In a high-stakes Week 18 game, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens 26-24 to win the AFC North title and the No. 4 seed in the NFL playoffs. With 55 seconds left, Aaron Rodgers threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Austin III to give the Packers the lead. This was after five lead changes, four of which happened in the fourth quarter. Tyler Loop, the Ravens’ kicker, missed a 44-yard field goal as time ran out, ending Baltimore’s hopes of making the playoffs for the first time since 2021.
Both teams made big plays in the game, and Ravens’ Zay Flowers caught touchdowns of 50 and 64 yards from Lamar Jackson to pull the team back late. Kenneth Gainwell scored on a rushing play for the Steelers, and after Derrick Henry’s 79-yard run in the first quarter, they held strong on defense. The Pittsburgh Steelers will play the Houston Texans in a wild-card game on January 12.
Baltimore ends the season with an 8-9 record, and there are questions about coach John Harbaugh and quarterback Lamar Jackson’s futures now that the Super Bowl hype has died down. The Steelers’ record goes up to 10-7, thanks to coach Mike Tomlin and the team’s belief in the clutch win. This rivalry fight lived up to its decades-long history of nail-biting drama.
