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Aaron Rodgers threw a go-ahead touchdown pass to Calvin Austin III with 55 seconds left as the Steelers beat the Ravens 26-24 when Baltimore’s Tyler Loop missed a 44-yard field goal as time expired, giving Pittsburgh the AFC North title and ending the Ravens’ season.
Pittsburgh (10-7) will host Houston (12-5) in the opening round of the playoffs on January 13, 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.
Stats leaders:
Pittsburgh Steelers
Passing: Aaron Rodgers, 31/47, 294 yards, 1 TDRushing: Jaylen Warren, 14 carries, 66 yardsReceiving: Kenneth Gainwell, 8 catches, 64 yards
Baltimore Ravens
Passing: Lamar Jackson, 11/18, 238 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INTRushing: Derrick Henry, 20 carries, 126 yardsReceiving: Zay Flowers, 4 catches, 138 yards, 2 TDs
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 post-season with a club that has only occasionally looked like a contender. The real test awaits next week.
Watch every minute of the NFL playoffs and Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California live on Sky Sports NFL.
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