The Ravens punched their playoff ticket and put questions about losing to their archrival to rest.
With an opportunistic defense and a dynamic offense, the Ravens beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 34-17, at M&T Bank Stadium.
Baltimore (10-5) and Pittsburgh (10-5) are tied for the AFC North lead with two weeks left in the regular season, and the Ravens needed this victory to keep their hopes of winning the division alive.
They responded with an emotional performance and turned the tables on the Steelers, who had won eight of the previous nine meetings between them. Here are my five thoughts on the Ravens' win, as they enter a short week before facing the Houston Texans on Christmas Day:
The Ravens' secondary is playing lights out.
Marlon Humphrey's pick-six in the fourth quarter put the Ravens in control for good, extending their lead to 31-17. It was another signature moment for Humphrey, who's having an All-Pro caliber season with a career-high six interceptions.
Where would the Ravens be without Humphrey's late-game pick at Cincinnati that led to an overtime victory? Or his end zone interception against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a turnover that sparked the Ravens to victory after they had fallen behind, 10-0?
Humphrey has been a defensive star all season making game-changing plays. He's also been a locker room leader, and his teammates responded when he called out the defense in early November, saying they weren't playing up to the Ravens' standard.
Baltimore's secondary came together when All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton began playing more of a traditional safety role and Ar'Darius Washington joined the starting lineup. Washington made a huge play against the Steelers, forcing Russell Wilson to fumble at the Ravens 4-yard line.
Hamilton also had several bone-jarring hits and saved a potential touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter, breaking up a long fourth down pass intended for Calvin Austin III.
Baltimore's pass defense has morphed from a liability early in the season into a strength. That bodes well for their chances in the playoffs, where they could potentially face a few of the NFL's top quarterbacks.
No. 8 doesn't have to hear about the Steelers having his number.
Lamar Jackson had his best career game against the Steelers (15-of-23, 207 yards, three touchdowns, one interception) and improved his career record against them to 2-4.
It was important for Jackson to finally break out against a division rival that has enjoyed more success against him than any other team. It's a chess game whenever Jackson faces the Steelers, and he's never sure exactly what to expect from their talented defense.
"When we play the Steelers, they play a certain kind of defense against us," Jackson said. "We didn't know what those guys were going to do. Our offensive line did a great job of keeping those guys off me."
Jackson was right to give his teammates credit, but he made superb throws throughout the game and continued to play his position at an elite level.
Jackson was still mad at himself after the game for throwing a fourth-quarter interception, when he and Rashod Bateman miscommunicated on a route. However, Jackson now has a franchise-record 37 touchdown passes this season, surpassing the 36 touchdown passes in threw in 2019, his first MVP season.
If Jackson takes this level of efficiency into the postseason, the Ravens' offense will be very difficult to contain.
"Clutch throws, especially against man and tight coverage," Head Coach John Harbaugh said. "Our guys did a good job up front, but Lamar ... he's under pressure. This group rushes the passer always. They're going to give you pressure. He stood in there and made some throws. He always does."
The Ravens have a full deck on offense and opponents often can't deal with it.
The Ravens have the most offensive talent they've ever had surrounding Jackson, and this game was another example. Bateman, Isaiah Likely, and Mark Andrews all had touchdown catches. Derrick Henry rushed for 162 yards on 24 carries. Zay Flowers (five catches, 100 yards) passed 1,000 yards for the season for the first time in his young career.
Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken kept the Steelers off-balance all game. He started by softening up Pittsburgh's defense with Henry, who had five carries for 33 yards on the Ravens' first touchdown drive that put them ahead, 7-0.
Henry only had 13 carries when Baltimore lost to Pittsburgh in Week 11, but the Ravens fed him early in this game, and once he started eating, Jackson started spreading the ball around through the air.
The Ravens can move the ball consistently on the ground and through the air, with more weapons than they've ever taken into the playoffs with Jackson.
The Ravens have more momentum than the Steelers.
Baltimore has won two straight heading into its Christmas Day game against the Houston Texans, while the Steelers are riding a two-game losing streak entering their Christmas matchup against the Chiefs.
While the Ravens and Steelers will both be playing their third game in 11 days on Christmas, the Ravens look energized coming off their Week 13 bye, while the Steelers are dealing with injuries to several key players including star wide receiver George Pickens (hamstring), who didn't play against Baltimore.
The Ravens deserve credit for making the playoffs for the third straight year after an 0-2 start, and they look like a team that could be peaking at the right time.
Baltimore would win the division if the Steelers lose one more game and the Ravens win out. Or the Ravens can win if they beat the Browns and the Steelers lose to the Bengals in Week 18. The analytics say the AFC North winner is essentially a coin flip now, but the Ravens have the momentum.
Extra Points:
- With 1.5 sacks, Kyle Van Noy reached a career high with 10.5 sacks, surpassing the 9.0 sacks he had last season. Van Noy, 33, is heating up when many pass rushers are slowing down.
- After emphasizing avoiding penalties all week, the Ravens were called for just two for 10 yards. The Ravens were not called for pass interference. "I'm really happy about that," Harbaugh said. "It was really good. We covered better. They had a couple downfield throws that we defended without grabbing. I thought we did a good job."
- Andrews' touchdown catch was the first of his career against Pittsburgh. "Damn," Jackson said in disbelief. "This is our seventh year and it's (Andrews') first touchdown against them? Damn. I'm glad he got it done with the victory, but damn."
- Roquan Smith led Baltimore with 10 tackles, followed by Hamilton with eight.
- Baltimore will be playing in the postseason for the 12th time in Harbaugh's 17 seasons.
- Second-year outside linebacker David Ojabo pressured Wilson several times and had a quarterback hit in his best game of the season. Ojabo applied pressure on Humphrey's pick-six, which caused Wilson's errant throw.
