PITTSBURGH — Quarterback Lamar Jackson’s struggles in Pittsburgh continued Sunday as the Ravens fell to the Steelers 18-16, losing crucial ground in the battle for AFC North supremacy.

With just over a minute left, Jackson capped a nine-play, 69-yard touchdown drive with a 16-yard pass to wide receiver Zay Flowers, but the 2-point conversion failed as Jackson’s final pass attempt Jackson landed far away. range from a Ravens receiver. The Steelers put the game away by running out the clock with a first down on their ensuing possession.

Jackson fell to 1-4 as a starter against Pittsburgh (8-2), which won its fourth straight game in the rivalry and its eighth in the last nine meetings. Jackson, the favorite for NFL Most Valuable Player honors, was held to 207 yards and one touchdown on 16-of-33 passing and had four carries for 46 yards. Jackson also threw an interception, his first since Week 6.

The mistake-prone Ravens (7-4) fell 1.5 games behind the Steelers in the AFC North and saw their chances of repeating as division champions drop to 43 percent, according to the New York Times. A victory would have brought them to 85%.

Quarterback Russell Wilson, making his first start against the Ravens as a Steeler, finished 23-for-36 for 205 yards and an interception. Pittsburgh averaged just 4.3 yards per game against a rejuvenated Ravens defense, but took advantage of three Ravens turnovers (two fumbles and an interception).

The Steelers, who led 15-10, had an opportunity to pull away early in the fourth quarter after Ravens inside linebacker Roquan Smith left the game with a hamstring injury. But, on third-and-goal from the 5, Wilson threw an ill-advised floater to the back of the end zone that cornerback Marlon Humphrey easily grabbed for his fifth interception this season and a touchback.

The Ravens quickly squandered their momentum. On the second play of the ensuing drive, Jackson threw a pass to running back Justice Hill down the left sideline, somehow intercepted by rookie inside linebacker Payton Wilson – although Hill appeared to secure the ball initially at the catch point.

Turnovers, penalties and bad kicks undermined the Ravens in the first half. The fumbles of running back Derrick Henry (13 carries for 65 yards) on their second play from scrimmage and tight end Isaiah Probably late in the first half – forced and recovered by the former Washington inside linebacker Ravens Patrick Queen – Gave the Steelers two short fields, which they converted into a pair of field goals. The Ravens also had six flags in the first half for 45 yards.

The Ravens went into halftime trailing 9-7, but easily could have taken the lead. Tucker missed a 47-yard field goal in the first quarter, then missed a 50-yard field goal less than four minutes later. He then kicked a 54-yard field goal in the third quarter, bringing his accuracy to 16 of 22 (72.7%) this season, with more misses than last season (32 of 37).

Kicking misfortunes

John Harbaugh has a lot to answer for after this one. Perhaps the biggest question is one for which he doesn’t have an easy explanation: What happened to Justin Tucker? The Ravens’ close loss couldn’t be blamed on any one player or play, and Tucker hit a 54-yard field goal in the second half. But the Steelers’ advantage on special teams was evident throughout the afternoon. It was Chris Boswell who looked more like the best kicker in the NFL. And it was Tucker, with his two missed kicks added to a big pile of 2024 misses, who looked more like a guy whose job was in jeopardy.

— Jonas Shaffer, Ravens reporter

For once, it wasn’t (totally) on defense…

Sure, he could have played better, especially against a low-powered attack like this. But the fact that the Ravens were in the game until the end, at least in the score, had more to do with the efforts of the defense than the offense. The defense still has a big problem with penalties and would probably like to have a handful of plays back, but they put pressure on the quarterback, held strong on third downs and got stops in the red zone.

The offense, meanwhile, has regressed until it becomes an unrecognizable unit. The Ravens forced plays and never got into rhythm. The focal point, reigning MVP Lamar Jackson, played an unusual game and didn’t display the heroics he’s shown all season. Aside from the fact that special teams continue to be bad, this was an unfamiliar and honestly confusing game for the Ravens.

– Giana Han, Ravens reporter

Less than Lamarvelous

I found myself rubbing my eyes throughout Sunday’s game, finding it hard to believe that the Ravens’ MVP favorite was the same quarterback who was throwing off-target passes in Pittsburgh. Was it really Lamar Jackson? He didn’t play like the passer he became this season. Instead, it was Jackson holding the ball for plays that never came to fruition, missing wide-open receivers and forcing throws into too-tight windows. The exceptions were two touchdowns when he looked more like himself.

It hurt that the Ravens turned him over three times, including an interception that wasn’t entirely on him. There’s a lot to pick apart in this game, with lots of fouls on lots of different units. But Jackson has a tendency to erase deficiencies in other areas and put the Ravens on his back. Aside from his late effort in the fourth quarter, Jackson struggled to get there against the Steelers. Sunday was the first time Jackson completed less than 50% of his passes since 2021, and it was one of the lowest passer ratings (66.1) of his career – the lowest since he played in Pittsburgh last season, in fact.

– Kyle Goon, columnist

Self-inflicted wounds

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin knows how to get the most out of the Ravens. The last time these two teams met in Pittsburgh, the story was all of the dropped passes that gave the Steelers a victory. Other self-inflicted wounds doomed Baltimore on Sunday: two missed Justin Tucker field goals, two lost fumbles, an interception and 12 penalties. Russell Wilson and the Steelers did everything they could to cede their lead in the AFC North, but the Ravens outplayed them.

As encouraging as it was to see Zach Orr’s defense play well, it was equally frustrating to see empty possession after empty possession from Lamar Jackson and company. This team will need to put together more complete games over time if they want to catch Pittsburgh.

– Paul Mancano, co-host of the Banner Ravens podcast

Ugly

It feels like there were times this year when Lamar Jackson was so sublime that his teammates thought they could get away with not being as sharp as they should be. Otherwise, how can we explain all this neglect? Stupid penalties. Abandoned passes. Lazy fumbles, weak blocks, missed kicks.

So far, this hasn’t looked like a typical Ravens team, as they were clearly driven by offense. But the worry now is how unusually bad the team is. You just don’t see that with John Harbaugh coached teams. especially in a game of this magnitude.

It’s probably wise not to overreact to a rivalry game being played in Pittsburgh, but it would also be foolish to think that Justin Tucker will magically return to his old self. Are there better options? Probably not, but he’s a problem — and as such, the Ravens may want to find a better call on 2-point conversion plays rather than rolling the left QB into congestion.

— Chris Korman, editor