Steelers escape Ravens’ late push, win AFC North title

PITTSBURGH — In a rock fight that morphed into a fourth-quarter track meet with huge ramifications for the losing team, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens 26-24 and clinched the AFC North by the thinnest of margins as Ravens kicker Tyler Loop missed a game-winning 44-yard field goal attempt.

Kicker Chris Boswell, automatic for so much of the 2025 season, missed his first extra point attempt in more than two seasons with 55 seconds left, leaving the Steelers up by just two points. Quarterback Lamar Jackson converted his second fourth down of the day to Isaiah Likely with 14 seconds left, setting up for what could’ve been a winning field goal by Loop.

The Steelers retook the lead 20-17 with 3:49 left, but it came at a significant cost as Rodgers had to burn the final timeout when the in-helmet communication appeared to go out. Rodgers switched helmets before the third-down call, but a few seconds after lining up, he called the timeout and demonstratively gestured at his helmet. The Steelers scored on a rushing touchdown by running back Kenneth Gainwell a play later.

Though Pittsburgh effectively shut down the Ravens’ rushing attack after a 79-yard first quarter by Derrick Henry, Jackson exploited the Steelers’ secondary with speedy wide receiver Zay Flowers. Flowers slipped behind the Steelers’ secondary twice in the fourth quarter for monster touchdowns of 50 and 64 yards.

The Steelers retook the lead with a 26-yard touchdown from Aaron Rodgers to Calvin Austin III with 55 seconds left, but Boswell missed his first extra point attempt since Week 15 of the 2023 season against the Indianapolis Colts.

Baltimore Ravens (8-9)

The Ravens face an offseason of uncertainty after they lost when Loop’s 44-yard field goal went wide right. Loop, who had made 90% of his field goals during his rookie season, missed the kick as time expired.

The Ravens face questions with the futures of coach John Harbaugh and Jackson. Harbaugh’s job security has come under scrutiny after the Ravens went from being a preseason Super Bowl favorite to missing the playoffs for the first time since 2021. This marked the third time in Harbaugh’s 18 seasons that the Ravens finished with a losing record.

Baltimore also has to address the contract of Jackson, whose salary cap number jumps to $74.5 million this offseason.

Most surprising performance: Flowers scored his first go-ahead touchdown since Week 14 of the 2023 season when he caught a 50-yard pass from Jackson. This marked the fourth straight week that the Pro Bowl wide receiver has scored. He had gone 12 straight weeks without a touchdown before this streak.

Stat to know: Jackson’s time to throw his 50-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter was 5.37 seconds. That was his longest time to throw on any touchdown pass he has thrown during the 2025 season, per NFL Next Gen Stats. Jackson bought time by eluding Steelers outside linebacker Alex Highsmith before throwing deep to Flowers, which gave Baltimore a 17-13 lead with 8:42 left in the game.

Trend to watch: Henry’s domination early in games. Henry has run for more than 100 yards in the first half for the past two games — 106 yards in Green Bay and 112 in Pittsburgh — which is quite a feat. Over the past 20 seasons, this has only happened once before and it was Henry who accomplished it. In 2018, he totaled over 100 yards rushing in the first halves of his Weeks 14 and 15 games when he was with the Tennessee Titans.

Best quote from the locker room: Jackson reacted to the loss, by saying: “We did all that to come up short. [It’s] devastating. [I am] furious. [I am feeling] all types of [emotions]. I don’t know, I’m everywhere with it right now.” — Jamison Hensley

Ravens offseason guide: Jackson among Baltimore’s top priority

Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)

What to make of the QB performance: Coming off a dreadful outing in the loss to the Browns, Aaron Rodgers said during the week that he didn’t have a lot of “back-to-back stinkers.” The regular-season finale wasn’t quite a stinker, but he didn’t bounce back with a signature cold-weather Rodgers performance. Rodgers, who completed 31-of-47 for 294 yards, had highs including a 20-yard scramble to convert a third-and-long and a 30-yard fourth-quarter dart to Pat Freiermuth, but he also had lows such as missing a wide-open Jonnu Smith in the first half and taking a third-down sack in the fourth quarter that led to the Ravens’ ensuing touchdown drive.

In his Wednesday news conference prior to the game, the 42-year-old left the door open to play again next season, but it remains unclear whether that would be in Pittsburgh or how this final performance might factor into that decision.

Trend to watch: Gainwell, voted the team MVP days before Sunday’s regular-season finale, led the Steelers in targets (9) and receptions (8) in the game. The former Philadelphia Eagles‘ backup carved out a role as a dual-threat pass catcher and runner after signing a one-year, $1.79 million contract with the Steelers in free agency. Rodgers said earlier this season that he told Gainwell his goal was to get him paid this offseason, and it appears the quarterback will accomplish that — whether in Pittsburgh or elsewhere.

Gainwell said Friday that he’s open to staying with the Steelers. “This experience has been amazing to me,” he said. “It’s definitely something that I would love to experience again, but obviously the free agency thing, it’s different, but this is actually something that I would love to come back to and be a part of.”

Turning point: T.J. Watt‘s third-quarter interception. In his first game back from a partially collapsed lung suffered Dec. 10, Watt intercepted Jackson on third down of the Ravens’ first second-half possession. Despite starting their drive on Baltimore’s 26-yard line, the Steelers’ offense stalled out at the 7-yard line and had to settle for a field goal. It was enough to give the Steelers a three-point lead at the time, but it left the door open for the Ravens.

Best quote from the locker room: Steelers defensive captain Cameron Heyward on how close it was between winning and losing at the end: “I’m not going to ask questions. The good Lord made a good decision tonight. I’m thankful and we keep moving on.” — Brooke Pryor

Next game: vs. Houston Texans, Monday, Jan. 12 at 8:15 p.m. ET (ESPN/ABC)