Week 5 in the AFC North pitted two familiar foes in Pittsburgh, PA. Yes, the bitter rivalry between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens carried a lot of weight in the division for both teams. A win for the Steelers would have them in first place heading into their bye week, and a Baltimore win would have them win their third road win in the division and put them solely in first place.

The Steelers won the opening coin toss and elected to defer their possession to the second half. This meant Lamar Jackson and the Ravens offense took the field to start the game. While Baltimore was able to drive the ball down the field, the drive stalled and resulted in a punt which was downed at the 5-yard line.

Starting deep in their zone, the Pittsburgh offense mustered just one first down before punting the ball back to Baltimore. It took very little time to score, Justice Hill running the ball into the end-zone to give the Ravens a 7-0 lead with 6:15 left in the first quarter.

A Steelers three-and-out gave the ball right back to Baltimore, and the Ravens’ offense continued to have their way with the Steelers defense. Their third drive moved quickly into the red-zone to start the second quarter. Thanks to two dropped would-be touchdowns, the Ravens settled for a field goal, making the score 10-0 with 12:23 left in the first half.

Kenny Pickett and the offense woke up and moved the ball down the field on the ensuing drive, and as they reached field goal range they were faced with a critical 3rd-and-6. Pickett was sacked by former Steeler Arthur Maulet, ending the drive and moving them out of field goal range. Baltimore took over deep inside their own end, and as they threatened to near midfield, Larry Ogunjobi created a fumble on Justice Hill which was recovered by Damonate Kazee.

The Steelers, with new life, were able to turn the turnover into points, but only a Chris Boswell field goal. The kick made the score 10-3 with 3:13 left in the first half. The next drive saw the Ravens convert huge third downs to move into field goal range. Facing a 4th and 2, the Ravens chose to go for it, and the incomplete pass resulted in a turnover on downs as the teams went into halftime with a 10-3 score.

Pittsburgh’s offense received the ball to start the second half, and it was a short three play drive before Brad Wing was called onto action to punt the ball back to the Ravens. A shocking defensive stand by the Steelers got the ball back to the offense, but, again, they were unable to turn the possession into points.

Both teams exchanged possessions with no points scored in the third quarter, with the Steelers having the ball in Baltimore territory as the fourth quarter began. Another 3rd down sack pushed the Steelers out of field goal range, and giving the ball back to Baltimore felt like it was all but over with the team’s offensive woes. However, a three-and-out resulted in a punt for Baltimore, and Miles Killebrew got his hand on the ball and it went out of the end-zone for the safety.

Trailing 10-5 with 11:07 left in regulation, the Steelers got the ball back near midfield after a Gunner Olszewski return. Getting the ball into the red-zone, and a chance to take the lead, a 3rd down pass intended for Allen Robinson fell incomplete. Instead of going for it, Mike Tomlin elected to kick the field goal, making the score 10-8 with 7:10 left in regulation.

Trusting his defense to get a stop, they did just that and got a three-and-out. On the punt return, Gunner Olszewski fumbled, giving the Ravens the ball inside the red-zone. Looking like they’ll punch it in for the score, on 3rd and goal Lamar Jackson was intercepted by Joey Porter Jr. in the end-zone.

With 4 minutes remaining, and at the 20-yard line, the Steelers offense needed just a field goal to take the lead. The offense responded and moved the all near Chris Boswell’s field goal range at the two-minute warning. Coming out of the break, it was a Pickett to Pickens touchdown connection to give the Steelers the lead. The Steelers went for two, but failed, making the score 14-10 with 1:17 left in regulation.

The Ravens had two timeouts remaining, and Alex Highsmith came through with the strip sack. The ball was recovered by T.J. Watt and iced the win for the home team. The offense kneeled the ball for three plays before calling Chris Boswell out for the field goal attempt. Boswell’s kick was good, making the score 17-10.

The win moved the Steelers record to 3-2 on the season as they head into a much needed bye week for the Steelers. Be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the rest of the regular season.