Here’s what the Baltimore Sun sports team had to say immediately following the Ravens’ 16-14 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Sunday’s Week 14 game at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh:
Jonas Shaffer, journalist: More than anything, the Ravens’ four-game losing streak against Pittsburgh was defined by how narrow the margin of error they gave themselves and then stumbled. On Sunday, they finally flipped the script with a handful of important and timely plays. Pull off a red zone interception, and maybe they lose it. Take away Calais Campbell’s placement block, and maybe they lose that. Instead, the Ravens return to Baltimore as winners, injury to their quarterback be damned.
Childs Walker, journalist: It was the Ravens’ biggest win of the year because so many things worked against them. It sparked memories of pandemic-tainted games two years ago, as the Ravens were forced to turn to third-string quarterback Anthony Brown. They rushed for 44 yards in a crucial fourth-quarter drive when the Steelers knew passing was a last resort. Give huge credit to the offensive line for that one, not to mention blocking Ben Powers to trigger a decisive third Gus Edwards conversion.
Freshly activated JK Dobbins gave the offense an early jolt with his 44-yard burst down the middle, followed by a tough touchdown run. The Ravens created scoring chances in the first half with a fourth conversion in their own territory and an interception in the red zone by Roquan Smith. They also stole at least three more from the Steelers when Patrick Queen made a great leaping interception in the closing seconds of the first half. They missed too many tackles and their coverage dropped them on Pittsburgh’s 49-second drive in the fourth quarter, but they made up for that with takeaways.
Hayes Gardner, journalist: Playing without Lamar Jackson the past seven quarters, the Ravens have two wins. This week, like last week, was all about survival.
The Ravens escaped with a win a week ago against the Broncos, and this week — without Jackson or Tyler Huntley for most of the second half — they held on. Neither was particularly pretty.
Baltimore’s run game was solid, but the defense was the real hero, intercepting Mitch Trubisky three times and limiting the Steelers to their lowest points since Week 8.
CJ Doon, editor: Nothing comes easy for the Ravens, does it? After the Steelers rookie quarterback was taken out, the Ravens defense feasted on backup Mitch Trubisky, intercepting him three times. But quarterback Tyler Huntley took a big hit in the third quarter and was sidelined while in concussion protocol, forcing undrafted rookie Anthony Brown into his first NFL game. As the Steelers battled back to close for a score in the fourth quarter, the Ravens made sure this wasn’t going to be a repeat of last season’s slump. The race match finally showed signs of life, powered by the return of JK Dobbins and a huge third conversion from Gus Edward that sealed the victory. All eyes are on the health of the quarterbacks as they head into a final streak littered with AFC North opponents.
Tim Schwartz, editor: The Ravens needed a gutsy win and they certainly got one on Sunday. The racing game has made a well-deserved return to center stage in a key rivalry game. It’s a game Baltimore can hang his hat on for the rest of the season, but he’ll need to recover quickly at quarterback in order to keep up with the Bengals in the AFC North.
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