PITTSBURGH — The Ravens’ defense did not allow the Pittsburgh Steelers into the end zone once Sunday. Yet, despite their strongest all-around defensive performance since Week 4, the Ravens fell 18-16.

It was the first time in Steelers-Ravens history that a team that did not score a touchdown won.

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was not pleased that his unit let down the frequently maligned defense.

“I was hot about that,” Jackson said. “Our defense played great today. They held a great team, great offense, to 18 points, and we just scored 16 points. We had been putting up all of these points all of this year — it’s annoying.”

It’s an interesting position, for both the Ravens’ offense and the defense. Jackson and the offense have been forced to produce heroic performances to overcome the defense’s many shortcomings this season. The defense gives up 481 yards to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? The offense puts up 508 to make up for it.

The only game when both thrived was the Week 4 beatdown of the Buffalo Bills.

Against the Steelers, they gave up just 181 passing yards — a positive step for a team that came into the game allowing more passing yards than any other in the league. Yet afterward players stood quietly at their lockers, processing another letdown against their rival.

But Sunday was clearly a game to build on, thanks to steps forward in the pass rush and the pass coverage. The Ravens had four sacks, eight quarterback hits, six pass defenses and an interception to help force the Steelers to finish with the lowest passer rating of a Ravens opponent this season and the fewest yards per attempt.

That was despite the secondary looking very different than the one the Ravens started the season with. Safety Marcus Williams dressed but was not a factor, safety Eddie Jackson did not travel with the team, cornerback Arthur Maulet was injured and newly acquired cornerback Tre’Davious White played in his first game.

Safety Ar’Darius Washington said communication was a key reason the defense cut through Wilson and the Steelers’ momentum.

Communication has been a major issue through the season, and it was still the main factor in a lot of the explosive plays they gave up Sunday, White said. He’s seeing everything with fresh eyes, though; other Ravens players insisted Sunday was an improvement.

From White’s outside perspective, that means the issues are fixable.

“It wasn’t guys getting beat physically; it was mental breaks,” White said. “As far as talent-wise, it wasn’t people were getting [beat]; it was just communication.”

The Ravens had four red-zone stops, including one on a drive that started at the Baltimore 19-yard line. They flipped a drive with an interception in the end zone (the offense gave the ball back a few players later with an interception of its own). And they held the Steelers to their fourth-lowest score of the season, the lowest score since Russell Wilson took over as quarterback.

While the Steelers are in the bottom half of the league in passing attack and total yards per game, they’ve been averaging 382 yards per game since Wilson returned three games ago. They’re also in the top half of the league in points per game, averaging 23.9.

“As a defense, that’s the job,” said White, an eight-year veteran. “You want to force field goals or take the ball away. We were fortunate enough we got the ball in some short fields, and we were able to stand up and bend, don’t break. ... So I think that, as a defense, you could be proud of the way that we battled.”

Outside linebacker Odafe Oweh is all too familiar with the warring feelings of pride and disappointment. He finished with 2.5 sacks, which tied a career high.

“It sucks, man,” Oweh said. “I feel like whenever I play good is when we lose. The Raiders [26-23 loss], too.”

A loss to the Steelers never feels good, especially when it puts the Ravens behind them in the race for the AFC North title. But the underlying feeling among defensive players was encouragement, especially because they improved their communication, the biggest issue this season.