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Baltimore Sun staff writers and FOX45’s Patrice Sanders pick every game of the NFL season. Here’s who they have winning in Week 15: Atlanta Falcons vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Thursday, 8:15 p.m.) Brian Wacker (7-7 last week, 139-67-1 overall): Buccaneers Sam Cohn (8-6 last week, 138-68-1 overall): Buccaneers Mike Preston (6-8 last week, 134-72-1 overall): Buccaneers Josh Tolentino (7-7 last week, 139-67-1 overall): Buccaneers C.J. Doon (5-9 last week, 128-78-1 overall): Buccaneers Bennett Conlin (9-5 last week, 138-68-1 overall): Buccaneers Tim Schwartz (6-8 last week, 124-82-1 overall): Buccaneers Patrice Sanders (7-7 last week, 129-77-1 overall): Buccaneers Cleveland Browns vs. Chicago Bears (Sunday, 1 p.m.) Wacker: Bears Cohn: Bears Preston: Bears Tolentino: Bears Doon: Bears Conlin: Bears Schwartz: Bears Sanders: Bears Arizona Cardinals vs. Houston Texans (Sunday, 1 p.m.) Wacker: Texans Cohn: Texans Preston: Texans Tolentino: Texans Doon: Texans Conlin: Texans Schwartz: Texans Sanders: Texans New York Jets vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (Sunday, 1 p.m.) Wacker: Jaguars Cohn: Jaguars Preston: Jaguars Tolentino: Jaguars Doon: Jaguars Conlin: Jaguars Schwartz: Jaguars Sanders: Jaguars Related Articles Mike Preston: Talk is cheap. The Ravens need better defense. | COMMENTARY Date and time of Ravens-Packers Week 17 game at Lambeau Field announced Ravens’ Kyle Hamilton unwavering in title belief: ‘Gonna be a heck of a story’ Ravens QB Lamar Jackson absent from another midweek practice Army-Navy Game arrives in Baltimore with Ravens who lived its stakes Los Angeles Chargers vs. Kansas City Chiefs (Sunday, 1 p.m.) Wacker: Chiefs Cohn: Chargers Preston: Chiefs Tolentino: Chargers Doon: Chargers Conlin: Chiefs Schwartz: Chargers Sanders: Chargers Buffalo Bills vs. New England Patriots (Sunday, 1 p.m.) Wacker: Bills Cohn: Patriots Preston: Patriots Tolentino: Patriots Doon: Bills Conlin: Bills Schwartz: Bills Sanders: Patriots Washington Commanders vs. New York Giants (Sunday, 1 p.m.) Wacker: Giants Cohn: Giants Preston: Commanders Tolentino: Commanders Doon: Commanders Conlin: Giants Schwartz: Giants Sanders: Giants Las Vegas Raiders vs. Philadelphia Eagles (Sunday, 1 p.m.) Wacker: Eagles Cohn: Eagles Preston: Eagles Tolentino: Eagles Doon: Eagles Conlin: Eagles Schwartz: Eagles Sanders: Eagles Green Bay Packers vs. Denver Broncos (Sunday, 4:25 p.m.) Wacker: Broncos Cohn: Broncos Preston: Broncos Tolentino: Broncos Doon: Packers Conlin: Packers Schwartz: Packers Sanders: Packers Detroit Lions vs. Los Angeles Rams (Sunday, 4:25 p.m.) Wacker: Rams Cohn: Rams Preston: Rams Tolentino: Rams Doon: Lions Conlin: Lions Schwartz: Rams Sanders: Rams Carolina Panthers vs. New Orleans Saints (Sunday, 4:25 p.m.) Wacker: Panthers Cohn: Panthers Preston: Panthers Tolentino: Panthers Doon: Panthers Conlin: Panthers Schwartz: Panthers Sanders: Panthers Indianapolis Colts vs. Seattle Seahawks (Sunday, 4:25 p.m.) Wacker: Seahawks Cohn: Seahawks Preston: Seahawks Tolentino: Seahawks Doon: Seahawks Conlin: Seahawks Schwartz: Seahawks Sanders: Seahawks Tennessee Titans vs. San Francisco 49ers (Sunday, 4:25 p.m.) Wacker: 49ers Cohn: 49ers Preston: 49ers Tolentino: 49ers Doon: 49ers Conlin: 49ers Schwartz: 49ers Sanders: 49ers Minnesota Vikings vs. Dallas Cowboys (Sunday, 8:20 p.m.) Wacker: Cowboys Cohn: Cowboys Preston: Cowboys Tolentino: Cowboys Doon: Vikings Conlin: Cowboys Schwartz: Cowboys Sanders: Cowboys Miami Dolphins vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (Monday, 8:15 p.m.) Wacker: Steelers Cohn: Steelers Preston: Steelers Tolentino: Steelers Doon: Steelers Conlin: Dolphins Schwartz: Dolphins Sanders: Dolphins View the full article

The two most glaring numbers for the Ravens’ defense so far this season are passing yards allowed and sacks. The Ravens are ranked No. 26 in pass defense, allowing 236 yards per game, and rookie outside linebacker Mike Green leads the team in sacks with 2 1/2, as well as 11 quarterback hurries. A rookie? That pretty much tells the story of the success, or the lack of it. For the past two seasons, there is always this speculation, more of a myth, that the Ravens’ defense has improved during the year, particularly in the second half, but that hasn’t been the case. It’s more talk than anything else. But instead of yapping so much, the Ravens need to start playing better — stacking wins and getting prepared to play a list of impressive quarterbacks in the final four games of the regular season. “But it’s not hard, but it’s a little annoying — not from you guys, but for myself having to get up here every week and be like, ‘We need to turn it on. We need to turn it on.’ It’s been like that ever since Week 1,” Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton said Wednesday. “It’s time that we go out and do it, and there’s no excuses that are to be made at this point.” Preach, brother. “But like I said, it is a lot of talk,” Hamilton said. “We can stand up here and tell you our plan every week, but it’s a matter of us going out there and actually executing it.” The Ravens have the Bengals and Joe Burrow on Sunday in Cincinnati followed by New England’s Drake Maye, an NFL Most Valuable Player award candidate, then Green Bay’s Jordan Love. They finish with a season-ending second altercation with 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers, who completed 23 of 34 passes for 284 yards in Pittsburgh’s 27-22 win in Baltimore on Sunday. It wasn’t exactly a vintage performance from Rodgers, who has won four NFL MVP Awards, but you get the picture. Top-tier quarterbacks have had their way with the Ravens this season. Buffalo’s Josh Allen passed for almost 400 yards in the season opener and Detroit’s Jared Goff and Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes each had passer ratings above 100 against Baltimore. Houston’s C.J. Stroud completed 23 of 27 attempts and had four touchdown passes in the Texans’ rout of the Ravens on Oct. 4, and Detroit’s Matthew Stafford was 17 of 26 for 181 yards in the Rams’ win in Baltimore a week later. Pessimism is one thing, but so is realism. The Ravens’ defense improved a year ago because it was playing against quarterbacks such as Cleveland’s Bailey Zappe, the New York Giants’ Tommy DeVito and Tim Boyle and Pittsburgh’s Russell Wilson (twice). The Ravens went on a five-game winning streak this season going against the likes of Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa, Minnesota’s J.J. McCarthy, Cleveland’s Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders and the New York Jets’ Tyrod Taylor. That’s not exactly a group that produces fear in NFL circles. The worst part is that the Ravens still look lost in coverages at times. Opposing teams are running free in the flats and it’s been that way since the start of the season. Remember Kansas City’s Isiah Pacheco catching an 8-yard touchdown pass in the left flat in the second quarter? Or Houston receiver Nico Collins catching a 10-yard touchdown pass from Stroud in the same quarter in the right flat? How about Pittsburgh’s Jaylen Warren hauling in a 38-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter in the right flat of Sunday’s game as he went untouched? That shouldn’t be happening this late in the season. Everybody at M&T Bank Stadium knows that once a receiver like the Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase or Pittsburgh’s DK Metcalf draws cornerback Marlon Humphrey to the outside, opposing quarterbacks will likely throw deep. Chase had seven catches for 110 yards in Week 13, and Metcalf had seven catches for 148 yards last Sunday. Isn’t there some way that the Ravens can rotate a safety to that side of the field, or are they still concerned about any possible threat over the middle? At least the Bengals deserve some credit. They put Chase in the slot and he might motion anywhere. Bengals wide receiver Mitchell Tinsley tries to catch a pass while Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey defends. Opposing teams have tested Humphrey in recent weeks, throwing deep against the Baltimore cornerback. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) “We do match up sometimes in the slot,” Hamilton said of Chase. “They move around so much and that’s part of the reason why they have success, you never know where he is going to be at. You try to scheme your offense and scheme your defense, or whatever it may be, so your best players can shine, and that’s what they do very well.” It’s pretty amazing to watch what goes on during games. What’s even more befuddling is that the Ravens can’t come up with any answers. They still have tackling problems (see cornerback Nate Wiggins) and both inside linebackers, Roquan Smith and rookie Teddye Buchanan, struggle in pass coverage. A lot of it, though not all of it, comes down to rushing the passer. Regardless of whether a team has Deion Sanders or Richard Sherman at cornerback, they can only cover so much space in a limited time. Defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike is tied for second on the team in sacks (two) despite playing in only two games. It just shows how far the Ravens need to go to get this defense back on track. They can come up with all the assortments of exotic blitzes against rookies like Sanders and Gabriel, but that doesn’t work versus veterans like Rodgers and Stafford. Been there. Seen that. Related Articles Date and time of Ravens-Packers Week 17 game at Lambeau Field announced Ravens’ Kyle Hamilton unwavering in title belief: ‘Gonna be a heck of a story’ Ravens QB Lamar Jackson absent from another midweek practice Army-Navy Game arrives in Baltimore with Ravens who lived its stakes Ravens film study: Missed opportunities hurt Lamar Jackson in Steelers loss The last time the Ravens saw Burrow was on Thanksgiving. The Bengals won, 32-14, as Burrow completed 24 of 46 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns. Maye is only 23, but he’s a major story in the NFL this season, guiding the Patriots to an 11-2 record while completing 71.5% of his passes with 23 touchdowns and six interceptions. Love is 9-3-1 with Green Bay this season with 22 touchdown passes to just four interceptions. And then there is Rodgers, who worked the game clock to perfection Sunday, draining it down to every second before the snap of the ball. He controlled the tempo of the game for Pittsburgh. It’s an uphill climb for the Ravens. Can they pull it off and win the AFC North title? Of course, especially with some help from the Steelers. But they won’t get any help from the upcoming slate of quarterbacks. It’s a good upcoming group, not like the inexperienced signal callers the Ravens faced earlier in the season. The quarterbacks have changed, and so have the parameters. Have a news tip? Contact Mike Preston at epreston@baltsun.com, 410-332-6467 and x.com/MikePrestonSun. View the full article

If the Ravens are going to make the playoffs — a thought four months ago that some might have considered absurd — they are likely going to have to win most if not all of their remaining four games. Among them is a showdown against the surging Green Bay Packers. That Week 17 game at Lambeau Field will take place on Saturday, Dec. 27 at 8 p.m., it was announced on Wednesday. The game will be exclusively streamed on Peacock with Noah Eagle (play-by-play), Todd Blackledge (analyst) and Kathryn Tappen (sideline reporter) on the call. It will be broadcast locally on NBC (WBAL). The time and date of the game, along with a handful of others, had not been previously released by the league to allow for flexible scheduling of contests with the most compelling matchups with playoff implications. It will also be Jackson’s first game at Lambeau. That maiden visit also comes at a critical time. The Packers (9-3-1) have won four straight and have a slim lead over the Chicago Bears in the NFC North. Baltimore (6-7) has dropped two in a row, is a game back of the AFC North-leading Pittsburgh Steelers and travels to Cincinnati to face the Bengals and quarterback Joe Burrow on Sunday. A loss to the Bengals, who beat the Ravens just two weeks ago on Thanksgiving night in Baltimore, would be a significant blow to the Ravens’ playoff chances. It’s also feasible that they could be out of it entirely by the time they get to Wisconsin, though much of that of course depends on the Steelers. Baltimore’s most likely path to the postseason is as division champs, and the Steelers will play the Ravens in Pittsburgh in Week 18. Related Articles Ravens QB Lamar Jackson absent from another midweek practice Army-Navy Game arrives in Baltimore with Ravens who lived its stakes Ravens film study: Missed opportunities hurt Lamar Jackson in Steelers loss Watch Episode 15 of the BMore Football Podcast with The Baltimore Sun’s Mike Preston and Jerry Coleman presented by Rice Law The Ravens can still make the NFL playoffs. Here’s the path. Whatever happens between now and then, it will mark the Ravens’ first game at Lambeau since November 2017. Baltimore won, 23-0, against Packers backup quarterback Brett Hundley on the strength of the five turnovers it forced along with Joe Flacco throwing for 183 yards and one touchdown with one interception. The Ravens’ most recent game against the Packers, however, was in December 2021 when then-Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdown passes in a 31-30 victory at M&T Bank Stadium that clinched a division title for the Packers. Jackson did not play in that game because of a sprained ankle, while Tyler Huntley nearly lead the Ravens back from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit with an 8-yard touchdown run with 42 seconds remaining before his 2-point conversion pass fell incomplete. That loss was the third of what ended up being six straight for the Ravens. It was also the last time they failed to make the playoffs. Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article

The Ravens’ season has been a roller coaster of emotions and thought exercises. A 1-5 start followed by five straight wins and then two straight losses for a team once thought to be a Super Bowl contender will do that. An NFL season lasts but only so long, though. Each of the past two weeks, players have talked about that particular game being a “must-win” or having a “playoff” feel. Then they went out and botched both, first with five turnovers in a Thanksgiving night debacle against the Cincinnati Bengals then with an offensive and defensive meltdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. All of it has brought Baltimore to its current conundrum and chilly reality. With only four games remaining, the Ravens are a game back of the AFC North-leading Steelers and could very well have to win out in order to capture the division title, which is almost certainly their only path to the postseason. So now what about this week’s rematch with the Bengals being a must-win? All of it got Ravens safety and the team’s most introspective thinker probing a new approach as he laid awake in bed. Kyle Hamilton then invoked a string of recent champions in a variety of sports and went off on an aside during lunch. “Our perspective changes every time we win or lose a game,” he said Wednesday. “I’m probably gonna go off on a tangent here a little bit. “I was thinking just about all the sports and champions I’ve seen recently and how they got there, and it kind of put things in perspective for me.” He then invoked the near-fall and rise of some of the all-time greats. First, he brought up Carlos Alcaraz, who was down three match points to Jannik Sinner in the fourth set of this year’s French Open final before rallying to force a fifth set and eventual five-plus hour victory for a second straight title at Roland Garros. Then he pointed to Rory McIlroy missing a pair of short par putts to lose last year’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst and a putt on the 72nd hole of this year’s Masters before winning in a playoff for his first Green Jacket to complete the career Grand Slam. Also on the list were Max Verstappen, who looked like he wouldn’t even finish in the top 3 or 4 of F1’s championship and now has a chance to win the title, and LeBron James, whose Cleveland Cavaliers rallied from a 3-1 NBA Finals deficit against the Golden State Warriors to win the 2016 title. “It never really is this Cinderella, fairy-tale season that it’s gonna be,” Hamilton said, noting each of the victor’s tribulations along the way. “The Patriots won all those games [in 2007] and lost in the Super Bowl and nobody really cares about the undefeated record up until that point. “It’s not about how you get there. It’s just a matter of you getting there.” Of course getting there could be Baltimore’s primary problem. Especially for a defense that ranks 22nd in points (24.6) and 25th in yards (349.3) per game and is coming off giving up a season-high 284 passing yards to 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers and what up until last week had been a largely listless offense. Instead, Baltimore’s once league-best defense that is largely intact from two years ago has this season been a welcome antidote for opponents’ ailments. Offensively, things have been even more stunning. Quarterback Lamar Jackson, who missed another Wednesday practice this week, has gone five straight without topping 58.6% passing. He also hasn’t been the same dynamic and explosive threat with his legs, averaging a career-low 30.7 yards rushing and 5.2 yards per carry, his lowest mark since his rookie year. The offensive line has been below average and consequently so have the Ravens, who rank 19th in yards (325.9) and 13th in points (23.9) per game. “We’re still not playing our best football by any means,” tight end Mark Andrews said Wednesday. “The type of games we’re playing in are winnable games. We’re very close to doing our thing and we have so much talent, it’s just about coming together, doing our job, offense scoring points, defense balling out and special teams doing their job.” Andrews also dismissed the notion that Baltimore’s offense is still searching for its identity. “Throughout the games there’s been mistakes,” he said. “It’s everybody. I think we just clean those up and good things are gonna happen. At times I think we’re moving the ball really, really well. “I think we haven’t played our best ball, and that’s gonna come.” Related Articles Ravens QB Lamar Jackson absent from another midweek practice Army-Navy Game arrives in Baltimore with Ravens who lived its stakes Ravens film study: Missed opportunities hurt Lamar Jackson in Steelers loss Watch Episode 15 of the BMore Football Podcast with The Baltimore Sun’s Mike Preston and Jerry Coleman presented by Rice Law The Ravens can still make the NFL playoffs. Here’s the path. Time is running out, though. Still, Hamilton believes they can turn things around, the way Alcaraz, McIlroy, Verstappen and James did. “I think the mindset we have to have is kind of like that,” he said. “All these great sports feats have come with challenge and we could be another story along that road. “That’s kind of the mindset I feel like we’ve taken upon ourselves right now. It’s kind of the mindset we need to have, have to have to have in order to get where we want to go. It’s gonna be a heck of a story, as we were telling ourselves.” Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article

This has become the norm in Owings Mills: Lamar Jackson did not practice Wednesday for the Ravens. The two-time NFL Most Valuable Player and superstar quarterback has popped up on the injury report each week for the past five with various lower-body injuries. At one point, Jackson acknowledged he might regularly forgo one midweek practice. “There’s no science to it,” coach John Harbaugh said earlier this week. “You want to have everybody practicing every day; that’s your goal as a coach, but it’s a long season. These guys go through a lot; Lamar as much as anybody.” Jackson’s status for Sunday’s game in Cincinnati will become clearer later this week. In a loss to the Steelers on Sunday, which dropped Baltimore to 6-7, Jackson threw for 219 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Harbaugh thought he looked more nimble in the win. Jackson thought so, too. Cornerback Chidobe Awuzie was the only other player absent on a gloomy Wednesday afternoon. This article will be updated. Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn.x.com. Related Articles Army-Navy Game arrives in Baltimore with Ravens who lived its stakes Ravens film study: Missed opportunities hurt Lamar Jackson in Steelers loss Watch Episode 15 of the BMore Football Podcast with The Baltimore Sun’s Mike Preston and Jerry Coleman presented by Rice Law The Ravens can still make the NFL playoffs. Here’s the path. Ravens’ John Harbaugh laments poor 4th-quarter execution in Steelers loss View the full article

The storied Army–Navy Game is returning to Baltimore this weekend, and for Ravens safety Alohi Gilman, it brings back the one moment he would do anything to feel again. “If I could go back and relive just one more [game], that would probably be it,” Gilman recently told The Baltimore Sun. Gilman is one of two current Ravens who’ve experienced the rivalry from the inside. His path ran through the Naval Academy. Rookie fullback Lucas Scott came from the other sideline at Army. Their college careers never intersected, but their journeys at the respective service academies, including their involvement in the rivalry, helped shape them in similar ways. With one of college football’s most historic traditions arriving Saturday afternoon at M&T Bank Stadium, those memories come rushing back for a couple of alumni, who now occupy stalls inside the home locker room of the city’s professional football team. Gilman, 28, and Scott, 22, understand the weight and pressure that comes with playing in the 126th edition of the iconic rivalry. Both players know how much Saturday will mean to the players on the field and to the thousands who served the country after participating in the mid-December tradition. They also know how quickly a full season’s work can suddenly turn into either immense pride or unforgettable heartbreak. Gilman learned just that during his lone season as a freshman in 2016, when Army halted Navy’s 14-year win streak. The defensive back recorded eight tackles in the 21-17 upset loss. Afterward, he witnessed something he had never seen before. “Guys were crying,” Gilman said. “My teammates, legit crying. It meant that much. It’s an amazing rivalry. It’s special to be part of.” Gilman grew up in La’ie on the North Shore of O’ahu. He committed to Navy, mainly because former coach Ken Niumatalolo also hailed from the same town in Hawaii. As a freshman, Gilman played in all 14 games, earned All-American Athletic Conference honorable mention and finished second on the team with 76 tackles. Thousands of miles away from home, he felt he had found a path that fit both his identity and career goals. Months later, the rules and regulations changed. A Department of Defense decision during the Donald Trump administration required service academy athletes to fulfill a minimum two-year military commitment before pursuing professional sports. Trump will be in attendance Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium. “It was a tough decision,” Gilman said of leaving Navy. “They changed the rule after I got there that if I wanted to go pro, I had to serve first. Which is different from when I first got there, guys had an opportunity to go pro.” Gilman transferred to Notre Dame, where he recorded 168 tackles over two seasons and served as a captain. He also formed a close bond in South Bend with fellow safety Kyle Hamilton that has carried into their time with the Ravens. Although his football journey took him away from Annapolis, Gilman will always cherish his time with the academy and his lone experience in the Army-Navy game. “There is a brotherhood that is built there that you carry for the rest of your life,” Gilman said. “You talk about rivalries, that was big-time, one of the best traditions in the sport.” Scott recalls those life-changing moments, too. Related Articles Ravens film study: Missed opportunities hurt Lamar Jackson in Steelers loss Watch Episode 15 of the BMore Football Podcast with The Baltimore Sun’s Mike Preston and Jerry Coleman presented by Rice Law The Ravens can still make the NFL playoffs. Here’s the path. Ravens’ John Harbaugh laments poor 4th-quarter execution in Steelers loss Ravens-Patriots game Dec. 21 in Baltimore flexed to ‘Sunday Night Football’ He watched the game growing up, remembering it as the only college football matchup still on television after championship weekend. During his college recruitment, he specifically pointed to the Army-Navy as a sticking point, comparing the game with any other stage he might reach. “You are not playing in front of 70,000 to 100,000 people at a smaller school,” he said. “One of the reasons why I committed was to be able to play in that game. So much tradition and history. It definitely sways you. “I think it is the best game in college football. There is so much respect on each side, but also so much will and drive to want to beat each other.” Army went 2-2 against Navy in Scott’s four years at West Point. In 2022, Army won the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy by beating both Air Force and Navy. The Black Knights did not play in a bowl game that year, so those victories represented their season’s punctuation mark. “Beating Navy was an awesome way to send off the seniors,” Scott said. Ravens fullback Lucas Scott, right, goes through a drill during training camp. Scott played in four Army-Navy games during his college career. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) Last year’s memories aren’t so fond for Scott, a member of the Ravens’ practice squad. Army posted one of its best seasons in program history, but lost, 31-13, to Navy. The disappointment still lingers between Scott and his former teammates, a group of self-described ‘lifelong brothers,’ he hopes to reunite with this weekend. “That loss kind of felt like a big failure,” Scott said. “It’s an amazing game, it’s awesome that Baltimore is hosting it. Last year was obviously a heartbreak, especially with the season we had, to go out there and lose like that. “But it’s an amazing game, it definitely plays a role in why people commit to Army or Navy or Air Force, it’s to serve and play on that beautiful stage. Just so much tradition and history involved, it definitely sways you. It’s awesome to be part of.” Scott’s versatility as a former offensive lineman and tight end helped him land in Baltimore, where he has been learning under five-time Pro Bowl fullback Patrick Ricard. Scott’s coach at Army, Jeff Monken, also is the cousin of Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken. Like Gilman, Scott pointed to the strong sense of brotherhood that is established as athletes at service academies. “The best of friends I have ever met came from Army,” he said. “They will be there for me the rest of my life. They are like family to me.” Navy (9-2, 7-1 American Athletic Conference) leads the all-time series 63–55–7, although Army (6-5, 4-4) has won six of the last nine meetings. Recent history, though, shows records don’t mean much at all. The pageantry, tradition and competitiveness attached to Army-Navy reigns. Gilman and Scott continue to carry their respective memories into every day they spend as teammates. Have a news tip? Contact Josh Tolentino at jtolentino@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200, x.com/JCTSports and instagram.com/JCTSports. View the full article

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson dropped back to pass, had Mark Andrews wide-open in the left flat for a critical first down late in the game and instead passed over the middle to DeAndre Hopkins short of the sticks. Watching from his couch, Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback and Super Bowl 34 Most Valuable Player Kurt Warner noted that had Jackson had a better “pressure plan” to handle the blitz and gotten the ball to the tight end, it was “game over.” That was 14 weeks ago in a crushing season-opening one-point loss to the Buffalo Bills. Yet, Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium, many of the same missed opportunities plagued Jackson and Baltimore again, this time in a critical AFC North defeat at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers as much as the right hand of the two-time NFL Most Valuable Player, among some shoddy officiating and a multitude of miscues by others. The Ravens are just a game back in the division and can assure themselves of a third-straight division title and playoff spot by winning their remaining four games, but the common threads between that Week 1 collapse and their most recent outing are as astonishing as they are pernicious. The tape, as coaches often say, doesn’t lie. What the NFL’s All-22 film revealed Being compared to second-year Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy is not a compliment. That’s who ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky invoked, though, while also calling many of Jackson’s misfires against the Steelers “egregious” during an appearance on the “Pat McAfee Show” this week. While Jackson was almost entirely brilliant in that Bills game — despite his decision on the Ravens’ final offensive play — he has been anything but for most of the season and especially lately. In his past five games, Jackson has failed to reach a 60% completion rate, the longest such stretch of his career. He also went three straight without producing a touchdown for the first time before breaking that skid with a passing touchdown and a score on the ground against Pittsburgh. Still, as Orlovsky said, Jackson is getting caught from behind more than he ever has before and Baltimore’s offense looks “broken.” There were plenty of examples. Final series of the game: Trailing by 5 points with 1:56 remaining, the Ravens took over at their own 26-yard line with one time out. Then it took 57 seconds to run two plays. On the game’s final play, Jackson was sacked from behind by linebacker Alex Highsmith. “It wasn’t good enough,” coach John Harbaugh said of the operation. “I’ll just leave it at that. Suffice to say that we have to be better in those situations. “We weren’t in the right spot all the time. We had to flip a formation one time, basically, the one time that the clock was running on us; we had to change the side that we were aligned on.” Second-to-last possession: On a fourth-and-5 from the Steelers’ 8 with 2:28 remaining, receiver DeAndre Hopkins flashed open in the back of the end zone. Jackson, avoiding the rush, threw over the middle, but Andrews, well-covered on the crossing route, couldn’t haul it in the pass, which was also tipped slightly. Who the pass was intended for, though, is unclear. Harbaugh said Monday that he hadn’t yet talked to Jackson about the play and said he wasn’t sure who he was trying to throw to. First quarter: On the fifth play of the game, Flowers raced down the right sideline and got behind safety and former Raven Chuck Clark. Jackson hit him for a 31-yard gain. But the ball had drifted too far toward the sideline — perhaps from a breeze and/or bad footwork — and Flowers had to contort his body to make an over-the-shoulder catch. A few plays later, Flowers had to slow down to try to catch an end zone fade on third down that was consequently broken up by cornerback Brandin Echols. On Baltimore’s second possession, Jackson scrambled up the middle before sliding for a 4-yard gain. He has said often in the past he doesn’t like to slide and often hasn’t. That hasn’t always been the case lately, though, and had the quarterback, who has dealt with hamstring, knee, ankle and toe injuries, stayed on his feet, there was a sizable opening ahead and to his right. Of course, later in the quarter, Echols raced around the massive Faalele and easily sacked Jackson. Related Articles Watch Episode 15 of the BMore Football Podcast with The Baltimore Sun’s Mike Preston and Jerry Coleman presented by Rice Law The Ravens can still make the NFL playoffs. Here’s the path. Ravens’ John Harbaugh laments poor 4th-quarter execution in Steelers loss Ravens-Patriots game Dec. 21 in Baltimore flexed to ‘Sunday Night Football’ NFL admits to blown call in Ravens loss, but Harbaugh still unsatisfied Other throws that were badly off-target in the opening quarter included a rollout to the right in which Flowers was open and Jackson again threw erratically to the sideline and incomplete as well as a crossing route late in the quarter that Jackson was incomplete on with the ball behind Flowers. Still, the belief in the building is that the Ravens can turn things around. “He is Lamar Jackson, and he is that great of a player,” Andrews said last week. “So, [I have] full confidence in him, always and forever.” Jackson is also aware of what little margin for error remains. “I feel like each and every week there’s no room for error,” he said. “You just have to lock in and put it all on the line.” Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article

Episode 15 of the BMore Football Podcast with The Baltimore Sun’s Mike Preston and Jerry Coleman presented by Rice Law is here. Preston and Coleman discuss the Ravens’ disappointing 27-22 loss to the Steelers to fall into second place in the AFC North. You can watch it weekly, posting every Tuesday during the NFL season on YouTube and The Baltimore Sun, and listen on Spotify, Apple, Amazon and iHeart. Have a news tip? Contact Mike Preston at epreston@baltsun.com, 410-332-6467 and x.com/MikePrestonSun. View the full article

So, you’re saying there’s a chance? It didn’t feel that way Sunday afternoon inside the home locker room at M&T Bank Stadium. Lamar Jackson’s face flushed from the agony of defeat. His teammates couldn’t believe what had transpired. Most fled the scene rather quickly after the Ravens’ 27-22 loss to the Steelers. But with four games left, one game back in the AFC North, coach John Harbaugh was quick to remind them, “the season is not over.” Baltimore still controls its own destiny. Those margins, however, are slim. The cleanest playoff push requires the Ravens win each of their final four games: at Cincinnati, home versus the Patriots, at Green Bay, then a shot at vengeance in Pittsburgh. It’s been weeks of chatter treating each game like it was a playoff game. They’ve essentially reached survive and advance territory. After losing to the Steelers, Baltimore’s playoff odds dropped from 60.9% to 28.9%, per ESPN. The New York Times playoff simulator sank its chances from 64% to 27%. After Sunday’s loss, the message in the locker room was simple: “We just need to win some games. That’s kind of it,” cornerback Marlon Humphrey said. If the Ravens beat the Bengals next week and the Steelers in Week 18, they can afford to drop one, either versus the Packers or Patriots. But they would need some help in the form of a Steelers loss to one of the Dolphins, Lions or Browns this month. If the Ravens beat the Bengals next week and the Steelers in Week 18, but lose to the Packers and Patriots, they can still sneak through the back door of the playoffs. Pittsburgh would need to lose two of their next three in a relatively soft schedule. What if the Steelers completely implode? Based on what we saw Sunday – Aaron Rodgers throwing for 284 yards and a touchdown and wide receiver DK Metcalf torching a respectable defense for 148 yards on seven catches – that’s unlikely. Although not impossible considering they ended last year on a four-game skid. As of now, the Steelers have a 70% shot to clinch a spot in the postseason, per The Times. But if the Browns and quarterback Shedeur Sanders beat the Steelers, or the Steelers lose both games after that, the Ravens can afford to lose in Cincinnati. If that’s the case, they Ravens need to win out in the final three games. Are you following? If it were up to the Ravens, they’d simplify all this by winning the games in front of them. “I really am not trying to think about the playoffs,” running back Derrick Henry said. “Finish the season strong, and then see where we land.” Related Articles Watch Episode 15 of the BMore Football Podcast with The Baltimore Sun’s Mike Preston and Jerry Coleman presented by Rice Law Ravens’ John Harbaugh laments poor 4th-quarter execution in Steelers loss Ravens-Patriots game Dec. 21 in Baltimore flexed to ‘Sunday Night Football’ NFL admits to blown call in Ravens loss, but Harbaugh still unsatisfied Ravens OL Ben Cleveland suspended 3 games by NFL after pleading guilty to DUI If Baltimore beats the Bengals, Packers and Patriots, and the Steelers drop each of their next three, Week 18 loses its punch. The Ravens will have earned a third straight AFC North title before ringing in the new year. Any scenario for the Ravens making the playoffs at seven or eight wins requires a Pittsburgh collapse and more help from the rest of the division. Cincinnati finishes their season at Miami, then hosting the Cardinals and Browns. But the Bengals are playing better than either of the two division leaders. It would take a lot. But the Ravens do, technically, still have a chance. Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn. View the full article

Despite the string of officiating snafus, fair and not, that complicated the Ravens’ comeback chances Sunday afternoon, they still had a shot. Two shots, in fact, to spin a game-winning drive in their 27-22 loss to the Steelers. Both came up empty in a stretch that coach John Harbaugh said, “wasn’t good enough. Just leave it at that.” Baltimore took over possession with five minutes, 41 seconds left in the fourth quarter. A 19-yard Derrick Henry rush and 33-yard pass to Zay Flowers did most of the dirty work getting upfield. Then Isaiah Likely’s go-ahead touchdown catch was ruled incomplete after official review. Two plays later, the Ravens sat five yards from the end zone. It was third-and-2. Confusion ensued on a crucial short-yardage situation. Jackson flipped the play at the line of scrimmage. Henry jumped from the right side of his quarterback to his left. There appeared to be some exchange with center Tyler Linderbaum as the play clock wound down to its final ticks. Flowers was sent in motion, Henry took a handoff and was stuffed three yards back. Officials flagged left guard Andrew Vorhees for illegal formation. The whole try was thwarted by a self-inflicted mishap. “It’s crazy that that happened,” Harbaugh said. The longtime coach said postgame he considered using a timeout; he still had all three in his pocket. A day later, Harbaugh was more definitive that if he were given a re-do, he would have called off the play. There was some miscommunication between offensive coordinator Todd Monken and quarterback Lamar Jackson, according to Harbaugh. “We got to take responsibility for that on the coaching side,” he said. “I’ll take responsibility for that one. Shouldn’t happen.” The Ravens were pushed back to a fourth-and-5. Jackson threw an incomplete pass that deflected off Mark Andrews’ hand in the end zone and the drive was nullified. Likely’s overturned touchdown will haunt lowlight reels. But letting that third-and-2 crumble became one of the night’s most underrated missed opportunities. Baltimore finished the night two of six in the red zone. At 44.90%, the Ravens now own the third worst red zone scoring percentage in the NFL. The offense, as it has for the better part of this season, looked out of sync a stone’s throw from scoring. Why? “I don’t know at this point,” wide receiver Rashod Bateman said. And still, they had one more shot Sunday afternoon. Pittsburgh’s three-and-out near the 2-minute mark, their third in as many fourth quarter drives, gifted the Ravens one minute, 56 seconds to save their season. Sloppy football burned the next minute, leaving the Ravens stuck at their own 26-yard line. Penalties and a lack of obvious urgency hurt their chances down the stretch. They inched toward the red zone with nine seconds left ready for a shot to win it. Jackson dropped back 12 yards behind the line of scrimmage, Alex Highsmith took a wide angle around the pocket and chased him down for a game-winning sack. Related Articles Ravens-Patriots game Dec. 21 in Baltimore flexed to ‘Sunday Night Football’ NFL admits to blown call in Ravens loss, but Harbaugh still unsatisfied Ravens OL Ben Cleveland suspended 3 games by NFL after pleading guilty to DUI 5 things we learned from the Ravens’ 27-22 loss to the Steelers Mike Preston: Ravens could learn something from Aaron Rodgers | COMMENTARY “Divisional game that just came down to the last second and the last minute,” Jackson said after the game. “we have to finish and find a way to put some points on the board. They beat us by 5 points. We have to find a way to get a touchdown on that last drive.” Failure to execute down the stretch made the difference between sole possession of first place in the AFC North and what is now a 6-7 record heading into Cincinnati with their season on life support. “Suffice to say,” Harbaugh said, “we have to be better in those situations.” Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn. View the full article

The Ravens’ Dec. 21 game against the New England Patriots at M&T Bank Stadium has been moved from 1 p.m. to “Sunday Night Football” on NBC, it was announced on Monday evening. It takes the place of the Cincinnati Bengals’ game at the Miami Dolphins, which will now be played that Sunday at 1 p.m. on CBS. With the Bengals dropping to 4-9 after Sunday’s loss to the Buffalo Bills and needing to run the table to even have a chance to make the playoffs, the Ravens-Patriots game is much more compelling, with two-time NFL Most Valuable Player and quarterback Lamar Jackson going against MVP candidate Drake Maye in a matchup between one team just hoping to get into the playoffs and the other vying for the top seed in the conference. ​​The game will be the first between the two rivals who at one time took turns vying for conference supremacy. They have met just four times since 2016. Each team has won twice, with the Ravens winning their most recent contest, 37-26, at Gillette Stadium in September 2022. The Ravens also won their most recent meeting in Baltimore, 37-20, in 2019. The Ravens (6-7), who will play in Cincinnati on Sunday, are looking to bounce back after a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday that dropped them a game behind the AFC North-leading Steelers. The Patriots (11-2) are coming off a win over the New York Giants last week and are tied for the best record in the AFC. Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article

A day after the Ravens suffered a crushing defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium, the NFL admitted that it got wrong one of three controversial calls that went against Baltimore. In the second quarter, defensive tackle Travis Jones was flagged for unnecessary roughness on long snapper Christian Kuntz as he charged through the gap during a Chris Boswell field goal. It was ruled that the contact rose to being unnecessary against a defenseless player and that any forcible contact can’t be made, referee Alex Moore explained in a pool report after the game. But that was incorrect, the league said in a call on Monday initiated by coach John Harbaugh, Ravens assistant and former NFL referee Tony Michalek and general manager Eric DeCosta. “They told me I had permission to state this, that it was a wrong call,” Harbaugh said of the call with NFL rules analyst and club communications liaison Walt Anderson and senior vice president of officiating administration Perry Fewell. “It should not have been called. “It has to be forcible conduct with the head and neck area. That’s the rule. It’s not forcible contact with a defenseless player. It’s not whether you run a player over, trying to block a field goal. That has nothing to do with it. It’s forcible contact to the head and neck area.” The Steelers accepted the penalty, took the field goal off the board and scored a touchdown on the next play to take a 17-3 lead and went on to win 27-22. The final tally was also impacted by an apparent Isaiah Likely touchdown that would have put the Ravens in front with just under three minutes remaining in the game that was overturned by replay. The tight end hauled in a 13-yard pass from quarterback Lamar Jackson in the end zone, landed on his right foot, took another step with his left and then just before taking a third step had the ball stripped out of his extended hands by cornerback Joey Porter. Likely had the ball extended throughout the catch but the ball squirted from his grasp after taking two steps but not a third and a touchdown was called. NFL vice president of instant replay Mark Butterworth said in the pool report that Likely obtained control and had both feet in bounds but did not have an “act common to the game” proceeding it, which would have been getting a third step down. Less than 24 hours later, Harbaugh was still not satisfied with the ruling or explanation. “Am I comfortable? No,” he said. “Do I think it needs more clarification? Yeah. It’s about as clear as mud right now. That’s how I feel about it. “It didn’t clear anything up, it didn’t make it any easier to understand either one of the two calls. They’re very, very hard to understand how they get overturned. But they did, and that’s where it stands.” Asked if he thought the overturned touchdown cost the Ravens the game, he said, “You never know what costs you a game.” The other call Harbaugh was referring to was when quarterback Aaron Rodgers appeared to have a batted pass intercepted at the line of scrimmage by linebacker Teddye Buchanan at Pittsburgh’s 32-yard line with 7:01 remaining in the game and Baltimore trailing 27-22. Initially, it was ruled that Buchanan had possession of the ball as he pulled it from the quarterback’s grasp with the two men falling to the ground. But replay overturned the call, ruling that Rodgers was down with possession of the ball. “The offensive player had control of the ball as he was going to the ground,” Butterworth said. “There was a hand in there, but he never lost control of the ball and then his knees hit the ground.” Related Articles Ravens’ John Harbaugh laments poor 4th-quarter execution in Steelers loss Ravens-Patriots game Dec. 21 in Baltimore flexed to ‘Sunday Night Football’ Ravens OL Ben Cleveland suspended 3 games by NFL after pleading guilty to DUI 5 things we learned from the Ravens’ 27-22 loss to the Steelers Mike Preston: Ravens could learn something from Aaron Rodgers | COMMENTARY When Harbaugh was asked if he questioned why the Likely play was ruled not a catch but that Rodgers play was ruled one, he said that was part of the conversation with the league. “You’re going to the ground, you have to have control of the football, you have to survive the ground when you make a catch,” he said Monday. “I mean, that’s what a catch is. You can’t say the time element’s like that and he satisfies the time element when you’re going to the ground. The time element doesn’t apply to going to the ground. It’s pretty clear cut.” While there also wasn’t much solace in the explanations, Harbaugh stopped short of blaming the calls on the outcome. He also pointed to a number of other shortcomings by the Ravens, from its lackluster final drive inside the last two minutes of the game to two blown defensive assignments on a touchdown pass to running back Jaylen Warren that ended up being the decisive score, among others. “We move on,” Harbaugh said. “It’s our job to make it right. You’re not going to expect everything to go your way. “If we become the type of team that overcomes these types of things then you become the type of team that can go far.” At 6-7 and a game back of the Steelers in the AFC North with just four remaining, however, time is running out on just how far they can go. The Ravens, who have won the division each of the past two years and haven’t missed the playoffs since 2021, have just a 27% chance of reaching the postseason, according to the New York Times/The Athletic playoff simulator. The most likely scenario would be by winning the AFC North, with a less-than 1% chance to make it as a wild-card team. Baltimore will next play the Bengals in Cincinnati on Sunday. Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely watches the football escape his grasp in a 27-22 loss to the Steelers. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) View the full article

Ravens offensive lineman Ben Cleveland has been suspended for three games by the NFL for violating the league’s Substances of Abuse Policy, it was announced Monday night. Cleveland, 27, was arrested in Georgia in February on suspicion of driving under the influence, with a breathalyzer showing a blood alcohol level of 0.178, more than double the legal limit. Last month, he pleaded guilty to one count of DUI and was sentenced to 12 months’ probation, according to court documents. He was also ordered 40 hours of community service to be completed within six months of sentencing, not to consume any alcoholic beverage or drugs unless prescribed, and to attend and complete a DUI risk reduction program and victim impact panel, according to the documents. Cleveland was also ordered to serve 24 hours in jail, but was credited for time served. A third-round pick out of Georgia in 2021, Cleveland has seen his playing time cut in recent years. He has appeared in 10 games this season, almost entirely on special teams. The Ravens did not respond to a message seeking comment. Cleveland was stopped at 10:25 p.m. on Feb. 12 in Milledgeville, about 90 miles southeast of Atlanta, after police observed his black Ford F-250 failing to maintain its lane, weave between the lines and nearly go into a ditch, according to the arrest report. The 6-foot-7, 315-pound lineman told police he had “approximately 3-4 beers” and was coming from a nearby country club but had not consumed any alcohol within two hours, the report said. However, he failed at least one field sobriety test and was issued a breathalyzer at the scene. He was then arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and failure to maintain his lane. Despite the arrest, Baltimore re-signed the veteran and former starter in March to a one-year deal worth $1.17 million shortly after he became a free agent. While the Ravens’ offensive line has struggled this season, Cleveland has not managed to get a foothold among the starting five or in the rotation. He has also been surpassed in the depth chart by third-round rookie Emery Jones Jr. Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. Related Articles Ravens’ John Harbaugh laments poor 4th-quarter execution in Steelers loss Ravens-Patriots game Dec. 21 in Baltimore flexed to ‘Sunday Night Football’ NFL admits to blown call in Ravens loss, but Harbaugh still unsatisfied 5 things we learned from the Ravens’ 27-22 loss to the Steelers Mike Preston: Ravens could learn something from Aaron Rodgers | COMMENTARY View the full article

The Ravens were left despondent in the aftermath of a 27-22 loss to the Steelers on Sunday, having let slip a winnable must-win game. Here are five things we learned from the AFC North showdown: Two feet down in the end zone sometimes isn’t enough To directly criticize a referee is (often) a nonstarter. Players and coaches know such scrutiny is subject to a fine. So they danced around answering for a controversial call that could define this season’s home stretch: Tight end Isaiah Likely caught the fourth-quarter go-ahead touchdown with under three minutes remaining — and officials overturned it. NFL vice president of instant replay Mark Butterman explained that Likely needed a third step in the end zone while maintaining control of the football. He told the pool reporter that Likely had his right then left foot down with control. “Then the third step,” Butterman explained, “is an act common to the game, and before he could get the third foot down, the ball was ripped out.” Officials disallowed the touchdown. It sucked the life out of M&T Bank Stadium, which burst with more pep than it had in weeks. Did the Ravens think it was a touchdown? There was a politician’s approach, masking confusion and frustration, in how they handled the most pressing question of the night. Coach John Harbaugh, when asked if he believed it was a clean play, said, “You know what, I believe a lot of things.” He made no other mention of Likely, pivoting to his understanding of a comparable rule for another call that favored Pittsburgh, which was Teddye Buchanan’s overturned interception minutes earlier. “They made a call,” Likely said, “and we have to live with what the referees say at the end of the day.” That sums up the response from much of the locker room. In some form or another, they all said, “It’s not my decision.” Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins waited until reporters cleared out to share his frustration on social media in a since-deleted post: “13 years in this league, how many steps do you need in the end zone for a TD?” That play might haunt the Ravens. It will be hotly debated in Baltimore bars for weeks to come. Images of Joey Porter Jr. popping the ball loose from Likely’s white gloves will circulate Ravens group chats until the end of time — much like his big toe from Week 1 in Kansas City last year, or more recently, his goal-line fumble last week. And yet, Likely’s overturned touchdown wasn’t the only referee ruling worthy of inquiry. In the second quarter, the Steelers lined up for a chip-shot field goal that would have made it a 10-point game. It was called back and Pittsburgh was awarded an automatic first down for unnecessary roughness against Ravens defensive tackle Travis Jones, who, according to referee Alex Moore, made contact with the snapper and “ran him over.” Related Articles Mike Preston: Ravens could learn something from Aaron Rodgers | COMMENTARY Josh Tolentino: A teary-eyed Lamar Jackson represents a Ravens season slipping away | COMMENTARY Ravens react to pair of controversial calls in 4th quarter of Steelers loss The Baltimore Sun’s Ravens report card: Grades for 27-22 loss to Steelers Ravens’ playoff hopes take crushing blow in 27-22 loss to Steelers Moore told the pool reporter afterward that “it does not necessarily matter who is contacted first,” the center or the left guard, but “the snapper is still by rule a defenseless player.” Thus, one official deemed Jones’ forcible contact unnecessary against a defenseless player. Jones neglected to criticize: “That’s above my pay grade,” he said. The Steelers moved up 15 yards and scored a touchdown the very next play. By the final quarter, the Ravens crawled back within striking distance. Pittsburgh led by six with about seven minutes remaining. Rodgers’ pass was batted down at the line of scrimmage. It landed somewhere between his arms and Buchanan’s. The rookie linebacker wrestled it loose. What was thought to be their first turnover of the day set the home sideline ablaze. Officials called it an interception until they watched it back. Butterworth explained the offense had “initial control of the ball and ended up being down by contact.” Nuances of NFL officiating are confusing. The rulebook, if printed out, would resemble an old phone book. Sunday taught the Ravens a few new wrinkles in the rules, but they learned the hard way. The Ravens have no more room for error Jackson sat hunched over in his locker. A white ski mask covered the better part of his head, leaving some breathing room for his eyes, which stared intently at nothing in front of him. Jackson had already changed out of his cleats and into slides. He wasn’t ready to take off the pads or jersey and concede this night over. Jackson later described his frustration to be “through the roof.” Harbaugh planted himself in the adjacent stall, leaning over to console his star quarterback. Those two were supposed to author what would have been the Ravens’ third Super Bowl in as many decades. Instead, they shared the far corner of the home locker room 14 weeks into the season and confronted collapse. What exactly was said, we’ll never know. Jackson revealed only that his coach encouraged him “to just stay locked in.” With Sunday’s loss, Baltimore’s playoff odds plummeted from what would have been 75% with a win, according to The New York Times’ simulator, to now 31%. ESPN has them even further out of contention. “Four games left,” Harbaugh said. “The season is not over.” Ravens coach John Harbaugh shakes hands with Steelers coach Mike Tomlin following an AFC North showdown in Baltimore. Pittsburgh prevailed, 22-17. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) The Ravens have a rematch with the Bengals next weekend in Cincinnati. They’ll head to Green Bay to face the playoff-bound Packers. Then the Patriots, who own the NFL’s best record, come to town before a season finale in Pittsburgh. It’s an uphill climb that complicates Baltimore’s road to a third straight AFC North title. The Ravens could ill afford to lose two of three straight divisional games. Against the Bengals on Thanksgiving, “it was turnovers” that lost them the game. Five, to be specific. “But this one here,” Jackson said, “I don’t know what happened.” They had a chance late. The Ravens reclaimed possession with two minutes left and one timeout at their own 26-yard line. Sixty-one seconds later, they were stuck in the same spot, having burnt the timeout. Both Harbaugh and Jackson used the word “chaotic” to describe the final drive. A few chunk plays pushed them to Pittsburgh’s 30-yard line. On the final play, eyes upfield toward the end zone, hoping for a miracle, Jackson scrambled. He’d already been sacked once. Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith took a wide angle and corralled Jackson before the buzzer. The clock hit triple zeros with the quarterback on his butt. “I feel like each and every week there’s no room for error,” Jackson said. Now more than ever. Jackson ended his drought. It still wasn’t enough. It had been three months since his last rushing score, Week 1 against Buffalo. Jackson had failed to score, with his legs or his arm, since Week 10 in Minnesota, which was a month ago. The two-time NFL Most Valuable Player’s snowballing struggles raised eyebrows about his health. That led to questions concerning Jackson’s ability to lead a playoff push. On Sunday, an imperfect performance offered some optimism. Jackson looked a bit more nimble than he has of late. There were designed runs. “I felt like I was moving pretty well,” he said. And fewer head-scratching throws compared to recent weeks. Harbaugh thought he “played really well.” Jackson threw for 219 yards with one touchdown and an interception. He also picked up 43 yards on seven carries. That second-quarter do-it-himself touchdown allowed Ravens fans everywhere, full of angst about their quarterback’s recent stretch, to sigh a bit of relief. A funny thing happened on the other side of halftime. The Ravens had the ball down in the red zone, which no longer guarantees points. Keaton Mitchell set them up nicely with a 55-yard rush. Three players later, Jackson dropped back to pass. Then he crept up near the line of scrimmage. A confident forward step forced Pittsburgh’s defense, specifically a spying linebacker Patrick Queen, to bite just a smidge. That opened a lane for Likely in the back of the end zone, where the tight end who didn’t just get paid a hefty extension caught his first touchdown of the year. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson used his legs well against the Steelers, but his efforts still weren't enough in a 27-22 loss. Jackson finished with 43 rushing yards and a score on seven carries. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) On a day the Ravens needed the offense to click, Jackson normally would have relied on his security blanket, Mark Andrews. Rather, it was Zay Flowers whom he went back to again and again. Flowers was targeted 11 times. He caught eight of them and dropped one, totaling 124 yards. That’s Flowers’ best outing since Week 1. Jackson thrice found him on a long ball for at least 30 yards. “It was what we’ve come to expect in how he plays,” Harbaugh. He’ll need to be even sharper moving forward. It’s the only thing that can keep this season from spiraling. Aaron Rodgers turns back time Rodgers hadn’t completed a downfield pass since Week 8. The 42-year-old quarterback either misfired or threw an interception every time he uncorked one with at least 20 yards of air distance. His backup, Mason Rudolph, failed, too. On Sunday, Pittsburgh’s drought ended rather quickly. DK Metcalf burned cornerback Marlon Humphrey up the right sideline on the offense’s first play. Rodgers caught him in stride for a 52-yard pickup on a drive that ended in Rodgers’ first rushing touchdown in two years. The old guy’s still got it — apparently. Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers runs into the end zone untouched against the Ravens in the first quarter of Pittsburgh's 27-22 win. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) Rodgers targeted Metcalf 12 times. The 27-year-old, two-time Pro Bowl selection caught seven (three deep balls) for 148 yards. That’s the best outing any receiver has had against Baltimore’s secondary so far this season. In all, Rodgers threw for 284 yards. Baltimore’s secondary had its share of highlights. Humphrey got Metcalf back with a pair of crucial pass breakups, one in the end zone and another on third down in the game’s waning minutes. But the Ravens’ defensive backs, who have locked down respectable pass attempts in recent weeks and arrived Sunday at full strength, got picked apart by Rodgers. The Steelers knew this game had do-or-die implications, too. And they ended Baltimore’s run of seven straight games forcing a turnover. “We knew what was on the line today,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “That’s why you go do business with a guy like Aaron. Thick days, like today, he’s a been there, done that guy. Beyond the experience component of it, he relishes it. You can just tell. That’s the benefit of having a guy like him.” ‘The AFC North is the mid division’ One team has to make the playoffs. Thems the rules. So here’s a question worth chewing on: Through 14 weeks, which team — Ravens, Steelers, Bengals or Browns — looks best equipped to make the playoffs? And which looks most ready to win a playoff game? They’re probably different answers. The former now appears to be the Steelers, who stole sole possession of first place in the AFC North with four games left on the schedule. The latter is up for debate, but just might be the Bengals, whose odds to reach the postseason are seemingly out of reach. By that logic, the team representing the hardened AFC North, a division that prides itself on toughness and sustained success, described by Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton as “the purest form of football,” might be represented by a team with single-digit wins. Before Sunday, none of the four were above .500. Now, the Steelers are 7-6. The Ravens are below .500. The 4-9 Bengals lost a shootout in snowy Orchard Park, New York, against the Bills, letting slip their last chance at a miracle climb up the standings. And the Browns are the Browns (3-10). “It’s weird,” Humphrey said last week. “Maybe I’m on ESPN a little too much, and I guess the AFC North is the mid division. I think that’s not normal, but it is two teams that literally can control their own narrative.” Much of this season’s home stretch consists of the four teams duking it out. The Ravens will see Cincinnati and Pittsburgh once more each. Both the Steelers and Bengals have another game against the Browns. Amidst the handshake line after the final whistle on Sunday, CBS cameras followed Tomlin. The Steelers coach blew a fat kiss to the camera. It was reported before kickoff that the Steelers won’t fire Tomlin no matter how this season ends. It’s never a good sign when that has to be verbalized. Still, it’s his team, which hadn’t won a road game since September, that now has the leg up in the North. Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn. View the full article

As Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers walked off the field, he was embraced with a hug from coach Mike Tomlin. It was a touching moment, symbolic of Pittsburgh’s hard-fought 27-22 victory against the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. The victory gave the Steelers (7-6) a one-game lead over Baltimore (6-7) in the AFC North, but more importantly, it showed why Tomlin and the organization signed Rogers to a one-year, $13.65 million contract during the offseason. After several recent failures in the postseason, Pittsburgh needed to figure out how to win, and Rodgers led the way Sunday. He completed 23 of 34 passes for 284 yards and one for a touchdown and then ran for another score, a 1-yard scamper on a great play fake midway through the first quarter. This wasn’t all about his performance, but his snarky attitude. After the Steelers lost to Buffalo last week, Rodgers had all the receivers over and talked to them about making adjustments and corrections. Rodgers, who turned 42 on Tuesday, always has to prove that he is the smartest guy in the room. When it comes to football, he just might be. Are you listening, Lamar Jackson? When asked about the win Sunday, Rodgers replied to the media: “It means maybe you guys will shut the hell up for the week.” Typical Rodgers. He screamed at running back Kenneth Gainwell when he didn’t stop and Rodgers misfired on a 10-yard pass that resulted in a 28-yard field goal by Chris Boswell in the third quarter. He complained to officials about a pass that they ruled was intercepted by Ravens rookie linebacker Teddye Buchanan in the fourth quarter before being overturned on replay review as a catch by Rodgers on the deflection. At one point, Rodgers just strolled back on the field to take possession. “I did,” Tomlin said of seeing Rodgers taking control. “But again, we knew what was on the line today. That’s why do we business with a guy like Aaron. Thick days, like today, he’s been there, done that. Beyond the experience of it, he relishes it.” It was absolutely brilliant, but that’s also what separates Rodgers from other quarterbacks as he eventually heads into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. He oozes with confidence, and he isn’t afraid to call out his teammates. Tight end Isaiah Likely caught what was initially ruled a 13-yard touchdown pass from Jackson with 2:47 left in the game that might have sealed the win for Baltimore. Likely appeared to take three steps, but he didn’t tuck the ball away before it was broken up, and it was ruled incomplete on replay. I could see Rodgers giving Likely an earful, especially after he had a similar fumble on the goal line against Cincinnati on Thanksgiving night. That’s what great quarterbacks do. They don’t care, and it’s their team. Rodgers was in full control Sunday. Not only did he work the officials, but he also chewed out his offensive linemen when he got hit. It didn’t faze him. At one point, he was jawing with Ravens coach John Harbaugh after Harbaugh called a timeout in the first half. That’s leadership, and the Steelers seemed unfazed. It probably got some of them pumped up playing against their top contender in the division. As for Rodgers play, he was pretty impressive, the best I’ve seen him in recent weeks. The Steelers rolled him to his right several times. When the Ravens got pressure on Rodgers, he escaped, much like he did when he was the starting quarterback in Green Bay after backing up Brett Favre for the first three years of his career. Related Articles Josh Tolentino: A teary-eyed Lamar Jackson represents a Ravens season slipping away | COMMENTARY Ravens react to pair of controversial calls in 4th quarter of Steelers loss The Baltimore Sun’s Ravens report card: Grades for 27-22 loss to Steelers Ravens’ playoff hopes take crushing blow in 27-22 loss to Steelers Instant analysis from Ravens’ 27-22 loss to Steelers in Week 14 Rodgers was expected to throw a lot of short passes against the Ravens, but he had completions of 52, 38 and 31 yards. Also, can the Ravens please find someone to fill in for cornerback Marlon Humphrey when he has to play on the outside? Receiver DK Metcalf had seven caches for 148 yards, averaging 21.1 yards per reception. Meanwhile, Rodgers controlled the game, yapping, growling, consoling and at times cussing out folks. It was a great day, and he continues to cap off a Hall of Fame career that includes a Super Bowl title and four NFL Most Valuable Player Awards. He seems to be in the right place at the right time. Unfortunately, it’s Pittsburgh. “I think we were in an aggressive posture all day,” Tomlin said. “I just think that’s how we got out of bed this morning. That’s what is required when you’re playing these guys in their venue.” Have a news tip? Contact Mike Preston at epreston@baltsun.com, 410-332-6467 and x.com/MikePrestonSun. View the full article