Steelers stage late rally to stun Ravens, move into tie for 1st place in AFC North

It was a game the Pittsburgh Steelers needed to win if they wanted to take some positivity into their bye week.

They ultimately did, although it was difficult at times to fathom how exactly they exited Acrisure Stadium on Sunday with a 17-10 victory against the Baltimore Ravens.

Outplayed for the first half and held to three points until early in the fourth quarter, the Steelers got a safety, two field goals and touchdown to stun the Ravens and win a game that for the longest time looked like they might lose.

Kenny Pickett’s 41-yard touchdown pass to George Pickens with 1 minute, 17 seconds left gave the Steelers their first lead, 14-10, and came amid a run of 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter and 17 for the game.

“I don’t care how we win,” veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson said. “It could be 3-2 as long as we have the most important letter, and that’s a ‘W.’ ”

This “W” improved the Steelers to 3-2 heading into the break and gave them a share of the first-place tie with the Ravens (3-2), whose implosion in the fourth quarter prevented them from having sole possession of the division lead.

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“It’s good to go into the bye sitting atop of the North,” coach Mike Tomlin said, “particularly with all that we’ve been through.”

Tomlin was referring to injuries to key players such as Cameron Heyward, Diontae Johnson and Pat Freiermuth, among others, and the offense’s continued resistance toward finding the end zone. Pickett’s late touchdown pass to Pickens represented just the fifth touchdown produced by the offense in five games and was the first since the third quarter at Las Vegas.

The defense gave up a touchdown and field goal on Baltimore’s second and third possessions and allowed 100 rushing yards in the first half before settling down. The Ravens racked up 244 yards in the first half, but the Steelers held them to 91 after intermission.

Rookie corner Joey Porter Jr, who replaced Levi Wallace and then Peterson at cornerback, had an interception in the end zone that gave the Steelers a shot at a comeback. It was one of three turnovers produced by the defense.

It was another slow start for the Steelers on offense. They had 88 yards at the half as fans occasionally broke out in “Fire Canada” chants directed toward offensive coordinator Matt Canada. But Pickett, who had 60 yards passing and completed less than half his attempts in the first half, finished almost as strong as the defense.

Pickett had 104 of his 224 yards passing in the fourth quarter and made two crucial third-down completions on the late touchdown drive.

“Highest of highs and lowest of lows in this game,” Pickett said. “It’s unreal to win like this at home in front of our fans. Obviously, it was up and down early. We hung in there, stuck with it and found a way to win. That’s all that matters.”

For all of the Steelers’ first-half problems, they were fortunate to trail by just seven points. A miscommunication with 19 seconds left kept the Ravens from kicking a field goal on fourth-and-2 at the Steelers 22. Lamar Jackson was pressured into an incompletion.

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The score remained 10-3 until 11:12 remained in the fourth quarter when Miles Killebrew blocked a punt that rolled through the end zone for a safety.

Gunner Olszewski, getting special teams snaps after Calvin Austin was evaluated for a concussion, had a 24-yard punt return on the free kick. Three long gains by Jaylen Warren totaled 49 yards and led to Chris Boswell’s 25-yard field goal that cut it to 10-8 with 7:10 to play.

The Steelers defense forced a three-and-out and looked to give the offense the ball back with a chance to take the lead. But Olszewski had the ball dislodged from his grasp on the return. Baltimore’s Kevon Seymour recovered and returned it to the Steelers 5.

Three plays later, it was the Ravens’ turn to return the favor. Jackson’s pass into the end zone was intercepted by Porter with 4:06 to play.

“If you want to be the team you say you want to be, you can’t break,” wide receiver Allen Robinson said. “You can’t bend, you can’t fold in those situations. You have to play your best when your best is required.”

Pickett got the go-ahead drive started by finding Robinson for 10 yards on a third-and-9. Then, he found Pickens deep for 21 yards on a third-and-4. This completion put the ball on the Ravens’ 42 at the two-minute warning.

“He just didn’t blink,” center Mason Cole said of Pickett.

On second-and-9, Pickett came out of the huddle and saw the Ravens in zero coverage, which put Pickens in a one-on-one matchup with Marlon Humphrey. Pickett unleashed a pass down the right sideline. Pickens got a step on Humphrey, the three-time Pro Bowl corner who hadn’t played this season because of injury.

The Steelers weren’t surprised to see the Ravens in Cover-0.

“That’s Baltimore,” Cole said. “We looked at film the last few games. They did it against Indianapolis. They’re not afraid to burn the boats. Luckily, we caught them in it.”

Any chance of a Ravens comeback was weakened when Alex Highsmith stripped the ball from Jackson, and Watt recovered at the 18. Boswell kicked a 42-yard field goal with 49 seconds left. Watt then ended any final drama when he sacked Jackson on fourth down with 15 seconds to play.

The win ended a week in which Tomlin called for changes, put his players in pads following an uninspired 30-6 loss at Houston, and running back Najee Harris called his team’s play “soft.”

Nobody was questioning the effort against the Ravens.

“Everybody played with heart and fight,” Tomlin said. “It was required.”