The Pittsburgh Steelers needed a little bit of luck to win the AFC North title on Sunday night.
The Steelers held on for a frantic 26-24 victory over the Baltimore Ravens in the winner-take-all matchup for the division title at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh. AFC North champions for the first time since 2020, the Steelers (10-7) will host the Houston Texans (12-5) in a Wild Card round playoff game on Monday, Jan. 12.
The Ravens (8-9) had a chance to win the game – and send the Steelers home for the offseason – but rookie Tyler Root missed a 44-yard field goal attempt wide right as time expired. Two plays earlier, the Ravens kept their hopes alive with Lamar Jackson connecting with leaping tight end Isaiah Lively on a 26-yard pass play on fourth-and-7 that put the ball on the Steelers’ 24-yard line.
The Steelers took a 26-24 lead with 55 seconds left on Aaron Rodgers’ 26-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Calvin Austin Jr. down the right sideline. However, the normally reliable Chris Boswell sliced his extra point try to the right, keeping it a two-point game and giving the Ravens a chance to potentially win the game with a field goal. It was Boswell’s first missed PAT since 2023.
The oldest player in the NFL at 42, Rodgers threw for a season-high 294 yards and one touchdown while completing 31 of 47 passes. Running back Kenneth Gainwell was the Steelers’ top receiver with eight catches for 64 yards. Jaylen Warren rushed for 66 yards while Gainwell and Connor Heyward had short TD runs as the Steelers held a 73-48 advantage in plays from scrimmage.
Jackson was 11-of-18 passing for 238 yards and three touchdowns and one interception. Two of the scoring passes went to Zay Flowers in the fourth quarter and covered 50 and 64 yards. The second TD gave the Ravens a 24-20 lead with 2:20 remaining.
Derrick Henry had 126 yards rushing on 20 attempts, but 79 of those yards were in the first quarter, helping the Ravens build a 10-0 lead early in the second period.
Cameron Heyward and Keeanu Benton had seven tackles apiece to lead the Steelers. T.J. Watt intercepted a pass after missing the previous three games while recovering from surgery to repair a partially collapsed lung. Derrick Harmon, Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig each had sacks as the Steelers won for the fourth time in their last five games.