Ravens vs. Steelers final recap: Humphrey saves the day

The 2-2 Baltimore Ravens traveled to Pittsburgh to face their divisional rivals, the 1-3 Steelers in a game with huge implications regarding the AFC North standings.

Baltimore won the opening coin toss and elected to kick, meaning second-year quarterback Mason Rudolph would take the field first. The Ravens started strong on defense, forcing a punt after a quick three-and-out. The offense had no trouble moving the ball on their first drive, but a pass thrown slightly behind Marquise “Hollywood” Brown in the end zone stalled the drive. Justin Tucker kicked the 27-yard field goal to give Baltimore the 3-0 lead.

The fast start continued for the defense, as recently-signed inside linebacker intercepted a pass from running back Jaylen Samuels out of the Wildcat formation. The pass sailed over the head of James Washington who was the intended receiver on the play.

Starting from the 15-yard line, the offense capitalized from the short field position. Running back Mark Ingram scored the touchdown on a four-yard run, giving him six rushing touchdowns for the season. The Ravens led 10-0 in the first quarter.

Baltimore’s defense reverted back bad habits on the next drive as they allowed Rudolph to lead a five-play scoring drive. Rudolph connected with wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster for a 35-yard touchdown. Marlon Humphrey and Brandon Carr appeared to collide into each on the play, allowing Smith-Schuster to get free and make it a three-point game at 10-7.

The Ravens answered back with a long touchdown drive that lasted 13 plays for a little over six minutes. Lamar Jackson found Brown for the 11-yard touchdown this time. Brown appeared to aggravate his foot on the play. With 11 minutes left in the first half, Baltimore lead 17-7.

After forcing another punt, the defense was right back on the field for the Ravens after a Jackson interception, intended for tight end Mark Andrews. There was potential pass interference on the pass breakup that was intercepted by Kameron Kelly, but nothing was called or overturned. Pittsburgh was held to a field goal, however, after taking over at the 16-yard line. Baltimore led by a touchdown, 17-10.

After a punt from both teams, the Ravens had the ball back with 1:36 left in the half. Instead of playing it safe and taking the game into halftime with a touchdown lead, however, Jackson threw another interception, this time to cornerback Mike Hilton on a pass intended for Seth Roberts. The Steelers tacked on another field goal, making it a four-point game at halftime.

The bad luck continued for the offense on the opening drive of the third quarter, as Jackson threw his third interception of the day. Linebacker Devin Bush had the coverage on tight end Nick Boyle when he took the ball. The ball appeared to hit the ground before Bush could secure the catch, but the ruling on the field stood as an interception.

Facing 3rd & 11, Rudolph connected with Washington for a 26-yard pickup after extending the play. Rudolph was badly injured on the play, when he took a hit to the head from safety Earl Thomas. Rudolph fell unconscious, leaving fans everywhere holding their breath. Thankfully, Rudolph was able to move and walk off the field with help. It was later revealed that Rudolph suffered a concussion and was admitted to a nearby hospital.

Rookie quarterback Devlin Hodges took over for Rudolph, leading the offense on a scoring drive. Hodges found tight end Vance McDonald for the 14-yard score. For the first time in the game, Pittsburgh led with a score of 20-17.

The Ravens were able to tie the game with a 26-yard field goal on their next drive. The Steelers regained the lead a couple of drives later with a 33-yard field goal from Chris Boswell. Down by three, Baltimore had the ball back with 2:57 remaining in regulation. Nine plays later, Tucker tied the game once again with 10 seconds left on the clock. The game was heading to overtime.

Pittsburgh won the coin toss in overtime but elected to defer. The Ravens were unable to take advantage, however, going three-and-out and giving the Steelers a chance to win the game with just a field goal. After a three-yard gain from running back James Conner on first down, Humphrey made the play of the game when he punched the ball free from Smith-Schuster after a 10-yard completion. Humphrey recovered the fumble at Pittsburgh’s 37-yard line, within the field goal range for Tucker.

Sure enough, three plays later, Tucker kicked the game-winning field goal from 46 yards out.

Baltimore improved to 3-2 with an important divisional win on the road. They face yet another divisional opponent next week when the winless Cincinnati Bengals come to town.