5 things we learned: Ben Roethlisberger makes move with another 4th quarter comeback for Steelers

Five things we learned from Steelers 28, Ravens 24:

1. Coming of age

By shifting to the no-huddle and spreading out his receivers in the second half, Ben Roethlisberger overcame a poor start to engineer his 44^th win in which the Steelers trailed or were tied in the fourth quarter.

It was the second such win of the season for the 38-year-old quarterback, who also did it in the Steelers’ 28-21 win against the Houston Texans. The Steelers trailed by one point entering the final quarter of that game.

This time, Roethlisberger and the Steelers took a 21-17 lead into the fourth quarter only for the Ravens to jump back ahead on Lamar Jackson’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Marquise Brown with 11 minutes, 56 seconds to play.

Roethlisberger responded with an eight-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that was aided by two personal fouls against the Ravens. Roethlisberger’s 8-yard TD pass to Chase Claypool put the Steelers ahead — for good, as it turned out — with 7:29 to play.

With the Ravens dominating the first half, Roethlisberger completed just 4 of 10 attempts for 24 yards and a 47.9 passer rating. His first pass of the third quarter went for 24 yards — matching his first-half yardage — but he threw incomplete on the next three attempts, and the Steelers gave the ball back to the Ravens.

From that point, after Jackson threw another interception at the Ravens 21, Roethlisberger ran the no-huddle to peak efficiency. He completed 16 of 18 passes for 134 yards the rest of the way, including touchdown passes to Eric Ebron and Claypool.

The 44 fourth-quarter comebacks rank fifth in NFL history and moved Roethlisberger past Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre.

2. Run down

Already playing without slot corner Mike Hilton, a hard hitter and strong tackler despite his small frame, the Steelers lost nose tackle Tyson Alualu in the first quarter, further hindering the defense’s chances of stopping the run.

The Ravens piled up 257 rushing yards and 457 overall, the most allowed by the Steelers since the opening week of the 2019 season in New England.

This helped the Ravens turn the tables on the Steelers, who entered the game ranked first in the NFL in time of possession. The Ravens kept the ball for more than 35 minutes and converted 8 of 15 third-down opportunities.

With injuries to Devin Bush in Week 6 and a recent one to backup inside linebacker Ulysees Gilbert III, the Steelers decided to address the middle of the defense by acquiring New York Jets inside linebacker Avery Williamson. Although Robert Spillane led the Steelers with 10 tackles and returned an interception for a touchdown, Williamson is a seven-year veteran with a history of stopping the run. The Steelers can package him with Vince Williams and use Spillane as part of a rotation.

3. Second act

After not getting a single target on Roethlisberger’s 10 attempts in the first half, JuJu Smith-Schuster became the go-to receiver after intermission.

Smith-Schuster caught seven of eight targets for 67 yards in the second half, with many of those receptions making a difference on touchdown drives that gave the Steelers their pair of leads in the final two quarters.

Roethlisberger finally got Smith-Schuster involved on the first play after halftime, throwing a 24-yard completion. That drive ended shortly thereafter, but Smith-Schuster contributed to the touchdown drives that helped the Steelers take 21-17 and 28-24 leads.

With the Steelers trailing 17-14, Smith-Schuster made a contested catch over the middle for seven yards, converting a third-and-14. He also had a 14-yard catch that came up short on the end zone and preceded James Conner’s 1-yard touchdown run.

On the drive that enabled the Steelers to go ahead for good, Smith-Schuster had three consecutive short-yardage receptions that provided a first down. And his 11-yard catch set up Claypool’s 8-yard touchdown reception.

4. A fine mess

Befitting a Steelers-Ravens game, tempers flared and the play got chippy at various stages of the game.

The result could be fines for several players, including Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson and defensive tackle Cameron Heyward.

Heyward faces a lighter wallet for his late hit on Lamar Jackson, who was going out of bounds in the first quarter when Heyward provided some extra help on Minkah Fitzpatrick’s tackle. Heyward was flagged for unnecessary roughness.

Johnson and Ravens safety Marcus Peters got into a shoving match in the second quarter that resulted in offsetting roughness calls against each player. Peters also head butted Johnson twice during the altercation.

Heyward’s penalty was the worst offense on a day in which the Steelers were flagged just three times for 30 yards. The Ravens had more difficulty keeping their composure, drawing nine penalties for 110 yards.

The worst offender, of course, was Ravens linebacker Matthew Judon, who was ejected after making contact with an official following the Johnson-Peters skirmish in the second quarter.

5. Losing ways

The schedule gets a little easier for the Steelers, who in a three-week stretch scored victories against the one-loss Browns, the undefeated Titans and the one-loss Ravens — the final two coming on the road.

The road stretch continues Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys, but it also begins a stretch of games against teams with losing records.

In succession, the Steelers will face the 2-6 Cowboys, 2-5-1 Bengals and 1-6 Jaguars.

The strength of schedule doesn’t increase until Thanksgiving when the 5-2 Ravens make their annual visit to Heinz Field for a prime-time matchup.