The Baltimore Ravens had 335 yards of offense, while the Pittsburgh Steelers had just 289. The Ravens created more first downs, they had fewer penalties, and they won the box score in so many ways. However, the final score says Pittsburgh Steelers 17 and the Baltimore Ravens 10.
NFL games can be made or broken on the back of just a few plays, and the swing plays went the Steelers' way this week. What are five plays that turned this game around for the Ravens?
5. Justice Hill fumbles and costs the Baltimore Ravens momentum
Through a quarter and a half the Baltimore Ravens had dominated. They had 10 first downs and the Steelers had one. Baltimore punted on their first drive and then went on their two best drives of the game.
A touchdown drive followed by a field goal, gave the Ravens a 10-0 lead, and they were driving with momentum again. After picking up 25 yards over four plays, Lamar Jackson hit Justice Hill, who was running after the catch when Larry Ogunjobi snuck up on him from behind.
Ogunjobi punched the football out, and Damontae Kazee recovered it. The Steelers only moved the ball 27 yards after the fumble, but it led to a field goal and got them on the board before halftime. It also halted all of the scoring the Ravens did for the rest of the game.
It is oddly reminiscent of the Ravens' loss to the Indianapolis Colts earlier this year. The Ravens led 7-0 and were driving to put up a second-straight scoring drive when Kenyan Drake fumbled, and the offense immediately got into a funk.
First, the Ravens have to find ways to avoid these back-breaking fumbles, especially early into games when they are building momentum. However, they also cannot let one fumble be what causes the offense to tuck its tail in and hide. The response was not strong.