The Baltimore Ravens beat the Pittsburgh Steelers for the second time in four weeks – this time by a score of 28-14 – to advance to the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs. This was the Ravens’ second playoff win in as many years.
After forcing a punt on the opening possession, the Ravens orchestrated a 99-yard drive capped off with a 15-yard touchdown reception by wide receiver Rashod Bateman to take a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. Over his last five games, Bateman has five receiving touchdowns.
The NFL’s second-leading rusher, Baltimore’s Derrick Henry, put up outstanding numbers, running for 186 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. On Baltimore’s first three drives of the game, Henry picked up 92 yards and also reached the end zone on an eight-yard touchdown run to increase the Ravens’ lead to 14-0. Henry’s 100 first-half rushing yards are the most by any player in the postseason since the 2019 NFC Championship Game. Henry also passed Hall of Famer Larry Csonka for the ninth most rushing yards in playoff history.
THIS DERRICK HENRY STIFF ARM 😳
(via @NFL)
pic.twitter.com/L8L4vt22lk— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 12, 2025
After 15 straight run plays, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson completed five consecutive passes for 73 yards to give Baltimore a shot at the end zone right before halftime. Though his completion streak was broken up by a spike to stop the clock, Jackson threw a five-yard touchdown pass to running back Justice Hill to take a 21-0 lead into the break.
The Steelers’ offense continued to show its ineptitude in the first half of this game after being held to 59 total yards and four punts to start the game. Baltimore outgained Pittsburgh 308 yards to 59 yards in the first half of this one. The Ravens also dominated the time of possession (20:27 to 9:33). This was the first time that the Steelers were shut out in the first half of a playoff game under head coach Mike Tomlin.
Pittsburgh finally got things going on their first possession of the third quarter with four completions for 97 yards and a touchdown to cut the lead to 21-7. That was Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson’s first postseason touchdown since January 9th, 2021 when he was a member of the Seattle Seahawks.
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson’s MVP campaign got an extra boost with this game as the 2024 First-Team All-Pro completed 16 of 21 passes for 175 yards, two touchdowns, and another 81 yards on the ground. On the drive after the Pittsburgh touchdown, Jackson completed a 21-yard pass to wide receiver Tylan Wallace, which set up a 44-yard touchdown run by Derrick Henry to go back up 28-7. Jackson also set a new career record for the most career postseason rushing yards by a quarterback, breaking Steve Young’s old record of 594 yards.
Polarizing Steelers wide receiver George Pickens had a good game, catching five passes for 87 yards. His second reception of the game was a 36-yard touchdown to bring the lead back down to 14, making it 28-14 in the third quarter. That was Picken’s first career postseason touchdown.
.@DangeRussWilson 🎯 GP for the tuddie
📺: #PITvsBAL on @NFLonPrime pic.twitter.com/C6VZll6mC8
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) January 12, 2025
After getting gashed for most of the night, the Steeler’s defense finally forced its first three-and-out of the evening late in the third quarter. Up to that point, Baltimore had converted seven of its first nine third-down attempts.
However, Pittsburgh’s momentum was halted by Ravens defensive lineman Nnamdi Madubike. The fifth-year man out of Texas A&M had a pass deflection and an eight-yard sack on back-to-back plays, which led to a Steelers punt to start the fourth quarter.
With more than half the fourth quarter gone, Pittsburgh needed to convert a 4th and 15 to keep the game and their hopes of a comeback alive. Unfortunately for Steelers fans, Russell Wilson threw an incomplete pass to a wide receiver in triple coverage, resulting in a turnover on downs and Baltimore putting the game away.
This was the Steelers’ fifth consecutive loss to end the season. More importantly, Pittsburgh hasn’t won a postseason game since the 2016-17 campaign despite reaching the playoffs in five of the last eight seasons. January 15th, 2017 was the last time the Steelers won a game in the postseason.
