5 game-changing plays that cost the Baltimore Ravens a win at the Pittsburgh Steelers

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.

4. Tyler Linderbaum snaps to Lamar Jackson to end the Baltimore Ravens half

The Baltimore Ravens actually did move the football on the ensuing drive after the Steelers field goal. They got the ball with 3:16 left, and with 0:19 left, they were at the Steelers 23-yard line. They faced 4th down with two yards to go.

Up 10-3, a field goal would have made it 13-3 and given them a two-score lead. With Justin Tucker, the kick was automatic. However, the Ravens offense stayed out. Kwon Alexander faked a blitz for the Steelers, and Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum snapped the ball, thinking he jumped offsides.

Jackson was surprised by the snap and immediately saw T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith coming in his direction. He tried to roll out but threw the ball away.

John Harbaugh, Jackson, and Linderbaum all admitted the plan was not to snap the ball but to let the play clock go down and call a time-out after trying to get the Steelers to jump offsides. Linderbaum thought Alexander jumped, and he did not. This mistake cost the Ravens three points.

When you think of this sequence, from five minutes until halftime down to halftime, this cost the team the game. A fumble, a field goal allowed due to the short field, and then passing a field goal could have had this game at 13-0 as a worst case; it even could have been 16-0 or 20-0 if the fumble ended in a score. Instead, the game was 10-3, and momentum swung quickly to the Steelers.

3. The Baltimore Ravens had a punt get blocked

The Baltimore Ravens offense could not respond after those two failed drives. They ran nine plays and created just 31 yards in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, a holding penalty followed by a loss of five on a bad flare pass to Justice Hill set the Ravens back. They had to punt on 4th down and 16 from their own 14-yard line.

Up against the endzone, special teams ace Miles Killebrew came in and blocked the punt. The Steelers almost recovered it for a touchdown, but they did get a safety. This obviously hurts because it put two points on the scoreboard. Now, a touchdown would beat the Ravens as they sat on a 10-5 lead.

The punt after the safety put the Steelers at the 44-yard line. An eight-play, 43-yard drive ended with a field goal, and the Steelers were in the game, down just 10-8. It was not pretty, but the Steelers scored six points on two field goal drives that combined for 13 plays and 70 yards.

This sequence gave the Steelers five points, and the initial sequence of the Steelers gaining three off of the Ravens fumble and the Ravens losing three by not taking the field goal ended with the Steelers being plus-six. These three plays swung about 11 points in the Steelers' direction, and the Steelers won by seven.

2. Lamar Jackson cost the Baltimore Ravens with an interception

In a game where so many inexplicable things happened, this may have been the worst. The Ravens punted to the Steelers with 5:48 to go in the game, but a muffed punt by the Steelers gave the Ravens a key chance to put this game away once and for all. The Ravens had the ball at the Steelers seven-yard line with 5:33 to go.

The Ravens got to the five-yard line and faced a third down with 4:10 to go. The team simply could not turn the ball over. Even a run would burn some clock and allow the field goal unit to come on. However, the Ravens elected to pass. Lamar Jackson wanted to test Joey Porter Jr., a rookie who was just checking into the ball game late in the second half.

Porter was matched up with Odell Beckham, the savvy veteran. However, Porter has a lot of size and is a physical cornerback. He was stronger than Beckham and boxed him out. Worse than that, Lamar Jackson threw an awful pass. He left it short and put it too far out in front of Beckham. The pass gave Porter a great chance. He needed to put it where only Beckham could get his hands on it, or it would fall incomplete.

The Ravens came into this game with one of the best red zone offenses in the NFL. We knew it could not remain this hot, but regression caught them at the worst time. Jackson cost the Ravens with an interception after Linderbaum killed them with a snap in the first half. Combined, they lost six points on those two plays.

1. George Pickens burns Marlon Humphrey for the Pittsburgh Steelers to beat the Baltimore Ravens

This one is pretty obvious as the play that changed everything. After the interception, the Pittsburgh Steelers just needed a field goal to win the game. At the Ravens' 41-yard line, they were already eyeing a 58-yard kick, and just a few more yards would make it a pretty makeable kick.

The Matt Canada offense had been running the football on second down to create third and short all day. On 2nd and 9 with just over a minute to go, we all assumed the Steelers would run it, get a bit closer to field goal range, then set up a third down where they try to move the chains.

However, the Steelers offensive coordinator finally broke his tendency and not only called a pass but a deep one. Mike MacDonald wanted to get aggressive and create a loss that took the Steelers out of field goal range. So, he brought heat, which meant not enough help on the back end.

Marlon Humphrey is an elite cornerback, but he is coming back from an injury, and this was his first game back. He was not up to the challenge of defending George Pickens. Pickens ran by him, and Kenny Pickett gave him man a chance to make a play on the ball. 41-yard later, the Pittsburgh Steelers led 14-10. It was essentially the only good play the Steelers offense had all game, but all of the other errors the Ravens made set them up for failure.

The Ravens have to look at the Colts and Steelers losses and think that the only team stopping them from going far this year is themselves.

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