BALTIMORE — Unable to reverse the negative momentum of a late-season fade, the Pittsburgh Steelers disappeared from the playoffs with a humbling loss to their fiercest rival.
Pittsburgh was eliminated by the Baltimore Ravens, who rolled to a 28-14 victory on Saturday night. The Steelers closed the season with five straight losses.
This defeat, of course, hurt more than the four that preceded it.
“I’m worried less about the regular season,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “In the single-elimination tournament, I’m really just disappointed in how we performed tonight, given the opportunity we had.”
Pittsburgh’s strength this season was its defense. The unit was consistently effective in shutting down the run and notched 33 takeaways, tied for the NFL lead.
In this game, however, the Steelers were trampled by star running back Derrick Henry and quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Henry ran for 186 yards and two touchdowns. Jackson carried for 81 yards and also threw a pair of TD passes.
The Ravens finished with a 299-29 advantage in yards rushing. That was too much for Pittsburgh to overcome, but the Steelers never stopped trying.
“The best part about the game is the guys didn’t give up,” quarterback Russell Wilson said. “In the National Football League sometimes guys check out. We didn’t.”
Pittsburgh failed to force a turnover, leaving its offense a long way to go on virtually every possession. Against the Ravens, scoring two touchdowns wasn’t nearly enough.
“In January football, man, you got to score points,” Tomlin said, “and we weren’t able to do that.”
The Steelers were 10-3 and atop the AFC North on Dec. 8 after trouncing Cleveland at home, but that would be their final win.
Pittsburgh’s final month of the regular season included a 34-17 loss in Baltimore that propelled the Ravens toward the division crown and a home game to start the playoffs. The Steelers (10-8) also lost to Philadelphia, Kansas City and finally, at home against a Cincinnati team that came in with an 8-8 record.
Pittsburgh has never had a losing record in Tomlin’s 18 seasons and has reached the playoffs a dozen times under his direction. Although both streaks continued this season, it’s unlikely Tomlin or Steelers fans will look back on this chapter with any sense of pride.
Just as disheartening, the Steelers have lost six consecutive postseason games since an 18-16 win over the Chiefs in January 2017. It’s been one-and-done for Pittsburgh over its last five trips to the playoffs, and Tomlin is still striving for his first Super Bowl win since the 2008 season. He moved within one loss of matching Marvin Lewis’ dubious NFL record of seven consecutive playoff defeats.
“I’m just assessing what transpired tonight,” Tomlin said. “Those are my bags, not their bags. The journey that we were on certainly came to a disappointing end tonight.”
Eager for a fresh start after ending the regular season with a thud, the Steelers stumbled from the outset on a chilly night in Baltimore.
After Pittsburgh’s opening possession ended with a punt, Baltimore (13-5) covered 95 yards in 13 plays for a 7-0 lead on a touchdown pass by Jackson to Rashod Bateman. Another three-and-out followed for the Steelers, who were outgained 128-27 in the first quarter.
It soon got worse for Pittsburgh. After another Steelers punt, Baltimore put together an 85-yard drive on 13 plays — all of them runs — to go up 14-0.
Just before the half, the Ravens applied another slap in the face to the reeling Steelers. Tomlin called a timeout with 1:08 remaining in hopes of getting the ball back as Baltimore faced a third down on its own 17.
The move backfired. The Ravens zipped downfield and went up 21-0 on Jackson’s TD pass to Justice Hill with 2 seconds left.
Pittsburgh finally got into the end zone with a third-quarter touchdown pass from Wilson to Van Jefferson, but Baltimore promptly answered with a 70-yard drive, ending with a 44-yard run by Henry.
The Steelers again closed within 14 points, but that was as close as they’d get. Wilson lamented the defeat, but treasured his first season in Pittsburgh following stays in Seattle and Denver.
“It’s been truly a blessing in my life, one of the best years for me personally, to be a Pittsburgh Steeler,” said Wilson, still in uniform long after the final whistle.
He would love to the chance to lead the Pittsburgh offense in 2025.
“I hope I’m here,” Wilson said. “It gave me so much joy being here. I love black and gold.”
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