ExtremeRavens

For much of this season, the prevailing opinion around the NFL was that the Ravens were perhaps best suited to unseat the two-time reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. After Sunday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore might have a much bumpier path to the promised land. As coach John Harbaugh often says, “it’s a week-to-week league.” The tide can turn quickly in a tightly contested AFC. But the 7-4 Ravens — the only current wild-card team with multiple losses to teams with losing records, two of which are now 2-8 — are now two games back of the Steelers (8-2) in the AFC North, tight-roping a sixth-place wild-card spot. If the season ended today, Baltimore would travel back to Pittsburgh for the wild-card round. Should quarterback Lamar Jackson exorcise his black-and-gold demons, the Ravens would likely fly north to face the Bills (9-2), who the Ravens beat at home in Week 4. A win there would likely mean an AFC championship game rematch in Kansas City (9-1) with a Super Bowl trip on the line. It’s a gantlet, but not unprecedented. Remember 2012? Baltimore beat the Indianapolis Colts headed by NFL Rookie of the Year runner-up Andrew Luck, albeit at home. It took a “Mile High Miracle” to get past Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. And what closer comparison is there for a potential bout with Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City than having beaten Tom Brady’s Patriots in Foxborough? The Athletic’s 2024 playoff prediction model, which factors in projected strength, current health and remaining strength of schedule, spits out a 6% chance of Jackson hoisting his first Lombardi Trophy. A possible trio of playoff road games in Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Kansas City — Harbaugh’s record in such contests is an inconclusive 6-6 since 2009 — would supplementarily require the Bills to advance past the Broncos (6-5) in the divisional round and the Chiefs, who maintain the first-round bye, to get past the winner of the Los Angeles Chargers (7-3) vs. Houston Texans (7-4). Both of those teams lead Baltimore in the standings by a hair. They’re also included in what ESPN’s Football Power Index considers the 17th easiest remaining schedule. The Athletic model pegs Baltimore to finish with 11 wins. That would mean four wins over this next stretch: Monday, Nov. 25 at Los Angeles Chargers Sunday, Dec. 1 vs. Philadelphia Eagles Sunday, Dec. 15 at New York Giants Saturday, Dec. 21 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Wednesday, Dec. 25 at Houston Texans Sunday, Jan. 5 vs. Cleveland Browns Sunday’s loss to the Steelers could prove to be no more than an anomaly. Baltimore has only beaten its biggest rival once in its past nine meetings. They’re a statistical kryptonite. But the Ravens still boast the league’s most potent offense. And despite looming injury concerns to linebacker Roquan Smith (hamstring) and defensive tackle Travis Jones (ankle), the defense played one of its best games of the season. Related Articles Baltimore Ravens | Former Raven Terrell Suggs’ trial in Arizona postponed amid potential plea negotiations Baltimore Ravens | Former Ravens Terrell Suggs, Marshal Yanda among 25 semifinalists for Pro Football Hall of Fame Baltimore Ravens | Ravens legend Ray Lewis reportedly emerges as college coaching candidate Baltimore Ravens | What’s wrong with Ravens kicker Justin Tucker? Baltimore Ravens | Ravens bolster secondary, add former All-Pro CB Desmond King to practice squad Sunday was also oddly Pittsburgh’s first divisional game of the year. Facing the 11th toughest remaining schedule, the Steelers have five of their final seven games against AFC North foes. Kansas City and Philadelphia are the other two opponents. Should the Ravens bypass Pittsburgh for the top seed in the AFC North, beating the Chargers, Texans and Steelers along the way, the entire playoff picture swiftly reshuffles. The jury doesn’t pay much mind to how the Ravens do in the regular season, anyway. They’ve been to the playoffs every year Jackson has been healthy since they drafted him in 2018. He’s a two-time NFL Most Valuable Player. Pundits, rightfully, only care about his and Baltimore’s postseason resume. “[Backup quarterback] Josh Johnson broke down practice today,” fullback Pat Ricard said Wednesday. “He said we have to attack each game here on out as if it’s a playoff game. That’s the level of focus we need to have.” Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn. View the full article

Former Ravens Terrell Suggs and Marshal Yanda moved closer to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Wednesday. Both are among 25 modern-era semifinalists for the Class of 2025, the Hall of Fame announced. Suggs and Yanda have a chance to join Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and Jonathan Ogden in being enshrined as first-ballot selections. Other semifinalists who also played for Baltimore include Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith Sr., Willie Anderson and Earl Thomas. Former Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata did not make the cut from last month’s list of 50 that had been whittled down from 167 initial nominees. Suggs ranks eighth all-time in sacks with 139 over 17 seasons, all but once of which he spent with the Ravens. Drafted 10th overall out of Arizona State by Baltimore in 2003, the outside linebacker was also the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2011 with a career-high 14 sacks and seven forced fumbles and the league’s Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2003 with a dozen sacks. He was also an All-Pro in 2011, selected to seven Pro Bowls and won two Super Bowls, including one with the Ravens during the 2012 season and another with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019 in the final year of his career. Suggs, 42, was arrested in Arizona earlier this year after allegedly threatening to kill another driver and pulling out a gun at a Starbucks drive-through in what was the latest incident in a long list of legal troubles, but the Hall of Fame explicitly instructs voters to consider only what players do on the field. Yanda, meanwhile, was a two-time All-Pro and selected to the Pro Bowl in eight of his nine seasons at right guard. He was also named to the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team and like Suggs helped Baltimore to its second championship in 2012. Related Articles Baltimore Ravens | Ravens legend Ray Lewis reportedly emerges as college coaching candidate Baltimore Ravens | What’s wrong with Ravens kicker Justin Tucker? Baltimore Ravens | Ravens bolster secondary, add former All-Pro CB Desmond King to practice squad Baltimore Ravens | NFL winners and losers, Week 11: Maybe the Ravens are just undisciplined Baltimore Ravens | Coach John Harbaugh thinks Ravens might have found ‘formula’ at safety He spent his entire 13-year career with the Ravens before retiring in 2019. Smith, who was with Baltimore for his final three years in the league from 2014 to 2016, was a two-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowl selection and ranks eighth on the all-time receiving list (14,731). Boldin, who played for the Ravens from 2010 through 2012 and was a three-time Pro Bowl selection before his arrival, was also a key contributor to Baltimore’s title run and ranks 14th in the NFL in career receiving yards (13,779). The list of 25 nominees will be cut to 15 finalists later this year, with between four and eight being selected for induction into the class of 2025. Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article

Ravens legend and Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis is being floated as a college football coaching candidate. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Wednesday morning that the 49-year-old is in the mix to be Florida Atlantic University’s next football coach. However, CBS’ Matt Zenitz reported shortly after that it’s “highly unlikely” and there has been no direct communication between Lewis and FAU, which fired coach Tom Herman on Tuesday after he went 6-16 in two seasons. Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger posted on X that folks involved with the coaching search said pretty bluntly, “It’s not happening.” Lewis, who retired in 2013 after winning two Super Bowl titles in 17 seasons with Baltimore and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018, has no previous coaching experience. He has worked as an NFL analyst for ESPN and wrote a New York Times bestselling memoir. If Lewis were to make the leap into coaching — at FAU, which is located in Boca Raton, Florida, and near where Lewis grew up in Miami, or elsewhere — he would be following a precedent set by Colorado coach and fellow NFL legend Deion Sanders. Sanders was hired to coach at Jackson State in 2020 and led the Tigers to consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference titles. He left in 2022 to coach in Boulder and this season has led Colorado to an 8-2 record, a No. 16 ranking and in the mix for a Big 12 Conference championship. Unlike Lewis, however, Sanders had multiple high school coaching gigs before moving to the college ranks. Even if Lewis doesn’t wind up coaching, Ravens fans still might gush at the thought of his legendary pregame speeches regularly finding their way into a college program. Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn. View the full article

Most would remember NFL kicker Matt Stover for an enduring career that spanned 19 years, mostly with the Ravens, and in 2000 saw him help them to their first Super Bowl title. It was in that season that Baltimore failed to score an offensive touchdown in five straight games but won two of them on the right leg of its All-Pro, who went on to lead the league in attempts and makes during the regular season and booted the game-winner against the Tennessee Titans in the divisional round of the playoffs. But “Automatic Stover,” as Ravens legend and Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis dubbed him, wasn’t always so. Over Stover’s first three years in Baltimore from 1996 through 1999, he made just 75.9% of his field goals. That included missing his last five attempts of the 1997 season and three more in the 1998 opener. Former coach Brian Billick also once chased him down the sideline in front of his teammates, demanding to know if he could just make the next kick. Current Ravens kicker Justin Tucker has yet to endure such discomfiture from current coach John Harbaugh, but he has sunken to a similar level of struggle. Tucker has missed five field goals in the Ravens’ four losses this season. That included failing to convert a 56-yarder in a three-point loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 2 and missing from 47 and 50 yards in Sunday’s ugly 18-16 defeat against the Steelers in Pittsburgh. Through 11 games, his six misses are already one more than all of last season and with one more miss he will tie his career high, which came in 2015 when he connected on 33 of 40 attempts. “Certainly haven’t lost any confidence in Justin Tucker,” Harbaugh said Monday, adding that he has no plans to bring in any competition for the job. “He’s definitely our best option, and he’s going to make a lot of kicks — I really believe that — going forward.” Tucker, who turns 35 on Thursday and has slipped from the most accurate kicker in league history to second, believes that as well. “I’m still confident I’m going to go out there and nail every single kick,” he said following Sunday’s game. “Part of the way we stay confident is by continuing to work and trust the process. I might sound like a broken record, but it’s a part of what brings us success — is just trusting the process and then taking it one kick at a time.” But as uneasiness grows among the fan base, there is at least some reason to believe and not fret. For one, none of Tucker’s misses (53, 56, 46, 50, 47 and 50 yards) have come up short — all have been wide left. For another, history. Ravens kicker Justin Tucker is enduring the worst slump of his NFL career. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) Some of the best kickers have overcome periods of turbulence in otherwise long and fruitful careers, including Stover, who bounced back to make 83.8% of his 563 career attempts and landed in the Ravens Ring of Honor. He did so by going back to fundamentals. Sometimes, that meant praying to remind himself that he would be OK no matter what happened on the field. Sometimes, it meant figuring out with his wife how to reduce some stresses of home life. Sometimes, it meant reviewing his kicking journals to see what worked in previous seasons. “I had to work through a lot. I had to overcome bad performance. It’s part of the game,” Stover said. “The desire to want that ball is the No. 1 trait a kicker has to have. I always worked myself back into that mode after I had a poor performance. It didn’t make that next kick easy. In fact, it was a bit more difficult. But I wasn’t running from it. I jumped right back into the fire, and that’s how I handled it emotionally.” Others turned to outside help. Morten Andersen’s Hall of Fame career spanned a quarter century, mostly with the New Orleans Saints, and he connected on the second-most field goals in history. But the “Great Dane” — Andersen was born in Copenhagen — wasn’t always great. Just three seasons after being the NFL’s best kicker in terms of accuracy in 1986, when he made 26 of 30 attempts and missed just one from inside 50 yards, he was one of the worst. In his eighth season and just two years removed from a league-high 28 field goals made, Andersen connected on only 20 of 29 kicks for what ended up being a career-low 69% (minimum 20 attempts), which ranked in the bottom third in the league that year. Five other times, he failed to crack 75%. Which is why early in his career he tapped sports psychologist Dr. John Silva to help him out of a funk. “It didn’t take that long after we started working to straighten a few things out,” Silva, an emeritus professor of sports psychology at the University of North Carolina, recalled. “We had to tighten up Morten’s routine and get him really disciplined that no matter what happens, make or miss, he stayed steadfastly with his preparation routine on the sidelines and with the routine he used on the field. We took away the mystique about different distances.” Silva advised Andersen and other clients to put “situational” confidence — the elation felt after a made kick or the devastation from a miss — in their back pockets and instead focus on “dispositional” confidence, a belief in their abilities over the long haul. “You’re only as good as your last kick; that’s such nonsense, to be honest with you,” Silva said, arguing against an “old-fashioned” method of motivational thinking that he considers damaging to elite athletes. Silva doesn’t know Tucker but said he would advise him not to mess with his technique or let in too many outside voices. Ravens kicker Justin Tucker connected on a 54-yard field goal against the Steelers after shifting his aim slightly. (Gene J. Puskar/AP) “His skill and routine have gotten him this far in his career,” he said. “The worst thing he could do now is start fooling around with it in season. … I would imagine he’s going to come out of this slump. I worked with a lot of placekickers. If they’re good and they have long careers, they all go through some period of time where things aren’t exactly right for them.” Varying examples abound, present and past. Before Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson went on to become one of the most accurate kickers in NFL history, his entree into the league was abruptly interrupted. A fifth-round pick by the Minnesota Vikings in 2017, he beat out veteran Kai Forbath for the starting job only to promptly miss three field goals, including two in overtime, in a Week 2 game against the Green Bay Packers that ended in a 29-29 tie. He was waived the next day and replaced by Dan Bailey. “I think most of it was just technical things,” Carlson told AL.com in 2018. “Things that I had known about and wanted to improve for quite some time, even before my senior year of college at Auburn, I wanted to work on some things, but just was kind of too close to the season that I didn’t want to make those adjustments. “So there were adjustments that needed to be made before I obviously got to that, that technically would have helped me out a lot. And so, you know, of course I got cut, and I actually was able to make those adjustments after. That is kind of one of the bright side of things, silver lining is that I was finally able to make those adjustments that I needed to for a long time. You don’t have a lot of time off after your senior season of college.” Two months after being fired by the Vikings, Carlson hit three field goals for the Raiders in a 23-21 victory over the Arizona Cardinals, including the game-winner as time expired. He went on to make all but one of his field goals that season and his 94.1% set a then-franchise record, a mark he eclipsed by converting on 33 of 35 attempts (94.3%) in 2020. Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson hit the game-winner against the Ravens earlier this season at M&T Bank Stadium. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) “I learned a couple things,” Carlson said. “I think it was a little bit of redemption from that. And just to kind of have that feeling, ‘OK, I’m confident again, I’m back to where I wanted to be back then.’” Former longtime kicker Gary Anderson, who played for the Steelers from 1982 to 1994 and the Vikings from 1998 to 2002, along with four other teams, likewise wasn’t immune in a career that lasted over two decades. Though he was a two-time All-Pro, four-time Pro Bowl selection and ranks third in games played (353), points scored (2,434) and field goals made, he is perhaps most often remembered for a kick that he missed. In 1998, Minnesota went 15-1 and Anderson became the first kicker to convert every field goal and extra point during the regular season and had connected on 122 straight kicks. But in the NFC championship game at home against the Atlanta Falcons, he missed a 39-yarder with 2:11 remaining that would’ve given the Vikings a 10-point lead. Instead of Minnesota playing in its fifth Super Bowl and first since the 1976 season, the Falcons tied the game then won in overtime — with Andersen, the former Saint, knocking in a 38-yard field goal for the victory. The losing Anderson, meanwhile, went into a tailspin the next season, making just 19 of 30 field goals with his 63.3% a career low. But the following year he rebounded by converting on 22 of 23 attempts and over the final four seasons of his career he never made fewer than 77.3% of his field goals. Related Articles Baltimore Ravens | Former Ravens Terrell Suggs, Marshal Yanda among 25 semifinalists for Pro Football Hall of Fame Baltimore Ravens | Ravens legend Ray Lewis reportedly emerges as college coaching candidate Baltimore Ravens | Ravens bolster secondary, add former All-Pro CB Desmond King to practice squad Baltimore Ravens | NFL winners and losers, Week 11: Maybe the Ravens are just undisciplined Baltimore Ravens | Coach John Harbaugh thinks Ravens might have found ‘formula’ at safety “It certainly was difficult,” Anderson told the St. Paul Pioneer Press in 2019 on the 20-year anniversary of the painful memory. “I took tremendous pride throughout my career about being the one guy on the team that everyone could count on in a critical situation and that time, that particular kick, I missed the kick. So, yeah, that was certainly a difficult thing to deal with.” “I always had an understanding that as a field-goal kicker, part of your job description is you’re kind of the most visible guy out there,’’ he said. “That’s just the nature of the job. As hard as you try to make all your kicks, you’re not going to make them all. Unfortunately, sometimes you’re going to miss a very important kick. You’d be in dreamland if you’d think everything was going to be rosy all the time.” And that’s why there is still plenty of belief in Tucker, from the man himself to those in the building to those who have been in his shoes. “What’s going on with Justin is very micro,” Stover said. “It could be a technique thing he’s fighting through. You kick great all week and then you get out there and your heart rate gets up a little bit and you try a little too hard. You try a little harder and you attack it too much. You ask a lot of golfers. You’ve got to get comfortable in your skin and just hit it easy. “Justin has set a standard that’s never been seen in the NFL. Who am I to say he’s not going to work out of it? Of course he is.” Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. Week 12 Ravens at Chargers Monday, 8:15 p.m. TV: ABC, ESPN Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM Line: Ravens by 3 View the full article

The Ravens’ NFL-worst pass defense is adding reinforcement. Baltimore signed veteran cornerback Desmond King II to its practice squad on Tuesday. King was released last week from the Houston Texans’ practice squad. In a corresponding move, Baltimore released cornerback Bump Cooper Jr., an undrafted rookie out of Oregon State. King, 29, was an All-Pro as a defensive back and punt returner in 2018 for the Los Angeles Chargers, who drafted him in the fifth round out of Iowa in 2017. He has also played for the Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers and had two stints with the Texans. King’s addition comes amid what has been a rough season for the Ravens’ secondary. Baltimore (7-4), which is coming off a mistake-filled 18-16 loss to the Steelers, is allowing a league-high 284.5 passing yards per game and ranks 28th in yards allowed per pass (7.7). The Ravens also rank 26th in total yards allowed per game (362) and 23rd in points allowed per game (24.6). The defensive backfield is getting thin as well. Last week, starting safety Marcus Williams was benched while fellow safety Eddie Jackson did not make the trip to Pittsburgh; coach John Harbaugh declined to say why. Rookie safety Sanoussi Kane also suffered an ankle injury and left Acrisure Stadium in a boot and on crutches, while cornerback Arthur Maulet suffered a calf injury in practice last week and was out Sunday. Related Articles Baltimore Ravens | NFL winners and losers, Week 11: Maybe the Ravens are just undisciplined Baltimore Ravens | Coach John Harbaugh thinks Ravens might have found ‘formula’ at safety Baltimore Ravens | Ravens coach John Harbaugh explains failed 2-point attempt in loss to Steelers Baltimore Ravens | READER POLL: Do you like the Orioles’ new changes to Camden Yards’ left field wall? Baltimore Ravens | Ravens-Chargers connections go well beyond the Harbaugh brothers King, whose addition comes two weeks after the Ravens acquired cornerback Tre’Davious White in a trade, signed with the Texans’ practice squad this summer after being released during roster cuts at the end of training camp. King began last season with the Steelers and appeared in three games but was released last October and then signed with Houston, where he appeared in seven games (three starts). He finished with 47 tackles, one sack and two passes defended. For his career, King has 473 tackles, nine interceptions, seven fumble recoveries, three forced fumbles, 35 passes defended and 9 1/2 sacks along with 2,413 return yards and five total touchdowns. Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article

Each week of the NFL season, The Baltimore Sun will recap the best and worst from around the league. Here are our winners and losers from Week 11: Loser: Ravens The Ravens’ long-held belief is that whenever they lose, they beat themselves. “It’s been that way ever since last year, I believe, going back to the AFC championship game, we killed ourselves,” quarterback Lamar Jackson said after Sunday’s 18-16 loss in Pittsburgh. “The Chiefs game [in] the [season] opener, we killed ourselves. [The] Raiders [game], we killed ourselves, and today, it’s the same thing. We can’t be beating ourselves in these types of games. We have to find a way to fix that — it’s annoying.” Perhaps this is a chance to acknowledge that, sometimes, the other team is just better. It did not feel fluky that the Ravens’ league-best offense struggled Sunday. The Steelers have one of the league’s best defenses, led by a formidable front. While Pittsburgh only sacked Jackson twice, they made him uncomfortable in the pocket and forced him to hold onto the ball too long, resulting in the fourth-worst completion percentage of his career (.485). They stuffed him on the potential game-tying 2-point attempt because outside linebacker Nick Herbig beat wide receiver Nelson Agholor’s block and blew up the play. Tight end Isaiah Likely was the only receiver who found open space. Derrick Henry lost a fumble for the first time since 2022 and was held to his second-lowest rushing total (65 yards) as a Raven. “They’re a good defense,” Henry said. “They’re a top-10 defense, but I think a lot of it was on us — self-inflicted wounds.” Really? Yes, the Ravens committed 12 penalties. Yes, Justin Tucker missed two field goals. And yes, they turned the ball over three times. But Herbig made a nice play to force a fumble by Henry on the opening drive, linebacker Patrick Queen ripped the ball from Likely’s hands near the end of the first half and rookie linebacker Payton Wilson made a spectacular interception by stealing the ball from running back Justice Hill on a pass down the sideline. While Tucker missed from 47 and 50 yards, his counterpart Chris Boswell finished 6-for-6 on his field goal attempts, including a 57-yarder. Those are not unforced errors by the Ravens. Those are winning plays by the Steelers. Consider the Ravens’ penalties, too. Four were either offensive or defensive holding. Five were presnap infractions, including two false starts, an illegal shift, a neutral zone infraction and too many men on the field. Left guard Patrick Mekari was flagged twice for being an ineligible man downfield. Defensive tackle Travis Jones was penalized for illegal use of hands to the face. Rookie safety Sanoussi Kane was whistled for an illegal block on a punt return. Whether it’s the result of poor technique, poor coaching or simply getting beat, the Ravens continue to make clear and obvious mistakes. When will that be fixed? It would be one thing to wave away the penalties as a bad day at the office. But the Ravens have been hit with a league-leading 110 total flags, which includes offsetting and declined penalties. Their 763 penalty yards against are nearly 100 more than the second-place Jets. At some point, being undisciplined becomes the team’s identity. Calling those mistakes “self-inflicted wounds” does nothing to address the problem. This team doesn’t feel like the Ravens as we know them. Their longtime special teams edge has evaporated, with Tucker going from an asset to a liability. The defense, while showing fight Sunday, still hasn’t come together under first-year coordinator Zach Orr. Jackson is the only reliable player, and when he struggles, the whole operation falls apart. We’ve seen the Ravens’ ceiling and their floor. Whether they can be consistent enough to make a deep postseason run is up for debate. Bills quarterback Josh Allen slips past Chiefs cornerback Nazeeh Johnson to score on a 26-yard run Sunday in Orchard Park, New York. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP) Winner: Josh Allen We have a new leader in the clubhouse. After leading the Buffalo Bills to a 30-21 win over the previously undefeated Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Allen has leapfrogged Jackson in the betting odds to win the NFL Most Valuable Player Award. It was far from a dominant performance, as Allen finished 27-for-40 for 262 yards with one touchdown and one interception, but his 26-yard scramble for a touchdown on fourth-and-2 with 2:17 to play cemented a signature victory over the two-time defending Super Bowl champions. Allen was perhaps more impressive Sunday with his legs, rushing for a team-high 55 yards as Kansas City neutralized James Cook and the rest of the Bills’ running backs. There are quarterbacks with better statistical arguments. The Bengals’ Joe Burrow leads the league in passing yards (3,028) and passing touchdowns (27). Jackson is second in both of those categories (2,876 yards, 25 touchdown passes) while rushing for 584 yards and two scores. Jared Goff has been sensational in most games (and horrible in others) while leading the Lions to a 9-1 record. But Sunday was a perfect example of how narratives help decide this award. Allen was the engine of a Bills team that ended Kansas City’s bid for a perfect season and put itself in position to claim the top seed in the AFC. His touchdown run will lead all the highlight packages this week. Burrow lost in prime time to the Chargers after failing to come through in crunch time, dropping the Bengals to 4-7. Jackson’s high-flying offense cratered in a frustrating defeat to the Steelers. Goff had a huge day, but it came in a blowout win over a hapless Jaguars team with the league’s worst record. There also could be something to the fact that Allen has never won the award despite being one of the league’s best quarterbacks for half a decade. Maybe voters, subconsciously or not, want to reward that body of work. The Bills have a good chance to finish with the league’s best record, and Allen should be near the top of the stat leaderboards if he keeps his current pace. His numbers right now — 2,543 passing yards, 18 passing touchdowns, five interceptions, 316 rushing yards, five rushing touchdowns — are certainly MVP-worthy. You can’t argue with the eye test, either. Just ask his teammates. “When Josh takes off, I find myself just watching, like, ‘Wow, he’s different,’” wide receiver Khalil Shakir said. It’s a long season, and this week proved that things can change quickly. Jackson will have high-profile games against the Chargers, Eagles, Steelers and Texans to make his case. The race isn’t over, but Allen is in the lead. Loser: Joe Burrow Every stat is sadder than the last. After throwing for 356 yards and three touchdowns in Sunday night’s 34-27 loss to the Chargers, Burrow is the first quarterback in NFL history to pass for at least 300 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions in back-to-back games and lose both in regulation. In games this season in which Burrow threw for at least 250 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions, he’s 0-3. Other quarterbacks who have done that are a combined 14-2. Through the first 11 games, Burrow has 3,028 passing yards, 27 touchdowns and five interceptions. Previous quarterbacks to achieve those benchmarks through the first 11 games finished the season 13-3 or better. The Bengals are 4-7. Related Articles Baltimore Ravens | Coach John Harbaugh thinks Ravens might have found ‘formula’ at safety Baltimore Ravens | Ravens coach John Harbaugh explains failed 2-point attempt in loss to Steelers Baltimore Ravens | READER POLL: Do you like the Orioles’ new changes to Camden Yards’ left field wall? Baltimore Ravens | Ravens-Chargers connections go well beyond the Harbaugh brothers Baltimore Ravens | 5 things we learned from the Ravens’ 18-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers In Cincinnati’s seven losses, Burrow has completed 67% of his passes for 2,156 yards, 18 touchdowns and two interceptions. Only five other quarterbacks have thrown 18 or more touchdown passes all season. Burrow acknowledged Sunday night that this is the most frustrating season of his career. When asked why, he said it’s “pretty self-explanatory.” To make matters worse, star receivers Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase are embroiled in contract disputes. Higgins is playing this season on the franchise tag before becoming a free agent, while Chase has long been advocating for a record-setting extension. The famously cheap Bengals have already signed Burrow to a five-year, $275 million deal, making it unlikely they keep both wideouts. Entering their bye week, the Bengals have a 14.2% chance to make the playoffs, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index. This season likely isn’t salvageable, and there’s little hope the roster will be significantly better next year. It’s a sad outcome for one of the league’s most exciting teams. Have a news tip? Contact sports editor C.J. Doon at cdoon@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/CJDoon. View the full article

After 10 weeks of throwing different looks at the wall and seeing what works, the Ravens’ secondary might have found their formula: pairing safeties Kyle Hamilton and Ar’Darius Washington. “That was the plan going in, those two guys,” coach John Harbaugh said Monday afternoon. “We were trying to attack some issues that we had in the back end, as everybody knows, and I thought they played well back there.” The dark cloud hanging over the Ravens’ defense much of the season has been their NFL-worst pass coverage. While they’re still 32nd in yards allowed and 31st in passing touchdowns surrendered (22), their secondary was among the highlights from Sunday’s 18-16 loss in Pittsburgh. Together, playing nearly every snap, the duo of Hamilton and Washington gave up only three catches on as many targets for 10 yards, per Pro Football Focus. They combined for 21 total tackles. Hamilton, when healthy, hasn’t missed a beat. The 2023 All-Pro appeared to play through pain Sunday. He crumpled to the field with an ankle injury against the Bengals on Nov. 7 that limited him in practice last week. Then he was checked for a concussion and soon after returned in the first half Sunday. And in the fourth quarter against the Steelers, Hamilton appeared to aggravate his ankle but remained on the field and finished with 10 tackles. Washington, a 2021 undrafted free agent, has played nearly half the defensive snaps and a little less on special teams after playing no more than seven snaps the first two weeks of the year. He didn’t play more than 40 snaps until Week 7. On Sunday, he played more snaps than any Ravens defender with 77. “Ar’Darius earned that opportunity,” Harbaugh said. “He earned that chance by the way he practiced and also by the way he played when he was in there over the course of the season.” Opposite Hamilton and before what might be Washington’s spot to hold, Baltimore worked through a rotating cast. Marcus Williams was the Week 1 starter but in Week 8 Baltimore benched the 28-year-old safety who signed a five-year, $70 million deal in 2022 in favor of Washington and Eddie Jackson. Harbaugh kept any specifics of the decision close to the vest. A week later, Williams returned to his starting post, Washington picked off Broncos quarterback Bo Nix for the first takeaway of his career and Jackson was a healthy scratch. Then Jackson played sparingly against Cincinnati, while Williams and Washington split reps. The intrigue didn’t stop there. Related Articles Baltimore Ravens | NFL winners and losers, Week 11: Maybe the Ravens are just undisciplined Baltimore Ravens | Ravens coach John Harbaugh explains failed 2-point attempt in loss to Steelers Baltimore Ravens | READER POLL: Do you like the Orioles’ new changes to Camden Yards’ left field wall? Baltimore Ravens | Ravens-Chargers connections go well beyond the Harbaugh brothers Baltimore Ravens | 5 things we learned from the Ravens’ 18-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers Jackson did not travel with the team this week to Pittsburgh — Harbaugh declined to comment on the matter — and Williams did not see the field. Meanwhile, rookie safety Sanoussi Kane sustained an ankle injury and left the stadium in a boot and on crutches. Ravens cornerbacks might be on the precipice of similar shuffling. Arthur Maulet suffered a calf injury in practice last week and was out Sunday, though Harbaugh doesn’t anticipate the veteran needing a stint on injured reserve. Trade deadline acquisition Tre’Davious White is still getting acquainted with the playbook but logged two pass deflections (including one in the end zone) in 24 snaps, mostly in place of Brandon Stephens. White could feasibly get an expanded role, Harbaugh said. Baltimore’s secondary appears to be thinning in safeties healthy or trustworthy enough to play significant reps but, for now, the pairing of Hamilton and Washington might be the answer they’ve been seeking. “Those guys did a good job,” Harbaugh said. “So that will definitely be a formula going forward. And still, the guys that are here with us, are still going to be working doing whatever they can to help us win.” Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn. View the full article

For all of the Ravens’ mishaps and self-inflicted trauma Sunday in Pittsburgh, they still had a chance to tie the game against the Steelers with just over a minute remaining in regulation. Until, of course, quarterback Lamar Jackson was stuffed on a jumbled and poorly executed quarterback run that haphazardly turned into an incomplete pass. Noticeably absent on the play was running back Derrick Henry, who leads the NFL in rushing yards and touchdowns but was on the sideline and not part of the personnel package with the ball sitting on the 2-yard line. Why wasn’t he on the field? “Derrick Henry is a great football player,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Monday. “You want him out there in situations, but he’s not out there for every play. That’s the play that was called.” It was also a play in which the Steelers did not have to worry about perhaps the best running back of this generation. And by design it tipped Pittsburgh, which had called time out when the ravens initially lined up, that the play would likely involve Jackson running or throwing. “Thankfully we even saw some of the semblance of the schematics of what they intended to run,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Sunday. “I think that made them change and go the other direction. Obviously Mr. Jackson is a little bit less dangerous when he is going to his left and his right. So we’re thankful for that.” A day later, Harbaugh wasn’t so much as regretful as he was discontented. “Any time you get a play that didn’t work you look at it very critically,” he said. “We’re disappointed in that play. You want to have a better play, a better play call, a better executed play; everything along those lines. “That’s one we’d like to have back.” For Henry’s part, at least, he had no issue with the play call. “No frustration at all,” he said. “They have in there who they think can execute the play, and I’m always going to support that. Whatever they feel like is the best formation or whatever personnel needs to be in there for us to win, then let’s go do it. There’s no frustration on my end.” Henry was bothered more by what he did when he was on the field. Ravens running back Derrick Henry didn’t complain about being on the bench for the team’s 2-point conversion attempt in the fourth quarter. (Matt Freed/AP) The 30-year-old four-time Pro Bowl selection was held to under 70 yards rushing for the second straight game after rushing for at least 100 yards in five of the previous seven. He had a costly fumble on the game’s second play Sunday, leading to an early Steelers field goal. “My fumble was unacceptable – it cannot happen,” he said. Henry handled just 13 carries against Pittsburgh, despite averaging 5 yards per carry and scoring a touchdown. That tied for his second-fewest of the season, which came in a Week 1 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, and were only two more than the season-low 11 he had against the Browns in Cleveland, also a loss. Part of the problem was that the Ravens often put themselves in unenviable positions because of penalties or other mistakes. Of their 12 possessions, they faced second- or third-and-long (at least 10 yards) on a half-dozen of them. That made it difficult for Baltimore to feed Henry, Harbaugh said. Related Articles Baltimore Ravens | READER POLL: Do you like the Orioles’ new changes to Camden Yards’ left field wall? Baltimore Ravens | Ravens-Chargers connections go well beyond the Harbaugh brothers Baltimore Ravens | 5 things we learned from the Ravens’ 18-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers Baltimore Ravens | Beyoncé to perform halftime show at Ravens vs. Texans game on Christmas Day Baltimore Ravens | Mike Preston: Steelers showcase blueprint for beating Ravens | COMMENTARY “You want to get him more,” Harbaugh said, noting Baltimore only had 54 offensive plays, which was 20 fewer than Pittsburgh. “You probably need more plays and to get more plays you need more successful plays, more first downs, more yards. we were off the field a couple times real quick. “It cuts down the opportunities for everybody.” Yet, that wasn’t the case on Baltimore’s failed 2-point conversion. “That’s the personnel group that it was set up in through a lot of game planning,” Harbaugh said. “We all try to put the best plan we can together and come up with the best plays, and when it doesn’t work out, it hurts, it’s bad. And you feel disappointed about it, because it’s your job, and it’s what you want to get done well. “I would like to have had a better play there, and I would have liked to have a successful play. So, you look back on it, and that’s how you feel about it. You feel bad about it.” Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article

The Orioles admitted their mistake. After moving Camden Yards’ left field wall back before the 2022 season, the club is moving the wall back in for 2025 — though not as far as it had previously stood for decades. We want to know your thoughts on the change. After you vote, tell us what you think by clicking the comments button and we might publish your take in The Baltimore Sun. The Baltimore Sun reader poll is an unscientific survey in which website users volunteer their opinions on the subject of the poll. To read the results of previous reader polls, click here. View the full article

Harbowl week is upon us. The Ravens and Los Angeles Chargers will meet on ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” next Monday in the first coaching matchup between brothers John and Jim Harbaugh since 2011. While the family ties between the teams on opposite coasts are obvious, the connections on the field and in the front office run deep. Here’s a look at the notable figures who have been on both sides of the matchup: Front office Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz: Before moving to L.A., Hortiz was a mainstay in the Ravens’ front office. He got his start with Baltimore as a personnel assistant in 1998, working in that role until he became an area scout. He then became a national scout for three seasons and later served 10 years as the Ravens’ director of college scouting. From 2019 to 2023, he was their director of player personnel. Chargers assistant general manager Chad Alexander: Alexander spent 20 seasons with the Ravens, where he worked alongside Hortiz. He joined Baltimore in 1999 and worked as an area scout, pro scout and as a personnel assistant before spending his final nine seasons as the Ravens’ assistant director of pro personnel. Chargers director of player personnel strategy Corey Krawiec: Krawiec also has a connection to Hortiz as he was with the Ravens from 2013 to 2023. He was a player personnel/analytics assistant for three years before being elevated to player evaluation and analytics manager for the rest of his time in Baltimore. Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman, left, talks to quarterback Justin Herbert. Roman was the Ravens’ OC for four seasons. (Kyusung Gong/AP) Coaching staff Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman: The architect of the offense that helped Lamar Jackson win his first NFL Most Valuable Player Award in 2019 was also the subject of much criticism from Ravens fans. Baltimore built the most productive ground game in NFL history but never had a commensurate passing attack and went 1-3 in the playoffs during Roman’s tenure, leading to his dismissal after the 2022 season. Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter: A former college assistant, Minter coached his first four seasons in the NFL with the Ravens, advancing to the role of defensive backs coach in 2020. He later became defensive coordinator at Michigan under Jim Harbaugh and won the 2023 national title before becoming one of the first hires on Harbaugh’s Chargers staff. Chargers senior defensive analyst Rick Minter: Jesse’s father was the head coach at Cincinnati from 1994 to 2003, where he employed special teams coordinator John Harbaugh. Rick Minter also had future NFL coaches Mike Tomlin and Rex Ryan on his Bearcats staff. Chargers senior offensive analyst Marc Trestman: The 36-year coaching veteran and former coach of the Chicago Bears last served in the NFL as the Ravens’ offensive coordinator from 2015 to 2016 before being fired and replaced by Marty Mornhinweg. Chargers run game coordinator/tight ends coach Andy Bischoff: From 2015 to 2020, Bischoff served as a quality control coach, offensive assistant and assistant tight ends coach with the Ravens. Alongside Roman, he helped develop a tight end room that included Nick Boyle, Darren Waller, Hayden Hurst and Mark Andrews as well as fullbacks Kyle Juszczyk and Patrick Ricard. Chargers offensive line coach Mike Devlin: The former NFL offensive lineman served as an assistant offensive line coach with the Ravens from 2022 to 2023 under the late Joe D’Alessandris. In that span, Baltimore ranked No. 2 in the NFL in rushing offense, averaging 158.3 yards per game. Chargers running back Gus Edwards began his NFL career with the Ravens as an undrafted free agent. (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) Players Ravens outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy: The two-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots played one season with the Chargers in 2022. He recorded five sacks to help L.A. reach the playoffs, only for the team to blow a 27-7 halftime lead in a wild-card-round loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins: The Ravens’ 2020 second-round draft pick never quite lived up to the hype in Baltimore because of a series of devastating injuries. A knee injury in the 2021 preseason finale ended his second year before it began, and a torn Achilles tendon in the 2023 season opener robbed him of a potential breakout campaign. He signed a one-year, $1.6 million deal with the Chargers in the offseason and has been productive. Chargers running back Gus Edwards: The 2018 undrafted free agent out of Rutgers became a fan favorite in Baltimore known simply as “The Bus.” In five seasons with the Ravens, Edwards rushed for 3,395 yards and 26 touchdowns. But he, like Dobbins, became expendable once the Ravens signed Derrick Henry this offseason and joined L.A. on a two-year, $6.5 million deal. Chargers tight end Hayden Hurst: Perhaps best known for being drafted by the Ravens ahead of Jackson in 2018, Hurst spent two seasons in Baltimore before being traded to the Atlanta Falcons ahead of the 2020 season for the second-round pick that became Dobbins. Chargers center Bradley Bozeman: A sixth-round pick in the Ravens’ heralded 2018 draft class that produced Jackson, Hurst, Orlando Brown Jr., Mark Andrews, DeShon Elliott and Zach Sieler, Bozeman played both center and left guard in 62 games (49 starts) across four seasons in Baltimore before signing a one-year, $2.8 million deal with the Panthers. Chargers kicker Cameron Dicker: “Dicker the Kicker” briefly played for the Ravens during the 2022 preseason before ending up with the Chargers, where he has made 93.2% of his field goal attempts in three seasons. Chargers safety Tony Jefferson: After spending his first four seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, Jefferson signed a four-year, $34 million contract with the Ravens in 2017. He played a key role in the secondary from 2017 to 2019 and later rejoined the team in 2021. Jefferson worked as a scouting intern for the Ravens in 2023 under Hortiz but came out of retirement this summer to sign with the Chargers and currently plays on the practice squad. Chargers cornerback Shaun Wade: Wade’s tenure with the Ravens was brief, but notable. After being drafted in the fifth round in 2021, he was traded just a few months later to New England, where he played three seasons. He currently plays on the Chargers’ practice squad. Chargers cornerback Tarheeb Still: He doesn’t have a Ravens connection, but Still was an All-Big Ten player at Maryland before being drafted in the fifth round and carving out a role as a rookie starter. Chargers cornerback Cam Hart: The former Notre Dame star grew up in Baltimore and became friends with Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton when they played together for the Fighting Irish. Like Still, he’s secured a starting spot as a rookie. Have a news tip? Contact sports editor C.J. Doon at cdoon@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/CJDoon. View the full article

The Ravens lost another tense, brutal, error-filled matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers, 18-16. Here are five things we learned from the game: The Ravens cannot escape their Pittsburgh purgatory Lamar Jackson danced to his left, scanning for a receiver who was not there and running out of real estate as the Steelers’ front seven closed off his path to the corner of the end zone. Whatever the Ravens intended, the result was unsightly. One of the sleekest offensive weapons the sport has ever seen was penned up, stopped in his tracks and drained of solutions. This failed 2-point attempt went down as a fitting final chance for the Ravens on an afternoon when they made far too many mistakes to turn the tide against the rival that uglies them up like no other. The Ravens needed to create a different type of game — quick, rhythmic, beautiful. Instead, they fell right back into the disjointed squalor that has defined their matchups with Pittsburgh over the past five seasons. The Steelers thrive in the muck of turnovers, penalties and third-down failure. It’s why they’ve won eight of their past nine games against the Ravens, even though they usually look like the lesser team against the rest of the NFL. Coach Mike Tomlin has his team convinced it will always be tougher than the high-flying Ravens in the end. Even if that’s too simplistic an assessment, the results are what they are. The Steelers did not score a touchdown against the league’s worst pass defense. They averaged fewer yards per play than the Ravens and were less efficient on third down and in the red zone. They won the turnover battle (give rookie linebacker Payton Wilson all the laurels for his crucial midair takeaway from Justice Hill in the fourth quarter). Their kicker was better. They were flagged for five fewer penalties. That was enough for another one-score victory. Perhaps we should have known when Derrick Henry lost a fumble in Ravens territory on the first drive of the game. In the first half, the Ravens averaged 6.6 yards per play to 2.7 for the Steelers. They went to the locker room down 9-7 because they coughed the ball up twice, missed two field goal attempts and committed six penalties worth 45 yards. Their defense, so leaky all season, held again and again on third down and near the goal line. Marlon Humphrey picked off Russell Wilson in the end zone when the Steelers had a chance to go up two scores. But the Ravens could never transform it into the kind of game they wanted to play. They’re always trudging uphill against Pittsburgh, forever short of the promised land. The Steelers have Lamar Jackson’s number like no other opponent We spent last week chronicling the reigning NFL Most Valuable Player’s ballad of frustration against the black and gold. He’d lost three of four career starts against Pittsburgh and had incredibly missed six others because of injuries, COVID-19 and resting for the playoffs. His career passer rating against Pittsburgh was 66.8. If Jackson was going to turn it around, this seemed like the time. He has buried so many of the dumb narratives around him this season with precision passing in the face of pressure and poised command of coordinator Todd Monken’s offense. He has never been surrounded by more talent. What better garnish to add to his case for a third MVP Award than a long-awaited breakout against the Steelers? It did not happen. Jackson arrived at Acrisure Stadium with a stratospheric 123.2 passer rating. He finished at 66.1 in Sunday’s loss, eerily in line with his past futility against Pittsburgh. So what is it about these guys? Pittsburgh has great pass rushers in defensive tackle Cam Heyward and outside linebacker T.J. Watt, but it wasn’t as if those guys smashed Jackson to the ground again and again. No, the Steelers did it with sound play, constricting his pocket, sticking to his receivers when he scrambled and delivering punishment with every tackle. Zay Flowers and Mark Andrews are Jackson’s favorite targets when a play breaks down. They combined for all of 61 yards on four catches. As a runner, Jackson averaged 11.5 yards on four carries. Perhaps he should have taken off a few more times instead of firing while fleeing, but it’s difficult to fault him too much when his judgment has been so on-point all year. Coach John Harbaugh pointed to the Ravens’ inefficiency on first down, with penalties a major culprit, as the reason their offense never found its flow. “We can’t be beating ourselves in these types of games,” Jackson said. “We have to find a way to fix that — it’s annoying.” He couldn’t say why Pittsburgh’s defense always seems to bring out the worst in him and his playmakers. Jackson will have another chance against the Steelers, four days before Christmas. Maybe that will be the one. But he’s going to hear a lot more references to kryptonite in the week leading up to it. Ravens cornerback Tre’Davious White breaks up a pass in the end zone intended for Steelers wide receiver George Pickens during the first half. (Gene J. Puskar/AP) The Ravens’ continued tweaking of their pass defense paid off Coordinator Zach Orr felt “crushed” by his defense’s inability to slow the Cincinnati Bengals in a wild Thursday night win 10 days before the trip to Pittsburgh. He and his players laid all their shortcomings bare during a raw session reviewing film from that debacle. Harbaugh promised everything would be on the table in the Ravens’ quest to fix their league-worst pass defense. This week, that meant leaving Eddie Jackson in Baltimore (Harbaugh declined to explain why), starting Ar’Darius Washington in place of Marcus Williams at safety and giving cornerback Tre’Davious White his first Ravens snaps. The lineup changes paid immediate dividends. Washington finished with 11 tackles, second on the team to Roquan Smith, and earned a solid coverage mark in Pro Football Focus’ immediate grading. If he keeps it up, Williams — PFF’s lowest-graded safety coming into the weekend — might be done as a meaningful contributor to this team. White, who has struggled to stay on the field since he peaked as a Pro Bowl corner in 2019 and 2020, broke up a pair of potential touchdown catches by George Pickens, showing a playmaking awareness starter Brandon Stephens too often lacks. Add their contributions to star-level performances by Smith (who exited early with a hamstring injury), Humphrey and Kyle Hamilton, and the Ravens’ defense was far less prone to chunk plays and far stingier on third down. The Steelers don’t have one of the league’s most dynamic offenses, but instead of making them look better than they are, Orr’s crew held Pittsburgh a yard below its season average of 5.1 yards per play. Call that progress on a broadly frustrating afternoon. Jim, left, and John Harbaugh will meet again next Monday night when the Ravens travel to Los Angeles to face the Chargers. (Gregory Shamus/Getty) The Monday night ‘Harbowl’ is suddenly crucial to the Ravens’ AFC North chances The Ravens (7-4) put themselves at a significant disadvantage to the Steelers (8-2) in the AFC North, down two games in the loss column and now a tiebreak. The fact they have another head-to-head chance against Pittsburgh helps, but they have difficult work to do between now and then. That will begin on “Monday Night Football” against the team known as “Ravens West.” We have long known Harbaugh’s brother, Jim, is one of the sport’s great culture changers, and he’s doing it again with the Chargers, aided by players and coaches well-known to Ravens fans. Los Angeles’ No. 1 scoring defense is coordinated by former Ravens assistant Jesse Minter, its offense designed by Greg Roman, the run-game maestro who overstayed his welcome in Baltimore. J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards are Roman’s top two ball carriers. The Chargers can’t match the Ravens’ offensive sizzle, but they don’t break in the red zone or on third down, and they win the turnover battle. Like the Steelers, they’re built to grind. After that, the Ravens will host the Philadelphia Eagles, another defensive juggernaut on a hot streak. Lose to either Los Angeles or Philadelphia, and the Ravens will be at risk of falling hopelessly behind the Steelers, who don’t play another winning team until they host the Eagles on Dec. 15. A division title isn’t the be-all, end-all, and the Ravens are still overwhelmingly likely to make the postseason given the records of the teams contending for the AFC’s final wild-card spot. But their position would have been far cozier if they had pulled out a win in Pittsburgh. Expect an anxious week at their training complex in Owings Mills as they prepare to head west for a fraternal battle. Ravens kicker Justin Tucker reacts after one of his two missed field goal attempts Sunday against the Steelers. (Matt Freed/AP) The uncomfortable conversation around Justin Tucker continues to deepen Special teams coordinator Chris Horton: “He’s in a good place, [and] he’s going to be OK.” Harbaugh: “I watch the practice tape, and he’s doing great. He’s been kicking the ball super well, but he’s had some of these that just haven’t gone through for him, and those are broken down inch by inch.” For weeks now, Ravens coaches have taken a “nothing to see here” approach to discussing Tucker’s failings. It’s understandable. He’s one of the most popular and respected Ravens, a consummate craftsman who knows more about making NFL kicks than anyone in the organization. On a list of players who might become problematic this season, team officials probably would have placed him last. But this issue isn’t going away, not after Tucker missed from 47 and 50 yards — left in both cases, as has been his pattern — in Pittsburgh. He’s now 16-for-22 on field goals, a .727 success rate about 10 percentage points behind his previous career-worst for a season. His opposite number, Chris Boswell, made all six of his attempts (including perfect strikes from 52, 57 and 50 yards), reminding Ravens fans exactly what they’re missing. As Harbaugh said, Tucker’s leg appears strong and true in practice and pregame warmups. So it’s natural to deduce that his confidence is cracked in a way he simply has not experienced. Tucker addressed that very topic after the game: “Part of the challenge that every player, every coach, every team faces is remaining confident, and the way that I know we remain confident — I’m still confident I’m going to go out there and nail every single kick — part of the way we stay confident is by continuing to work and trust the process. I know that sounds like … I might sound like a broken record, but it’s a part of what brings us success.” Related Articles Baltimore Ravens | READER POLL: Do you like the Orioles’ new changes to Camden Yards’ left field wall? Baltimore Ravens | Ravens-Chargers connections go well beyond the Harbaugh brothers Baltimore Ravens | Beyoncé to perform halftime show at Ravens vs. Texans game on Christmas Day Baltimore Ravens | Mike Preston: Steelers showcase blueprint for beating Ravens | COMMENTARY Baltimore Ravens | Steelers coach Mike Tomlin on ex-Ravens LB Patrick Queen: ‘One man’s trash is another man’s treasure’ These issues are difficult to discuss because there’s no way for us to know where the physical ends and the mental begins in a great athlete’s process. Is there a technical glitch, something Harbaugh alluded to earlier in the season, that’s causing every kick to hook left? Horton and Tucker have maintained that every miss is a separate issue to be picked apart separately. Their argument becomes harder to make when the results continue to disappoint in similar ways, at least to the layman’s eye. It’s still borderline unthinkable to imagine the Ravens bringing in a different kicker. Tucker has earned as much latitude as any kicker in NFL history. He earned more when he bounced back from his misses to split the uprights from 54 yards in Pittsburgh. At the same time, it’s difficult to imagine a special teams-obsessed organization going into the postseason with a kicker who’s iffy from 47 or 50 yards. It’s a conversation no one wants, but here we are. Have a news tip? Contact Childs Walker at daviwalker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6893 and x.com/ChildsWalker. View the full article

When the Ravens play the Texans in Houston on Christmas Day, Netflix will be giving viewers a gift: a halftime performance from Houston-born entertainment icon Beyoncé. The subscription streaming service made the announcement late Sunday in a social media post to X and on Instagram, where it included a short video of Beyoncé, wearing a cowboy hat, standing on a rose-encrusted car and catching a football. The halftime show will be part of the first NFL Christmas Gameday to be streamed live on Netflix. Beyoncé will perform during the second of the two holiday games as the Ravens take on the Texans at NRG Stadium at 4:30 p.m, Netflix said in a news release Sunday. This will not be Beyoncé’s first rodeo. The megastar has performed twice at Super Bowls, including as the headliner in 2013 in New Orleans, when she was accompanied by her Destiny’s Child besties Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Of course, the Ravens defeated the San Francisco 49ers, 34-31, for their second NFL championship in that game. On Christmas Day, according to Netflix, the global superstar’s show will include her first live performance of songs from her groundbreaking album “Cowboy Carter,” which was nominated for 11 Grammy awards earlier this month. Beyoncé is expected to be joined by special guests, Netflix said. Beyoncé and Lamar Jackson on the same field. What more could Baltimore want for Christmas? View the full article

PITTSBURGH — The secret is no longer a secret. If an opposing team has a good defensive line and athletic defensive backs, then the Ravens are beatable. It had already happened three times this season and it happened again Sunday in Baltimore’s 18-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers before a crowd of 67,551 at Arcrisure Stadium. The victory put Pittsburgh in first place in the AFC North but more importantly, a blueprint has been put out for knocking off the Ravens. The Kansas City Chiefs did it to open the season, followed by the Las Vegas Raiders and later the Cleveland Browns. What do they all have in common? The Chiefs have stud defensive tackle Chris Jones, the Raiders have defensive end Maxx Crosby and Cleveland has Myles Garrett on one end and Dalvin Tomlinson in the middle. Then came the Steelers. They have Cameron Heyward in the middle and T.J. Watt on the outside. Most teams like to blitz or bring pressure, but Pittsburgh can get consistent pressure with their front four. It drives Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson a little nutty. “It’s been that way ever since last year, I believe, going back to the AFC championship game — we killed ourselves,” Jackson said of the Ravens’ penalties and turnovers. “The Chiefs game [in] the [season] opener, we killed ourselves. [The] Raiders [game], we killed ourselves, and today, it’s the same thing. We can’t be beating ourselves in these types of games. We have to find a way to fix that — it’s annoying.” But Jackson also needs to give these teams credit. They can control him with four players, and the Steelers usually remain disciplined. Sunday’s game got a little sloppy with the teams being penalized 19 times for 125 yards, but good teams, especially in the postseason, get good pressure with their front four. Jackson was sacked twice Sunday but was pressured or hit six other times. The Ravens’ best play is always when Jackson runs around and allows his receivers to get open, but that wasn’t the case Sunday. He had six passes batted down, including two at the line of scrimmage by Heyward. Pittsburgh’s eight victories in the past nine meetings between the teams have come by a touchdown or less. It’s like a new TV series: “Lamar Under Wraps.” He panicked and made some poor decisions throwing back into the middle of the field and even once attempting a pass when he was already out of bounds. But this isn’t just about Jackson. The Ravens thrive on their strong running game, which sets up the play-action passing attack and run-pass options with Jackson and running back Derrick Henry. Henry had only 65 yards on 13 carries and Jackson completed just 16 of 33 passes for 207 yards and one touchdown. He finished with a passer rating of 66.1. “Yeah, it’s big,” said Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen, a former Raven who led his team with 10 tackles. “Just being on that side and coming to this side is big. Knowing what Lamar can do, knowing what the offense can do, especially with all the weapons and how much older everyone is now. It’s not that young Ravens team anymore. “It’s definitely a huge game. You know how this division goes and how it turns out. I think our defense went out there and trusted us to do our job. Nobody tried to do anything different. Nobody tried to be Superman. We just went out there and trusted each other and balled.” The Steelers bothered Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson on Sunday, keeping the two-time MVP out of a rhythm. (Matt Freed/AP) The Ravens had 329 yards of total offense but never found a rhythm. They couldn’t pound the ball because Pittsburgh often crashed the line of scrimmage with cornerbacks and safeties took away the Ravens’ famed toss play to Henry. The Ravens were only 4 of 11 on third down, and most teams strive to be near 50%. Pittsburgh controlled the clock for 36:22 compared with 23:38 for the Ravens. The Ravens couldn’t stay on the field. Heyward had four tackles with one quarterback hurry. Watt had three tackles with one sack and two pressures on Jackson. Nose tackle Keeanu Benton had three tackles and end Larry Ogunjobi had five to lead all the linemen. That’s a pretty good day. Against the Ravens, that’s excellent because it takes them out of their offense. Pass protection is not the Ravens’ forte. Jackson, though, was more concerned with the penalties and the turnovers. The Ravens were flagged 12 times for 80 yards. They lost two fumbles and threw one interception. Related Articles Baltimore Ravens | Steelers coach Mike Tomlin on ex-Ravens LB Patrick Queen: ‘One man’s trash is another man’s treasure’ Baltimore Ravens | Justin Tucker explains two missed FGs in Ravens’ loss to Pittsburgh Baltimore Ravens | The Baltimore Sun’s Ravens report card: Position-by-position grades for 18-16 loss to Steelers Baltimore Ravens | Ravens flummoxed by Steelers again in mistake-filled 18-16 loss Baltimore Ravens | Instant analysis from Ravens’ 18-16 loss to Pittsburgh Steelers “It’s annoying. We’re busting our behinds just like anybody else,” Jackson said. “We’re trying to put points on the board, and we’re getting costly penalties each and every drive. Every time we were out there, I believe there was almost a penalty each and every drive — that’s crazy. But it’s a part of football. We just have to overcome it and put points on the board.” There might also be some pressure mentally because the Steelers have dominated this series recently. “If anything, we’re just too hyped at the beginning,” Jackson said. “Because I believe when we settle down, we start making things happen. In this type of game, it’s a momentum game, it was swinging for both teams. And those guys had the best swing at the end.” It was more like a punch, one that landed squarely in the gut. Have a news tip? Contact Mike Preston at epreston@baltsun.com, 410-332-6467 and x.com/MikePrestonSun. View the full article

Leave it to Steelers coach Mike Tomlin to pour some fuel on the fire that burns at the heart of one of the NFL’s most fascinating rivalries. Entering Sunday’s matchup in Pittsburgh, much was made of Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen playing his former team for the first time. A Pro Bowl selection last year in Baltimore, Queen became a free agent this offseason and signed a three-year, $41 million deal with the Ravens’ hated division rival. While Queen said he didn’t receive a contract offer from the Ravens, the writing was on the wall regarding his future when Baltimore acquired Roquan Smith from the Chicago Bears midway through the 2022 season and later re-signed the two-time All-Pro to a five-year, $100 million extension. The Ravens also picked linebacker Trenton Simpson in the third round of the 2023 draft, an obvious succession plan for whenever Queen commanded a lucrative contract in free agency. While Queen acknowledged that he was hurt by being cast aside by the organization that drafted him in the first round in 2020 — and has embraced taking on a “villain” role with his new team — he’s largely avoided the kind of bulletin board material that fans and media gravitate toward. Maybe the most inflammatory thing he’s said since leaving Charm City has been his take that Pittsburgh’s food scene is better than Baltimore’s. So after Sunday’s 18-16 win over the Ravens, Queen didn’t gloat. It was his coach. “You know, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” Tomlin told reporters when asked about Queen’s performance. “I’m glad he is on our team.” He certainly should be, considering Queen finished with a team-high 10 tackles and forced a fumble near the end of the first half that led to a Steelers field goal. With 38 seconds left in the second quarter, Queen ripped the ball from tight end Isaiah Likely’s hands and recovered it himself near the Ravens’ sideline. Though safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and left guard Patrick Mekari were called for offsetting unsportsmanlike conduct penalties after the play, Queen celebrated by running toward the end zone and soaking in the moment with the home crowd. “Seeing [Jackson] after the game, I know he really wants these wins, especially in the division,” Queen said. “Give him all the credit, great player, MVP, but Pittsburgh just has a plan.” Have a news tip? Contact sports editor C.J. Doon at cdoon@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/CJDoon. View the full article

A disconcerting season from the NFL’s most accurate kicker of all time continues. Ravens veteran Justin Tucker sent a pair of first-quarter field goals wide left, from 47 and 50 yards, before finally connecting on a 57-yard attempt in the third. That’s six points left on the table in a divisional loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers decided by two. An 18-16 loss pushed Baltimore 1 1/2 games back in the AFC North standings. “Tuck needs to make more kicks,” coach John Harbaugh deadpanned postgame. “He knows that.” Tucker made more of a point to aim further out to the right half between the uprights after hooking his initial two tries. But as he has said all season, his confidence never wavers the next time he steps onto the field. “It’s certainly frustrating,” he said, “especially when we know that these games come down to the wire, like this one did today, that I let a couple get away.” Tucker’s Sunday struggles were the first time he’d missed a pair of field goals in a single game since 2022. It has happened five times before Sunday. Here’s the short list: Sept. 15, 2013 vs. the Cleveland Browns Dec. 14, 2015 vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars Nov. 22, 2015 vs. the St. Louis Rams Dec. 22, 2018 vs. the Los Angeles Chargers Dec. 17, 2022 vs. the Browns “I still remember misses that I had 12 years ago, and I will wake up at night thinking about one that got away,” Tucker said. “But that’s just the nature of playing this position — you have to treat each one like its own kick. So, the first two that I missed today, I was still trying to make it a point to do just that — treat each kick for what it’s worth — and ultimately, just decided to make a slight adjustment moving forward for the remaining opportunities that we would have for the rest of the day. “I just made it a point and communicated with [long snapper] Nick [Moore] and [holder] Jordan [Stout]; ‘Hey, I’m going to pick a target line that’s going to be more right-third of the uprights, and we’re just going to just smash a ball and go from there.'” Back in September, when Tucker missed a field goal in three consecutive weeks to open the season, Harbaugh downplayed it as a “technical issue.” Something he was confident the five-time All-Pro with a maniacal attention to detail could sort out. “He knows exactly what it is,” Harbaugh said at the time. “He just needs to smooth it back out.” That was after Week 3. Tucker was then perfect until a Week 8 loss to the Cleveland Browns. He missed an extra point two weeks later, during “Thursday Night Football” against Cincinnati and unraveled against the Steelers on Sunday. The field conditions at Acrisure Stadium were not an issue, he said, but it “wasn’t ideal.” University of Pittsburgh and Clemson played on the field on Saturday. Throughout the course of a game, grass between the hashes can naturally get chewed up a bit. It’s something they’re accounting for in warmups – which included Tucker connecting on a 60-yard try – and as the game wears on. Tucker’s misses on Sunday were part of an uncharacteristic outing for the Ravens’ league-best scoring attack. His first attempt would have knotted the game at 3 apiece. His second could have given Baltimore an early lead in a matchup where points were hard to come by. Meanwhile, Tucker’s counterpart, Steelers kicker Chris Boswell, sank his six kicks to account for all of his team’s 18 points. Sunday became the first time in the history of the rivalry one team did not score a touchdown and won the game. Tucker is now one errant attempt away from tying his most field-goal misses in a single season. The last time he missed seven field goals was 2015, but it took him 40 tries to get there. He’s only at 22 through Week 11. That 2015 campaign was also the only time he’s finished made fewer than 85% of his field goals in a season. At 73%, Tucker is tracking toward his first sub-80% season. Related Articles Baltimore Ravens | Ravens flummoxed by Steelers again in mistake-filled 18-16 loss Baltimore Ravens | Instant analysis from Ravens’ 18-16 loss to Pittsburgh Steelers Baltimore Ravens | Ravens LB Roquan Smith exits with hamstring injury vs. Steelers Baltimore Ravens | Ravens vs. Steelers, November 17, 2024 | PHOTOS Baltimore Ravens | Ravens vs. Steelers live updates: Postgame reaction and analysis from Baltimore’s 18-16 loss In his career, Tucker had an 89.7% success rate on field goals entering Sunday. His 1-for-3 outing drops him to 89.3%, still a half tick better than Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker (89.2%), who underwent knee surgery this week that will sideline him for at least three games. The “most accurate kicker” crown still sits atop Tucker’s head, but it’s hanging on by a few strands of well-coiffed hair. Asked earlier this season if his range has changed at all, now in year 13, Tucker said he felt as good as he’s ever felt. It was just a matter of cleaning up a few details in his swing and strike. “He made the long one, which is good to see, which means he’ still very capable,” Harbaugh said. “Kick ‘em straight and we’ll be good.” Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn. View the full article

Here’s how the Ravens (7-4) graded out at every position after an 18-16 loss to the Steelers (8-2) on Sunday at Acrisure Stadium: Quarterback Lamar Jackson had an off day. He missed open receivers and seemed lost when pressured. Pittsburgh controlled him with a lot of four-man rushes and got a lot of pressure from the outside with outside linebackers Elandon Roberts and T.J. Watt. Jackson completed 16 of 33 passes for 207 yards but had an interception and finished with a passer rating of 66.1. Neither he nor the offense were in sync. Pittsburgh has won eight of nine against the Ravens, and Jackson is 1-4 as a starter. Until proven otherwise, the Steelers own him. Grade: C- Running backs I figured the Ravens would run Derrick Henry more, but that apparently wasn’t in the game plan. Henry rushed 13 times for 65 yards and had a long of 31, but Pittsburgh appeared ready, crashing the line of scrimmage with safeties and cornerbacks. Pittsburgh was committed to not getting beat by Henry or allowing Jackson to throw a lot out of the pocket. Hill had two carries for 13 yards and four receptions for 28, but the possible reception turned into an interception by Payton Wilson in the fourth quarter was a game-changer. Grade: C Offensive line The Ravens had 329 yards of offense, but it was a quiet 329 yards. The Ravens didn’t have good balance, with 19 rushing plays compared with 33 passes. Jackson was sacked twice but pressured six other times. Both tackles, Ronnie Stanley and Roger Rosengarten, struggled on the outside and left guard Patrick Mekari was called at least twice for illegally being downfield. The Ravens were also penalized 12 times for 80 yards, with the offensive line a frequent culprit. Grade: D Receivers The Ravens averaged 12.9 yards a reception and they got decent performances from tight end Isaiah Likely (4 catches, 75 yards) and slot receiver Zay Flowers (2 catches, 39 yards, TD), but the Ravens also had a couple of key drops. Like the rest of this group, the Ravens have to find a rhythm. A key to this offense is Jackson moving around and allowing his receivers to get open, but Pittsburgh kept the pressure on Jackson and receivers struggled with Jackson under pressure. Tight end Mark Andrews only had two catches for 22 yards with a long of 14. Grade: C The Ravens’ offense wasn’t as efficient against the Steelers as it has been in other games this season. (Matt Freed/AP) Defensive line The Steelers kicked six field goals but they pounded the Ravens’ defensive line, rushing 34 times for 122 yards. Harris had 63 yards on 18 carries and Warren had 41 on nine, and Pittsburgh controlled the middle of the Ravens’ defensive line and the perimeter. Despite Pittsburgh’s small-ball passing game, this group got after the Ravens pretty well even though tackles Nnamdi Madubuike and Broderick Washington finished with five tackles each. Grade: C- Linebackers Outside linebacker Odafe Oweh had five tackles, including 2 1/2 sacks. Fellow outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy had a decent game rushing the passer and forced quarterback Russell Wilson to move several times. Weakside linebacker Malik Harrison had six tackles and Trenton Simpson had five, but Pittsburgh found success running off the edges in the second half. Middle linebacker Roquan Smith led the Ravens in tackles with 13 but had trouble slipping and getting off blockers before exiting with a hamstring injury. Regardless, this group turned in a decent game. Grade: C+ Secondary Wilson completed 23 of 36 passes for 205 yards, and it was interesting that the Ravens couldn’t slow him down. Pittsburgh either went with quick passes to receiver George Pickens or over the middle to tight end Darnell Washington, who averaged 21 yards a catch on two receptions. Tre’Davious White played well, even though he should have been called twice for pass interference on Pickens, but at least he gives the Ravens options at cornerback. Safety Ar’Darius Washington had 11 tackles and Kyle Hamilton had 10. Cornerback Brandon Stephens had five tackles including half a sack, but he did give up a 37-yard reception to Pickens in the second half. Regardless, Pittsburgh didn’t play bombs away against this group. Grade: C+ Related Articles Baltimore Ravens | Ravens flummoxed by Steelers again in mistake-filled 18-16 loss Baltimore Ravens | Instant analysis from Ravens’ 18-16 loss to Pittsburgh Steelers Baltimore Ravens | Ravens LB Roquan Smith exits with hamstring injury vs. Steelers Baltimore Ravens | Ravens vs. Steelers, November 17, 2024 | PHOTOS Baltimore Ravens | Ravens vs. Steelers live updates: Postgame reaction and analysis from Baltimore’s 18-16 loss Special teams Justin Tucker missed field goals of 47 and 50 yards, both of which were wide left. Tucker converted on a 54-yard attempt in the third quarter but that won’t stop all the questions about his leg strength for the rest of the year. The Ravens were fortunate that punter Jordan Stout had a good day, averaging 54.3 yards on six punts, including a long of 70 yards. I wasn’t thrilled by Keaton Mitchell returning kickoffs but I have a better appreciation of him now as he returned three kickoffs for 79 yards. Those missed field goals should have been a turning point for the Ravens. Grade: D Coaching It seems coach John Harbaugh comes up with some silly decisions every game. On the 2-point conversion attempt that could have tied the game, the Ravens showed the play as Pittsburgh called timeout. Instead of changing up, the Ravens ran Jackson to the left instead of to the right. Huh? Not smart. It also wasn’t smart for Harbaugh to attempt to move the ball down the field in the final minute of the first half, with a short pass to Likely turning into a fumble and three Pittsburgh points. The offense never got into a rhythm, but at least the defense played well enough to win, even though the Ravens allowed 303 yards of total offense. Grade: D Have a news tip? Contact Mike Preston at epreston@baltsun.com, 410-332-6467 and x.com/MikePrestonSun. View the full article

PITTSBURGH — The Ravens came into Sunday’s showdown with the rival Steelers with the NFL’s best offense. All Pittsburgh needed, though, was kicker Chris Boswell. Boswell connected on six field goals and Pittsburgh stopped a would-be game-tying 2-point conversion with 1:06 left to hold on for an 18-16 victory over rival Baltimore in a critical AFC North showdown. The victory improves the Steelers to 8-2 on the year and puts them in control of the division while Baltimore falls to 7-4. Just as impressive as Boswell’s kicking, which included kicks from 52, 57 and 50 yards, was the Steelers’ defense. Reigning NFL Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson was held to just 16 of 33 passing for 207 yards and one touchdown with an interception, just his third of the year. Meanwhile, the Ravens were plagued by silly penalties and costly turnovers that proved too much to overcome, even for the MVP front-runner. Baltimore was flagged 12 times for 80 yards and committed three turnovers, including one on the second play of the game and another midway through the fourth quarter. The latter was a dagger. With the Steelers clinging to a 15-10 lead, Jackson appeared to complete a long pass down the left sideline to running back Justice Hill. But linebacker Payton Wilson wrestled the ball away from him for an interception, killing the drive and giving the ball back to Pittsburgh at its own 36-yard line. The Steelers then methodically moved 32 yards in 10 plays, chewing up 4:39 in the process before Boswell made his final kick of the day. Still, the Ravens had a chance because they have Jackson. Baltimore got the ball back with 3:29 remaining and Jackson drove the Ravens 69 yards in nine plays in 2:29, hitting Zay Flowers for a 16-yard touchdown. But a wild, scrambling pass on the 2-point conversion attempt fell incomplete. Rather than try an onside kick with all three timeouts remaining and just over a minute to play, the Ravens kicked off. The Steelers then converted a third-and-1 to seal it. Baltimore, which has now dropped four straight and eight of its past nine against Pittsburgh, will harp on its missed opportunities. Among them were a pair of first-half missed field goals from Justin Tucker, who misfired from 47 and 50 yards, with both kicks sailing wide left. Likewise, the Ravens’ offense never found its rhythm, though it wasn’t without its chances. Four times Baltimore had the ball in the first 15 minutes of the game. But the Ravens came away with zero points after a fumble by Derrick Henry (13 carries for 65 yards) on the game’s second play and the first of Tucker’s missed kicks. Those weren’t the only missed opportunities. On a third-and-10 from the Steelers’ 30-yard line, Jackson threw incomplete to a well-covered Johnson in the back left corner of the end zone. In doing so, he missed a wide-open Flowers streaking across the field. Tensions were high from the start between the two bitter rivals with first place in the division at stake in their most meaningful contest in years. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson throws a pass while Steelers defensive tackle Dean Lowry closes in on Sunday in Pittsburgh. (Gene J. Puskar/AP) Steelers running back Najee Harris (18 carries for 63 yards) exchanged words after getting stuffed on a fourth-and-1, then linebacker Nick Herbig had words for Jackson after a first down. It kept going, too. Harris pointed for a first down in front of Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton after trying to hurdle him. A brief melee broke out after center Zach Frazier took a run at Humphrey after an 8-yard completion to Pickens. Then Humphrey and tackle Broderick Jones drew offsetting unsportsmanlike penalties. The Ravens’ offense only briefly came to life. Trailing 6-0 with about five minutes remaining in the half, Jackson hit Rashod Bateman for a 19-yard gain over the middle. Then Henry shot through a hole off left tackle for a 31-yard gain with only Minkah Fitzpatrick’s shoestring tackle saving a touchdown. It was only a matter of time. Jackson connected with tight end Isaiah Likely (4 catches for 65 yards) for an 18-yard gain down the left sideline and two carries later Henry plunged across the goal line for the touchdown. But even when the Ravens took a step forward, they took two back. Related Articles Baltimore Ravens | Instant analysis from Ravens’ 18-16 loss to Pittsburgh Steelers Baltimore Ravens | Ravens LB Roquan Smith exits with hamstring injury vs. Steelers Baltimore Ravens | Ravens vs. Steelers, November 17, 2024 | PHOTOS Baltimore Ravens | Ravens vs. Steelers live updates: Postgame reaction and analysis from Baltimore’s 18-16 loss Baltimore Ravens | Ravens S Eddie Jackson won’t travel with team to Pittsburgh On first-and-10 from their own 9-yard line with just 38 seconds remaining in the half, Jackson hit Likely on a short pass, but the tight end was stripped by former Ravens linebacker Patrick Queen, who also recovered the fumble, leading to an easy 32-yard field goal to push Pittsburgh back in front 9-7 at the half. Things also got tense immediately following the turnover with Mekari and Fitzpatrick getting flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. Jackson, who was tied with Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow for the NFL lead in touchdown passes (24) and tops in yards per attempt (9.3) coming into the week, was just 8 for 18 for 120 yards in the first half. It was also a wasted effort for what has been a much-maligned defense. Odafe Oweh had three sacks. Broderick Washington added another. Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson was held to just 205 passing yards for the game and without a touchdown, and Harris averaged just 3.5 yards per carry with a long of 13 yards. It still wasn’t enough. This article will be updated. Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. Ravens kicker Justin Tucker reacts after missing his second field goal attempt Sunday against the Steelers in Pittsburgh. (Matt Freed/AP) View the full article

Here’s what The Baltimore Sun sports staff had to say immediately after the Ravens’ 18-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Sunday afternoon’s Week 11 game at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh: Childs Walker, reporter: It’s uncanny how, no matter what’s going on with either team, the Ravens and Steelers find their way back to tense, brutal games decided as much by what goes wrong as what goes right. Pittsburgh turned Lamar Jackson and the league’s top offense into a disjointed mess. Russell Wilson threw a crucial interception and couldn’t find the end zone against the Ravens’ league-worst pass defense. It’s a formula that has favored the Steelers in the recent history of the AFC North’s most enduring rivalry. Mistakes have defined the Ravens’ recent losses to Pittsburgh, and that was the case again in the first half Sunday. They started on a sour note with Derrick Henry losing a fumble in their territory, though they did well to hold the Steelers to a field goal. A holding penalty on Ronnie Stanley short circuited their second drive. On drive No. 3, Justin Tucker missed (left, of course) from 47 yards after Isaiah Likely’s 42-yard catch and run put the Ravens in prime position to score. Tucker also missed from 50 later in the first half, and his struggles have become a significant issue as the Ravens look ahead to the postseason. Jackson had time to throw, but his radar was as off as we’ve seen it all season. The Ravens stayed in the game because their oft-maligned defense did a terrific job pressuring Wilson and getting Pittsburgh off the field on third downs. Odafe Oweh was dominant. Tre’Davious White, playing his first snaps as a Raven, broke up a potential touchdown just before halftime after Likely coughed up another fumble deep in Baltimore territory. Mike Preston, columnist: The Ravens played right into the Steelers’ hands. They didn’t have much of an offense and quarterback Lamar Jackson had an off day, at least according to his standards. The defense played surprisingly well, holding Pittsburgh to six field goals, but the Steelers’ offense is pretty vanilla. They didn’t throw the ball downfield much, and they stuck with a lot of screens and short to intermediate passes across the middle. It was a sloppy game, but there are no excuses. The Steelers outplayed the Ravens up front and dominated the line of scrimmage. It was as simple as that as the Steelers take control of the AFC North. Sam Cohn, reporter: Well this was something new. The Ravens’ offense — statistically the NFL’s best — seemed all out of sorts from the start, marred by two fumbles (Derrick Henry and Isaiah Likely) and an interception. They were continually bailed out by their defense. Pittsburgh’s touchdown-less outing was the first time since Week 9 last year an opposing team couldn’t find the end zone. By the end, the defense looked gassed and undermanned, with linebacker Roquan Smith ruled out with a hamstring injury. Baltimore’s 12 penalties for 80 yards hurt them (they lead the league in both categories). Justin Tucker’s pair of missed field goals were deflating, compared to his counterpart, Chris Boswell’s perfect 6-for-6. And even when cornerback Marlon Humphrey came up with a critical interception in the end zone, the offense failed to capitalize. That said, these Ravens are never truly out of it. Lamar Jackson manufactured an impressive nine-play, 69-yard final drive, capped by a Zay Flowers touchdown. But a malfunction on the 2-point conversion — a play that curiously did not include Henry — keeps the Ravens a game and a half back in the AFC North. Related Articles Baltimore Ravens | Ravens vs. Steelers, November 17, 2024 | PHOTOS Baltimore Ravens | Ravens vs. Steelers live updates: Pittsburgh leads 15-10 in 3rd quarter Baltimore Ravens | Ravens S Eddie Jackson won’t travel with team to Pittsburgh Baltimore Ravens | Ravens S Kyle Hamilton says he’ll play Sunday vs. Steelers; CB Arthur Maulet out Baltimore Ravens | Ravens gearing up for a showdown with the Steelers | PHOTOS Tim Schwartz, editor: There’s something in the Monongahela River and it’s proved to be the Ravens’ kryptonite. Despite not allowing a touchdown for the first time since its demolition of the Seahawks last year, Baltimore couldn’t solve the Steelers and now have an uphill climb to repeat as AFC North champions. Three turnovers, two missed field goals by Justin Tucker and one failed 2-point try were too much to overcome for the Ravens, who somehow look ordinary against the Steelers time and time again — and it’s hard to explain why. Pittsburgh is inexplicably 8-2. It defies logic. The Ravens have their work cut out for them and have the Chargers and Eagles next before their bye. That’s not an easy road, and they’ll look back at this one if they somehow miss the postseason and waste Lamar Jackson’s best season yet. Bennett Conlin, editor: A comedy of errors cost Baltimore a win and the AFC North lead. The defense hung tough for much of the afternoon, giving the team at least one positive to take from the disheartening loss. As for the offense, it played its worst game of the season, turning the ball over three times and scoring just two touchdowns. It didn’t help that Justin Tucker missed a pair of field goals in the low-scoring game, as questions about his performance will linger throughout the season. Can Baltimore trust their legendary kicker in 2024? It was sloppy. The Ravens made far too many mistakes to beat a competent opponent on the road. It’s a frustrating loss for players, coaches and fans because the Ravens look like a more legitimate Super Bowl contender than the Steelers, but they couldn’t get out of their own way. From the special teams failures to the offensive mishaps to the unrelenting penalty woes, Baltimore didn’t look like a team deserving of a division lead. View the full article

Ravens linebacker and defensive leader Roquan Smith walked gingerly off the field under his own power in the fourth quarter and was ruled out with a hamstring injury Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, a significant loss during a game in which Baltimore’s defense was its strongest unit. Smith leads Baltimore in tackles with 110, 13 of which came Sunday. He was taken to the blue medical tent earlier in the game but returned before a second exit. CBS cameras panned to Smith on the sideline running his fingers through his hair in frustration with the verdict he would not be able to return. His absence was immediately evident. Without their green dot signal-caller, the Steelers drove the length of the field in eight plays before cornerback Marlon Humphrey picked off Pittsburgh quarterback Russell Wilson in the back of the end zone. Ravens interior defensive lineman Travis Jones was also in and out of the lineup Sunday. After a week of limited participation in practice nursing an ankle injury, Jones returned to the field after halftime with a pronounced limp. His designation has not yet been announced. This article will be updated. Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn. View the full article

Baltimore Ravens place kicker Justin Tucker reacts after missing a field goal against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) looks to pass as Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi (99) and defensive tackle Dean Lowry (94) try to stop him during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) throws a pass between the coverage of Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Dean Lowry (94) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Diontae Johnson, right, attempts to catch a pass in front of Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Beanie Bishop Jr. during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker (9) and holder Jordan Stout watch as Tucker misses a second field goal attempt during the first half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) throws a pass between the coverage of Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Dean Lowry (94) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson takes the snap against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson scrambles against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed) Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris, left, runs with the ball as Baltimore Ravens linebacker Malik Harrison (40) and linebacker Roquan Smith (0) try to stop him during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed) Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson looks to pass against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed) Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Chris Boswell (9), with Corliss Waitman holding, kicks a field goal gainst the Baltimore Ravens during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry, left, runs with the ball as Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Keeanu Benton (95) tries to get to him during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed) Baltimore Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith (0) tackles Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed) Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson (3) is pursued by Baltimore Ravens linebacker Kyle Van Noy during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson works out prior to an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed) View the full article

The Ravens (7-3) and Pittsburgh Steelers (7-2) meet Sunday at Acrisure Stadium with first place in the AFC North on the line. Baltimore has won seven of its past eight games behind NFL Most Valuable Player favorite Lamar Jackson, while Pittsburgh has won four in a row while scoring 26 or more points in each game. Russell Wilson is 3-0 as the starter since taking over for Justin Fields. Follow along here for live coverage and analysis. View the full article

The Ravens’ secondary depth could be tested Sunday. Veteran safety Eddie Jackson will not travel to Pittsburgh with the team and has been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Steelers. The Ravens said the move is non-injury related, as Jackson didn’t appear on the injury report this week. Jackson, 30, has recorded 30 tackles in nine games this season while playing 55% of the defensive snaps. The two-time Pro Bowl selection and 2018 All-Pro with the Chicago Bears signed a one-year deal in the offseason to provide depth behind starters Kyle Hamilton and Marcus Williams. Hamilton is expected to play Sunday despite suffering an ankle injury in last week’s win over the Cincinnati Bengals and missing practice Wednesday, but cornerback Arthur Maulet was ruled out after suffering a calf injury at Thursday’s practice. The depth at safety includes Ar’Darius Washington, who has been a regular contributor at safety this season, seventh-round draft pick Sanoussi Kane and undrafted free agent Beau Brade. The Ravens also acquired veteran cornerback Tre’Davious White at the trade deadline, but the 29-year-old has yet to make his team debut. Related Articles Baltimore Ravens | Ravens S Kyle Hamilton says he’ll play Sunday vs. Steelers; CB Arthur Maulet out Baltimore Ravens | Ravens gearing up for a showdown with the Steelers | PHOTOS Baltimore Ravens | Ravens vs. Steelers rivalry holds extra meaning for those who played both sides Baltimore Ravens | Ravens vs. Steelers takes center stage again with old-school feel Baltimore Ravens | Ravens vs. Steelers staff picks: Who will win Sunday’s game in Pittsburgh? Baltimore’s passing defense enters Week 11 ranked last in the NFL, allowing 294.9 yards per game. According to Pro Football Reference, Jackson has allowed three touchdown passes and a 132.2 passer rating when targeted this season. He’s also ranked 82nd of 87 safeties in Pro Football Focus grading. The Ravens also elevated inside linebacker Kristian Welch from the practice squad for Sunday’s game. Welch, 26, has been a contributor on special teams in two games this season during his second stint with Baltimore. He can be promoted one more time before the Ravens need to either add him to the 53-man roster or waive him. The Ravens (7-3) can take first place in the AFC North with a win over the Steelers (7-2), who have won four straight games and three in a row with Russell Wilson as the starting quarterback. View the full article

Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton will play in Sunday’s critical AFC North showdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. Eight days after suffering a right ankle injury in a win over the Cincinnati Bengals, the All-Pro and versatile third-year defender practiced for a second straight day in Owings Mills and declared himself ready to go. Coach John Harbaugh also said he was optimistic that Hamilton would play. “It was big for me to go out and at least do a full practice before the game,” Hamilton said Friday. “I’ll be out there.” He added that he was initially scared the injury was more serious when went down late in the second quarter of Baltimore’s game against the Bengals at M&T Bank Stadium, thinking it was perhaps a torn Achilles tendon. It turned out to only be a sprain, and he said the long weekend of rest helped. Cornerback Arthur Maulet (calf), however, won’t be available. The 31-year-old veteran was in a walking boot after Thursday’s practice and was ruled out Friday. It’s been a rough season for the former Steeler, who only recently returned from a hamstring injury, which was preceded by a knee injury that landed him on injured reserve to start the season. With Maulet sidelined, that should mean a slight uptick in snaps for defensive back Ar’Darius Washington, who can play both safety and nickel back. It could also result in utilizing cornerback Marlon Humphrey more inside with rookie Nate Wiggins and Brandon Stephens on the outside. Hamilton’s return, though, is a boost for a pass defense that is the worst in the NFL with Baltimore allowing a league high 294.9 passing yards per game along with 7.9 yards per completion, which ranks 29th. Related Articles Baltimore Ravens | Ravens gearing up for a showdown with the Steelers | PHOTOS Baltimore Ravens | Ravens vs. Steelers rivalry holds extra meaning for those who played both sides Baltimore Ravens | Ravens vs. Steelers takes center stage again with old-school feel Baltimore Ravens | Ravens vs. Steelers staff picks: Who will win Sunday’s game in Pittsburgh? Baltimore Ravens | Ravens DC Zach Orr ‘crushed’ after win vs. Bengals and held an open forum film study Defensive tackle Travis Jones (ankle), who has been one of the league’s best interior defenders this season, is questionable after being limited Thursday and Friday. Otherwise, the Ravens (7-3) are largely healthy with Maulet the only absence Friday two days ahead of the their first game against the Steelers (7-2) this season with first place in the division on the line. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, will be without edge rusher Alex Highsmith (ankle) and cornerback C.J. Henderson (neck). Reserve tight end MyCole Pruitt (knee/rest) was also listed as doubtful after not practicing all week. Highsmith is third on the team in sacks with three and has 24 total pressures this season, per Pro Football Focus. Last season, he had a crucial strip-sack of Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson to help seal the Steelers’ 17-10 victory in Pittsburgh. Running back Jaylen Warren (back) was a limited participant, however, after not practicing Thursday. The third-year back is second behind Najee Harris on the depth chart and has rushed for 217 yards on 55 carries and has 14 catches for 96 yards this season. He recorded 66 rushing yards and 29 receiving yards in Sunday’s win against the Washington Commanders, both season highs, but also lost a fumble at the 1-yard line in the fourth quarter. Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Nelson Agholor participates in a passing drill during Thursday's practice in Owings Mills, Md. (Kevin Richardson/Staff). (Kevin Richardson/Staff) Baltimore Ravens inside linebacker Roquan Smith tosses the ball during team practice before traveling for a Sunday NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. (Karl M. Ferron/Staff) Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Diontae Johnson, left, talks with teammate Zay Flowers during Thursday's practice in Owings Mills, Md. (Kevin Richardson/Staff). (Kevin Richardson/Staff) Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jaskson participates in a passing drill during Thursday's practice in Owings Mills, Md. (Kevin Richardson/Staff). (Kevin Richardson/Staff) Baltimore Ravens cornerbacks Tre'Davious White, left and Arthur Maulet practice before traveling for a Sunday NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. (Karl M. Ferron/Staff) Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Diontae Johnson turns upfield during team practice before traveling for a Sunday NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. (Karl M. Ferron/Staff) Baltimore Ravens secondary coach Doug Mallory talks during team practice before traveling for a Sunday NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. (Karl M. Ferron/Staff) Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Diontae Johnson participates in a passing drill during Thursday's practice in Owings Mills, Md. (Kevin Richardson/Staff). (Kevin Richardson/Staff) Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Diontae Johnson participates in a passing drill during Thursday's practice in Owings Mills, Md. (Kevin Richardson/Staff). (Kevin Richardson/Staff) Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Tylan Wallace participates in a passing drill during Thursday's practice in Owings Mills, Md. (Kevin Richardson/Staff). (Kevin Richardson/Staff) Baltimore Ravens inside linebacker Roquan Smith catches the ball during team practice before traveling for a Sunday NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. (Karl M. Ferron/Staff) Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews participates in a passing drill during Thursday's practice in Owings Mills, Md. (Kevin Richardson/Staff) Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Nelson Agholor participates in a passing drill during Thursday's practice in Owings Mills, Md. (Kevin Richardson/Staff). (Kevin Richardson/Staff) Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jaskson participates in a passing drill during Thursday's practice in Owings Mills, Md. (Kevin Richardson/Staff). (Kevin Richardson/Staff) Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman participates in a passing drill during Thursday's practice in Owings Mills, Md. (Kevin Richardson/Staff). (Kevin Richardson/Staff) Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers participates in a passing drill during Thursday's practice in Owings Mills, Md. (Kevin Richardson/Staff). (Kevin Richardson/Staff) Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Diontae Johnson participates in a passing drill during Thursday's practice in Owings Mills, Md. (Kevin Richardson/Staff). (Kevin Richardson/Staff) Show Caption1 of 17Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Nelson Agholor participates in a passing drill during Thursday's practice in Owings Mills, Md. (Kevin Richardson/Staff). (Kevin Richardson/Staff) Expand View the full article

The Steelers were on their way to the airport after a dramatic, one-point victory over the Commanders on Sunday when linebacker Patrick Queen turned to safety DeShon Elliott and informed him that he was going to avoid the locker room back in Pittsburgh this week. The reason, Elliott said on ex-teammate Marlon Humphrey’s podcast, was simple: “You know why,” he recounted. “It’s that week. It’s Ravens week.” Of course, Queen, who, like Elliott, spent his first four seasons in the NFL in Baltimore, couldn’t entirely avoid it, by choice or otherwise. “Even though I signed here, you still go through those feelings,” Queen told reporters, “knowing a long four years that you put in, blood, sweat and tears over there, the guys you bonded with, built close relationships with. “You put your body on the line every single time you went out there even when you could barely move your leg or whatever the injury might have been. You try to go out there and do your best for your team. I definitely did feel a certain type of way after the whole situation, but I’m over it now.” This week’s AFC North blockbuster between the Ravens (7-3) and Steelers (7-2) at Acrisure Stadium takes on a level of import the longstanding and tense rivalry hasn’t seen in years, the winner strong-arming first place with just seven weeks remaining in the regular season after it. Once the NFL’s best rivalry in the early 2000s and front end of the 2010s, the rekindling takes on another layer this year. Three former Ravens — Elliott, Queen and linebacker Jeremiah Moon — now play for Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, two ex-Steelers — cornerback Arthur Maulet and wide receiver Diontae Johnson — are now with Baltimore. It makes for a juicy subplot in a game already full of intrigue. No one is more at the nexus of it than the former Ravens Pro Bowl linebacker, who, along with Roquan Smith, roamed the middle for a Ravens defense that was once one of the best in the league. At his introductory news conference in Pittsburgh in March, he embraced the role of heel when it came to the Ravens. “I wanna be that villain,” Queen said. “I wanna be that guy, so I’m looking to do some stuff to them.” Then this week, he bemoaned Baltimore not offering him a contract before he became a free agent this past offseason, though it was obvious what their plans were after signing Smith to a lucrative extension, not picking up Queen’s fifth-year option and drafting his replacement, Trenton Simpson, in 2023. “I wasn’t offered to go back,” Queen said. “I don’t know if I ever put that out there in the public or not. I wasn’t offered back. It was definitely kind of upsetting, being there for four years and the bond you grow with your teammates.” Former Ravens linebacker Patrick Queen, left, is looking forward to facing Roquan Smith, right, and the rest of his former teammates Sunday. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) The same was true for Elliott after a spate of injuries during his tenure with the Ravens before he signed with the Detroit Lions and then Miami Dolphins before joining the Steelers this season. “I wouldn’t say [I’m a] traitor because [general manager] Eric DeCosta had a chance to sign me back and he chose not to,” Elliott told Humphrey on the podcast. “He chose to sign No. 32 [Marcus Williams].” The same, of course, was true of former Steelers receiver Johnson, whose career in Pittsburgh had its share of acrimony — including a heated argument with teammate Minkah Fitzpatrick after a loss to the Cleveland Browns last November — before he was traded to the Panthers in the offseason. His stint with Carolina lasted just seven games, though, with Baltimore acquiring him at the trade deadline 10 days ago in a swap of draft picks. “Just being back in that stadium, where it all started, it’s going to be different,” said Johnson, who downplayed any ill feelings toward the Steelers this week and added that he still keeps in touch with several former teammates there. “I’m ready to get back there, just to see the good people that I made relationships with, but other than that, it’s a big moment for me.” The same could have been true for Maulet as well, though he suffered a calf injury Thursday in practice that will likely keep him out of the contest. Before getting hurt, however, he was looking forward to facing the team that he asked for a release from after the 2022 season over a contract dispute. He quickly signed with the Ravens, then re-signed with Baltimore this offseason. “It’s a little bit [special],” he said earlier in the week. “I think it’s just business at this point. It’s a big game for the whole team not just me.” Especially for the Ravens. Pittsburgh has won seven of its last eight against Baltimore, including both games last season, though Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson along with most of the team’s starters didn’t play in the second meeting with their No. 1 playoff seed having already been wrapped up. Jackson also has a career record of just 1-3 against the Steelers, who have befuddled and frustrated him into costly mistakes on the few occasions that he has faced them. (The reigning NFL Most Valuable Player has missed several games against Pittsburgh because of injury or illness.) Related Articles Baltimore Ravens | Ravens gearing up for a showdown with the Steelers | PHOTOS Baltimore Ravens | Ravens vs. Steelers takes center stage again with old-school feel Baltimore Ravens | Ravens vs. Steelers staff picks: Who will win Sunday’s game in Pittsburgh? Baltimore Ravens | Ravens DC Zach Orr ‘crushed’ after win vs. Bengals and held an open forum film study Baltimore Ravens | Ravens vs. Steelers Week 11 betting guide: Picks, predictions and odds Another loss would drop the Ravens further back of the Steelers, making the road back to the AFC title game that much more difficult to navigate. And as for what role that added degree of familiarity will play between the two teams and the players that have been on both sides of the rivalry? “I think it plays a small part,” Smith said. “But make no mistake about it, they know what we’re going to do, we know what they’re going to do. “We know they’re physical, so are we. And it’s about play in and play out doing your job and smashing the guy across from you. And if we do that, we would like the odds.” Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article