Justin Tucker kicked a game-winning field goal in overtime as the Baltimore Ravens beat their AFC North rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, 26-23 at Heinz Field.
After the Ravens took a 10-0 lead in the game, Mark Ingram scoring a rushing touchdown in the first quarter, the Steelers responded with Juju Smith-Schuster finding the end zone.
Marquise Brown’s touchdown stretched Baltimore’s lead, but, after quarterback Mason Rudolph was ruled out of the game, Pittsburgh rounded off a long drive with James Connor’s rushing touchdown.
Chris Boswell’s field goal put the Steelers up by three, with just 2:37 left in the game. Jackson and the Ravens offense marched down the field and Tucker kicked a 48-yard field goal to send the game into overtime.
Marlon Humphrey forced a fumble by punching the ball out of Smith-Schuster's arms and then recovered it to set the offense up. Tucker drilled a 46-yard field goal to win the game for the Ravens in the back yard of their bitter rivals.
Ingram Rushes For Touchdown In First Quarter
Coming into the game off the back of back-to-back losses, the Ravens knew they needed to bounce back and also how important it was to get a quick start.
After giving up more than 500-yards of total offense against the Cleveland Browns last weekend, Baltimore’s defense stepped up and forced a three-and-out on the opening drive of the game.
Jackson and the offense came out and marched down the field and, despite being held in the red zone, they put points on the board early when Tucker kicked a 27-yard field goal.
The defense come up big again in the first quarter when they forced another turnover. Jaylen Samuels took the snap and his pass to James Washington was intercepted by Josh Bynes to set up a short field.
Ingram, who has been a force in road games this season, burst up the middle for a four-yard rushing touchdown. However, Pittsburgh responded straight away with a touchdown of their own, going down the field and a 35-yard catch and run from Smith-Schuster made it 10-7.
Steelers Take Lead In Third Quarter
Mark Andrews’ 24-yard gain set up Jackson’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Brown, who leapt high in the air to haul in the pass, despite pressure from the Steelers safety.
Jackson’s pass was deflected up and picked off by Kameron Kelly and Pittsburgh had a short field to start the drive. On third down though, Pernell McPhee came up with a big sack on Rudolph and the Steelers had to settle for a 41-yard field goal from Boswell.
Justice Hill’s 46-yard kick-off return set-up the Ravens, but back-to-back sacks on Jackson meant it was a quick three-and-out. Jackson was intercepted for the second time in the quarter when his throw was picked off by Mike Hilton.
Baltimore’s defense stepped up again though and held the Steelers to a field goal, which was the last action of the first-half. The Ravens would’ve hoped for a better start to the second-half, but Jackson threw his third INT of the game, with Devin Bush picking off his pass to Nick Boyle.
In a really worrying moment for Pittsburgh, Rudolph was knocked out unconscious after a hit by Earl Thomas and the quarterback was down for some times before being escorted off the field. Rookie Devlin Hodges was brought into the game and led the offense down the field on a long drive and Connor rounded it all off with a rushing touchdown.
Tucker Holds Nerve To Kick Game-Winning Field Goal
Heading into the fourth quarter, the Ravens were unable to punch the ball into the end zone, but managed to level the game when Tucker kicked a 26-yard field goal.
The Steelers restored their lead with just 2:37 remaining in the game. Boswell kicked a 33-yard field goal, but Jackson and the Ravens offense had other ideas. They executed their next drive well, to set-up Tucker for a 48-yard field goal, which sent the game into overtime.
After choosing to defer the kick-off, the Steelers forced a three-and-out to get the ball. Pittsburgh knew they needed just a field goal to win the game, but the Ravens had other ideas and Humphrey came up trumps with a huge play.
Smith-Schuster caught Hodges’ pass, but Humphrey was quick to the receiver and punched the ball out of his arms. After taking a favourable bounce near the sideline, the cornerback gathered the ball inside the Pittsburgh half.
The Ravens offense gained six yards on three downs before Tucker came out and drilled a 46-yard field goal to win the game for his team. It was far from perfect, it was far from a pretty game of football, but getting the win is all that matters in games like that one.
Baltimore move to 3-2 on the season and back to the top of the AFC North, for the time being. They face the Cincinnati Bengals at M&T Bank Stadium next Sunday, while the Steelers, who are now 1-4, are on the road against the Los Angeles Chargers.