Ben Roethlisberger’s two-point conversion pass attempt in the final minute fell through Emmanuel Sanders’ hands in the final minutes, handing the Pittsburgh Steelers (5-7) a crushing 22-20 loss to the Baltimore Ravens (6-6) on Thanksgiving night.
After trailing the entire game and engineering a potentially game-tying drive, Roethlisberger and the Steelers finally got into the end zone on a pass to Jerricho Cotchery after being denied on two plays that were reviewed. Heath Miller was ruled just short of the goal line, setting up first and goal at the 1, and then Le’Veon Bell was stopped twice. The second time, Bell appeared to get in but his helmet came off, negating the score because it came off before he crossed the line. Bell left the game with apparent concussion symptoms on the nasty collision with Ravens defensive back Jimmy Smith.
After the touchdown, Pittsburgh needed the two-point conversion to tie the game and possibly force overtime, but the attempt failed and Baltimore survived, moving them into second in the AFC North standings and into the temporary lead for the last Wild Card spot. The Ravens led early on when Joe Flacco threw a 7-yard touchdown to Torrey Smith, capping off a long opening drive that included a 54-yard strike, also to Smith. Baltimore added a second quarter field goal to give them a 10-0 halftime lead. It was 13-0 when Pittsburgh finally scored, on an 8-yard touchdown pass to Sanders. Two more field goals by Baltimore’s Justin Tucker, who was 5-5 on the day, made it a 19-7 Ravens advantage early in the fourth quarter.
Pittsburgh would not go away though, as Roethlisberger led a ten-play drive resulting in a 1-yard score by Bell. Flacco then led the Ravens to a fourth consecutive field goal drive to take a 22-14 lead with less than six minutes remaining. The Steelers used nearly five minutes of that remaining clock to go 79 yards on 13 plays on a drive that included several penalties for both sides, as well as the multiple stoppages in play at the end due to the booth reviews and injury timeouts. The two-point deficit for Pittsburgh certainly came down to the failed two-point conversion, as well as a botched field goal attempt earlier in the game, on which Shaun Suisham never actually kicked the football. Punter Mat McBriar, the holder, took the snap well but the timing appeared to be off and Suisham ended up receiving a lateral that he ran for a loss on the play and a turnover on downs.
Aside from that crucial mistake, Pittsburgh played a clean game, avoiding turnovers and committing only four penalties. Baltimore, too, had no turnovers but had nine penalties, including two on the Steelers final drive. The two teams nearly split time of possession evenly (30:04 for the Steelers) and both struggled to run the ball (72 and 74 yards rushing). Each team ran 62 plays and Pittsburgh gained 18 more yards, all numbers indicating a very close matchup that ended in favor of the home team on this night. Pittsburgh is now just 2-5 on the road this season and will have ten days off before hosting the Miami Dolphins (5-6) on Sunday, December 8, in another game that may have AFC Wild Card playoff implications.
