PITTSBURGH — Quarterback Lamar Jackson’s careerlong struggles in Pittsburgh continued Sunday as the Ravens fell to the Steelers 18-16, losing crucial ground in the battle for AFC North supremacy.

With just over a minute remaining, Jackson capped a nine-play, 69-yard touchdown drive with a 16-yard pass to wide receiver Zay Flowers, but the 2-point conversion failed as Jackson’s last-ditch attempt at a pass landed far out of reach of a Ravens receiver. The Steelers put the game away by running out the clock with a first down on their subsequent possession.

Jackson fell to 1-4 as a starter against Pittsburgh (8-2), which won its fourth straight game in the rivalry and eighth in the past nine meetings. Jackson, the front-runner for NFL Most Valuable Player honors, was held to 207 yards and a touchdown on 16-for-33 passing and had four carries for 46 yards. Jackson also threw an interception, his first since Week 6.

The mistake-prone Ravens (7-4) fell 1.5 games behind the Steelers in the AFC North and watched their odds of repeating as division champions drop to 43%, according to The New York Times. A win would’ve boosted them to 85%.

Quarterback Russell Wilson, making his first start against the Ravens as a Steeler, finished 23-for-36 for 205 yards and an interception. Pittsburgh averaged just 4.3 yards per play against a rejuvenated Ravens defense but took advantage of three Ravens turnovers (two fumbles and one interception).

The Steelers, leading 15-10, had a chance to distance themselves early in the fourth quarter after Ravens inside linebacker Roquan Smith left the game with a hamstring injury (head coach John Harbaugh did not have an update when asked about his status immediately after the game). But, on third-and-goal from the 5, Wilson threw an ill-advised floater to the back of the end zone that cornerback Marlon Humphrey easily grabbed for his fifth interception this season and a touchback.

The Ravens squandered the momentum quickly. On the second play of the ensuing drive, Jackson had a pass to running back Justice Hill down the left sideline somehow intercepted by rookie inside linebacker Payton Wilson — despite Hill appearing to secure the ball initially at the catch point.

Turnovers, penalties and poor kicking undercut the Ravens in the first half. Fumbles by running back Derrick Henry (13 carries for 65 yards) on their second play from scrimmage and by tight end Isaiah Likely late in the first half — forced and recovered by former Ravens inside linebacker Patrick Queen — gave the Steelers two short fields, which they converted into a pair of field goals. The Ravens also had six first-half flags for 45 yards.

The Ravens entered halftime trailing 9-7 but could’ve easily been ahead. Tucker missed a 47-yard field goal in the first quarter, then a 50-yarder less than four minutes later. He later connected on a 54-yard field goal in the third quarter, lifting his accuracy to 16-for-22 (72.7%) this season, with more misses than he had all last season (32-for-37).

Kicking woes

John Harbaugh has a lot to answer for after this one. The biggest question might be one he has no easy explanation for: What the heck has happened to Justin Tucker? The Ravens’ narrow loss can’t be ascribed to any one player or any play, and Tucker did hit a 54-yarder in the second half. But the Steelers’ advantage on special teams was evident throughout the afternoon. It was Chris Boswell who looked more like the NFL’s best kicker. And it was Tucker, with his two missed kicks tacked onto a big pile of 2024 misfires, who looked more like a guy with his job headed for jeopardy.

— Jonas Shaffer, Ravens reporter

For once it wasn’t (totally) on the defense …

Sure, it could have played better, especially against a low-powered offense like this one. But the fact the Ravens were in the game until the end, at least by the score, was due more to the defense’s efforts than the offense’s. The defense still has a big problem with penalties and would probably like to have a handful of plays back, but it pressured the quarterback, stood strong on third downs and got stops in the red zone.

The offense, meanwhile, regressed to an unrecognizable unit. The Ravens forced plays and never got into rhythm. The focal point, reigning MVP Lamar Jackson, played an uncharacteristic game and did not show the heroics he has all season. Other than the fact the special teams continue to be bad, it was an unfamiliar and honestly confusing game for the Ravens.

– Giana Han, Ravens reporter

Less than Lamarvelous

I found myself rubbing my eyes throughout Sunday’s game, having trouble believing that the Ravens’ MVP front-runner was the same quarterback slinging off-target passes in Pittsburgh. Was this really Lamar Jackson? He didn’t play like the passer he’s become this season. Instead, it was Jackson holding onto the ball for plays that never materialized, missing wide-open receivers and forcing throws into too-tight windows. The exceptions were two touchdown drives when he looked more like himself.

It hurt that the Ravens turned it over three times, including an interception that wasn’t exactly all on him. There’s a lot to pick apart from this game, with a lot of fault on a lot of different units. But Jackson tends to erase shortcomings in other areas and put the Ravens on his back. Aside from his late effort in the fourth quarter, Jackson struggled to do that against the Steelers. Sunday was the first time Jackson completed less than 50% of his passes since 2021, and it was one of the lowest passer ratings (66.1) of his career — the lowest since he played in Pittsburgh last season, in fact.

– Kyle Goon, columnist

Self-inflicted wounds

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin just knows how to get the worst out of the Ravens. Last time these two teams met in Pittsburgh, the story was all the dropped passes that allowed the Steelers to squeak out a win. On Sunday, more self-inflicted wounds doomed Baltimore: two missed Justin Tucker field goals, two lost fumbles, an interception and 12 penalties. Russell Wilson and the Steelers did everything they could to give away their AFC North lead, but the Ravens somehow outdid them.

As encouraging as it was to see Zach Orr’s defense play well, it was equally frustrating to watch empty possession after empty possession from Lamar Jackson and company. This team will need to put together more complete games down the stretch if it wants to catch Pittsburgh.

– Paul Mancano, Banner Ravens Podcast co-host

Ugly

You get the sense there have been times this year when Lamar Jackson was so sublime his teammates felt they could get away with not being as sharp as they need to be. How else to explain all of the sloppiness? Dumb penalties. Dropped passes. Lazy fumbles, feeble blocks, missed kicks.

Up to now this hasn’t felt like a typical Ravens team because it was so clearly being carried by the offense. But the concern now is how uncharacteristically unsound the team has been. You just don’t see that with John Harbaugh-coached teams. especially in a game of this magnitude.

It’s probably wise not to overreact to a rivalry game played in Pittsburgh, but it’d also be foolish to think Justin Tucker is magically going to find his old self again. Are there better options out there? Probably not, but he’s a problem — and as such the Ravens might want to figure out a better call on 2-point conversion plays than rolling the QB left into congestion.

— Chris Korman, editor