Of the 256 games played every N.F.L. regular season, two — and only two — are as reliably entertaining as they are vicious and close, enriched with enmity, malice and a healthy dose of respect. They are the games between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens, A.F.C. North border feuds that teem with after-the-whistle skirmishes, out-of-bounds hits and postseason implications, year after year after year.
The latest installment of the league’s nastiest current rivalry, contested Sunday amid a pelting rain in Baltimore, contained the usual trappings and some added suspense. After four lead changes, a critical fourth-down stop and a spirited late drive, the Steelers’ 28-24 victory was not decided until the final, breathless play.
When it was over, after the Steelers had overcome a 10-point deficit and after Lamar Jackson’s throw into double coverage in the end zone had been batted away, the Steelers were almost too exhausted to celebrate — almost. They endured, asserting their divisional supremacy to remain the N.F.L.’s last unbeaten team, at 7-0, despite rampant statistical disadvantages and uncharacteristic lapses defending the run.
“We’re happy to win,” outside linebacker T.J. Watt said. “We don’t care if it’s good, bad or ugly.”
The fourth quarter dawned with Pittsburgh leading, 21-17, and after the teams traded go-ahead touchdowns, Baltimore (5-2), on its way to gashing the Steelers for an incomprehensible 265 rushing yards, needed a few more. Facing fourth-and-3 from the Pittsburgh 8-yard line with two minutes left, it turned to Jackson, its electrifying quarterback, to get them.
Steelers defensive end Isaiah Buggs ranged over and stuffed Jackson, forcing a fumble on a rush that gained 2 yards. But when Pittsburgh couldn’t get a first down on the resulting possession, it was forced to punt, and the Ravens — after Jackson found Willie Snead IV for 32 yards on fourth-and-2 — rumbled to the Steelers’ 23-yard line with eight seconds remaining. Watt thumped Jackson to force an inaccurate throw on first down. Then Jackson, with one play left, whipped a ball toward Snead — and two Steelers.
It fell to the ground, and so, for another week — the Steelers survived an errant field-goal attempt last week in Tennessee — the team with the best record in the league resides in the A.F.C. North. Pittsburgh had entered the game allowing the fewest yards in the N.F.L., and Baltimore came in yielding the fewest points. The matchup assumed even more of a cosmic significance, a reflection of the conference hierarchy.
Baltimore is no less a threat than it was before losing, especially after outgaining the Steelers, 457 to 221, and limiting them to three of nine conversions on third down. Jackson accounted for 273 yards — 65 on the ground — but threw two interceptions that Pittsburgh converted into 14 points. The second, which came early in the second half and was picked off by linebacker Alex Highsmith, catapulted the Steelers into contention.
It was as if the Steelers played last week’s game, dominating Tennessee in the first half then giving way to an unsightly second, in reverse. After trailing, 17-7, at halftime, having run only four plays in Baltimore territory, Pittsburgh regrouped — first, by intercepting Jackson at the Ravens’ 23-yard line, and then by re-engaging a lethal short passing game. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger finished 21-of-32 for 182 yards and two touchdowns, both in the second half.
The Steelers tend to generate pressure so well that if opposing teams want to throw downfield, if they want to use play-action, they would do best to hurry. Against that pressure Sunday, Jackson at times looked tentative, uncomfortable, mixing in nifty passes with clumsy ones.
Jackson had only started against Pittsburgh once before, in Week 5 of last season, and the Steelers treated him as if ordering Waffle House hash browns, covering and smothering and dicing him for five sacks and three interceptions. The early stages of Sunday’s game resembled a continuation of that chaos: Three plays in, Steelers linebacker Robert Spillane swooped in front of a Jackson pass and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown.
Recovering, Jackson and the Ravens opted to run instead. And run. And run. They amassed 179 first-half rushing yards against the A.F.C.’s stingiest run defense, that output nearly evenly divided among Jackson, J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards, whose 1-yard touchdown plunge put the Ravens ahead, 14-7.
Instead of controlling the clock, as the Steelers generally do with their efficient offense, they watched time go by from the sideline. They gained all of 65 first-half yards and went 0 for 3 on first downs.
Even though the Ravens led at halftime, they had sustained two significant losses — edge rusher Matthew Judon, who was ejected for coming into contact with an official during a skirmish, and left tackle Ronnie Stanley, who was carted off with a season-ending ankle injury. By the end of the afternoon, Baltimore had absorbed a deeper loss, in the standings.
But the good thing is — for them, for the Steelers, for football fans at large — the teams meet again in three and a half weeks, on Thanksgiving night.
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