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01/04 23:14 CST Rodgers and Steelers win AFC North, beating Ravens 26-24 after
Loop misses kick at buzzer
Rodgers and Steelers win AFC North, beating Ravens 26-24 after Loop misses kick
at buzzer
By WILL GRAVES
AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) --- Aaron Rodgers threw a go-ahead touchdown pass to Calvin
Austin III with 55 seconds left, and the Steelers beat the Ravens 26-24 on
Sunday night when Baltimore's Tyler Loop missed a 44-yard field goal as time
expired, giving Pittsburgh the AFC North title.
Pittsburgh (10-7) will host Houston (12-5) in the opening round of the playoffs
on Monday, Jan. 12, following an electric fourth quarter that saw four lead
changes, including three in the final four minutes.
The Ravens were poised to swing the lead back their way one last time after
Lamar Jackson connected with Isaiah Likely for a 28-yard gain that put the
Ravens within Loop's range.
The rookie's kick never had a chance, sailing well to the right of the
goalposts as the Steelers poured onto the field to celebrate their first
division title in five years.
Rodgers passed for a season-high 294 yards and his 26-yard toss to Austin made
it 26-24. Chris Boswell missed the extra point, giving the Ravens a chance to
win with a field goal.
Jackson, dealing with a painful back contusion, passed for 238 yards and three
scores, including a pair to Zay Flowers in the fourth quarter. Each of Flowers'
TDs --- from 50 and 64 yards --- put Baltimore in front.
Pittsburgh responded each time, and will now welcome the Texans while looking
to end a playoff victory drought that stretches to the 2016 AFC championship
game.
Pittsburgh's running back duo of Kenneth Gainwell and Jaylen Warren combined
for 173 total yards as the Steelers bounced back from a loss last week in
Cleveland and ended a wildly uneven season for Jackson and the Ravens.
The Steelers trailed by 10 early, and a repeat of the bludgeoning they took at
the hands of Baltimore in the first round of the playoffs last season seemed
possible.
The defense, pushed around repeatedly by Derrick Henry since he joined the
Ravens last season, finally responded and the offense --- playing without
suspended wide receiver DK Metcalf --- slowly found its footing.
Henry ran for 126 yards for the Ravens and became the ninth player in NFL
history to reach 13,000 career yards rushing but was held mostly in check
during a second half that morphed into an improbable shootout.
Jackson's first touchdown pass to Flowers was a thing of beauty. The two-time
MVP ducked out of the reach of two would-be tacklers before floating a pass to
a streaking Flowers to put the Ravens up 17-13.
Gainwell sprinted in from 2 yards out with 3:49 remaining to put Pittsburgh
back in front. The Ravens, looking to become the first team since the creation
of the AFC North in 2003 to win the division three consecutive years, needed
all of three plays to reclaim the lead when Jackson lofted a pass to a
wide-open Flowers for a 64-yard score.
Rodgers, in what may be the final stretch of his 21-year career, responded by
taking the Steelers 65 yards in six plays, the last a rainbow down the left
sideline to Austin, who was alone after a Ravens defender fell down.
Boswell then missed his first extra point of the season after 40 straight
makes, opening the door for the Ravens. Baltimore appeared poised to end its
longtime rival's season for the second time in 12 months before Loop's kick
started right and stayed there.
The win was the 193rd regular-season victory of Steelers coach Mike Tomlin's
career, tying him with Hall of Famer Chuck Noll for the franchise record and
for ninth on the NFL's career list.
The 40th meeting between Tomlin and Ravens coach John Harbaugh --- only Hall of
Famers George Halas and Curly Lambeau faced each other more --- was among the
most memorable.
Whether it's also the last remains to be seen. Harbaugh faces questions about
his future after a rocky 18th season.
Tomlin, the longest-tenured head coach in major North American professional
sports, heads into the postseason with a club that has only occasionally looked
like a contender.
The real test awaits next week.
Injuries Ravens: S Kyle Hamilton left with a concussion in the third quarter after colliding with S Alohi Gilman. Rodgers and Pittsburgh's passing game took off in the three-time Pro Bowler's absence. Steelers: LB TJ Watt returned from a three-game absence while recovering from surgery to repair a collapsed lung. He picked off a pass by Jackson in the third quarter, setting up Boswell's field goal that gave the Steelers their first lead. Up next Ravens: Face a long offseason after a bitter end to a season that began with Super Bowl aspirations. Steelers: Prepare to host the Texans with a chance to end the franchise's longest playoff win drought since Franco Harris' Immaculate Reception more than 50 years ago. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl |
