermuth, Ben Roethlisberger tried to get the ball to Ray-Ray McCloud down the sideline on the next play only to have it intercepted by Geno Stone at the Ravens 25-yard line.

1:41 p.m. – What Went Right: On the first play of the second quarter – a fourth-and-2 from the Steelers 45-yard line, a pass from punter Sam Koch to gunner Tylan Wallace was incomplete. The Steelers took over on downs at their 45-yard line.

Game action photos from the Steelers' Week 18 game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium

1:47 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Steelers offense went three-and-out following the Ravens attempted fake punt, and after Pressley Harvin's 34-yard punt the Ravens took possession at their 20-yard line with 12:21 left in the second quarter.

2:13 p.m. – What Went Wrong: Through a long stretch of the second quarter, the Steelers and Ravens combined to punt the ball after six consecutive possessions. The last of those six punts was one for 36 yards by Sam Koch that was downed by Baltimore's Miles Boykin at the Pittsburgh 7-yard line with 2:35 remaining in the first half.

2:27 p.m. – What Went Right: The outcome of this possession will be remembered as ending in a 24-yard field goal by Justin Tucker with 11 seconds left in the first half to tie the game, 3-3. But included in the eight-pay possession was a 3-yard sack by T.J. Watt that tied the all-time single-season NFL record of 22.5, and then on the next play – a third-and-goal from the 6-yard line, Watt batted Tyler Huntley's pass at the line of scrimmage to force the field goal.

HALFTIME: Steelers 3, Ravens 3

2:50 p.m. – What Went Wrong: Bad run defense has been an issue for the Steelers throughout pockets of the 2021 season, and one of those pockets happened on the opening possession of the second quarter. The Ravens took the second half kickoff and drove 68 yards on five plays – all runs – and took a 10-3 lead on a 46-yard sprint through the middle of the defense for the touchdown that gave Baltimore a 10-3 lead with 12:32 left in the third period.

2:59 p.m. – What Went Wrong: It could be viewed as a possession that allowed the Steelers to cut the Ravens lead to 10-6, or it could be viewed as a missed opportunity because of the inability to convert a third-and-1 from the Ravens 21-yard line. Diontae Johnson caught three passes for 29 yards on the eight-play, 50-yard drive, but on third-and-short the Ravens pushed the Pittsburgh offensive line into the backfield and Benny Snell was dumped for a 1-yard loss. There was 7:41 left in the third quarter following Boswell's field goal.

3:20 p.m. – What Went Right: The Ravens had moved the ball from their 25-yard line to a second-and-7 at the Steelers 12-yard line all via running plays. But instead of staying with what was working, the Ravens decided it was time to throw the ball. Tyler Huntley threw the ball, but late over the middle and into the end zone, where Cam Sutton intercepted for the touchback.

3:29 p.m. – What Went Wrong: After the interception, the Steelers moved to a first-and-10 at the Ravens 43-yard line, and during a short pass to Benny Snell that turned into a 14-yard gain, Joe Haeg was flagged for a facemask penalty committed while pass blocking, and when the yardage was marked off, the Steelers had lost 39 yards of field position. Two incomplete passes later, the Steelers punted.

3:48 p.m. – What Went Right: The offense put together its best possession of the afternoon, and it was all Ben Roethlisberger. He completed 7-of-8 for 54 yards, including the 6-yard touchdown pass to Chase Claypool that gave the Steelers a 13-10 lead with 2:54 remaining in the fourth quarter. The discrepancy in yardage – the possession officially covered 50 yards in 10 plays – came from a couple of false start penalties on the Steelers.

4:16 p.m. – What Went Right: The Ravens won the overtime coin toss and elected to receive. Five straight running plays gained 23 yards for the Ravens, Tyler Huntley had a passed broken up by Ahkello Witherspoon, and then threw incomplete twice. The Ravens punted, and the Steelers took over at their 17-yard line.

4:33 p.m. – What Went Right: What was the difference on the scoreboard was a 36-yard field goal by Chris Boswell, but what made that possible was Ben Roethlisberger moving the offense 65 yards on 15 plays. Roethlisberger completed 5-of-8 for 48 yards, and Najee Harris busted a 15-yard run to put the ball at the Ravens 16-yard line. The Steelers won, 16-13, and based on Jacksonville upsetting the Colts, the Steelers would be in the playoffs as long as the Raiders and Chargers did not play to a tie in the 8:25 p.m. game.

FINAL SCORE: Steelers 16, Ravens 13, OT

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