The Ravens hosted their divisional rival and the AFC East leader, the Pittsburgh Steelers, in a battle for first place on Nov. 1. The Steelers won this matchup 28-24, leaving them undefeated.
Baltimore got off to a rough start when Lamar Jackson threw an interception on the first drive, leading to linebacker Robert Spillane taking it all the way to the end zone. The Ravens responded with a 75-yard touchdown drive, capped off with a 6-yard pass from Jackson to Miles Boykin. Baltimore’s stellar defense made yet another great play during the following drive. Marcus Peters stripped the ball from Ben Roethlisberger and recovered the ball for Baltimore. The Ravens, however, fumbled as well when Marcus Dupree sacked and forced a fumble from Jackson.
The second quarter proved strong for Baltimore as they scored on their first possession of the quarter with a rush from Gus Edwards for a 1-yard touchdown. The Steelers failed to answer and were forced to punt back to Baltimore. The Ravens finished the quarter with a field goal to take a sizable 17-7 lead at the half.
The Steelers opened the second half looking for a comeback but failed to score on the opening drive. However, Jackson opened the door for them with an interception on their first play. The Steelers took advantage of the mistake with an 18-yard pass to Eric Ebron for a touchdown to cut the lead to 17-14. The Ravens failed to score on the next drive, and the Steelers responded with yet another touchdown by James Conner on a 1-yard play to take a 21-17 lead.
The Ravens started the fourth quarter looking to take back the lead. Baltimore managed to gain the advantage again on a 53-yard drive and 3-yard pass to Marquise Brown for a touchdown. The Steelers marched up M&T Bank determined to take back the lead, and successfully scored on an 8-yard pass to Chase Claypool to go up 28-24 with 7:32 left. Baltimore managed to drive to the Pittsburgh 8 with just two minutes left with a chance to score on a fourth and 2. Then, Jackson fumbled yet again trying to rush to a first down as they surrendered the ball to Pittsburgh. Baltimore got one last shot to win the game with 52 seconds left, but they failed on a second and 10 as the game clock expired.
The Ravens fall to 5-2 as the Steelers take a larger lead in the AFC East and remain the NFL’s only undefeated team. On a brighter note, Baltimore hosted fans for the first time this season despite the current COVID-19 pandemic. While M&T Stadium holds 71,000 fans, Baltimore allowed only 7,500 to enter the stadium.
The Ravens will play the Colts next Sunday, Nov, 8, as they look to come closer to a postseason run. Keep up-to-date with The Greyhound for news on next week’s matchup.
Featured Image courtesy of Sam Lehman via Flickr Creative Commons
