Pittsburgh Steelers rally to beat home side Baltimore Ravens 16-13; Kenny Pickett threw the winning touchdown pass to Najee Harris; Pittsburgh still need to defeat Cleveland next weekend and for Miami and New England to both lose to make the play-offs
Last Updated: 02/01/23 8:33am
Kenny Pickett threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Najee Harris that saw the Pittsburgh Steelers secure a 16-13 victory over the Baltimore Ravens with less than a minute left on the clock and stay in the race to make the play-offs.
Story of the game
Kenny Pickett threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Najee Harris with 56 seconds remaining, giving the Pittsburgh Steelers a 16-13 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night and improbably keeping their playoff hopes alive for another week.
It was the first touchdown allowed by Baltimore at home in four games, and the Steelers (8-8) needed it to avoid elimination. Just like they needed Miami to lose to New England earlier in the day, which also happened.
Running back Najee Harris secures the catch for the winning touchdown (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Pittsburgh can now make the playoffs by beating Cleveland next weekend if Miami and New England both lose. A lot still has to go right for them, but a lot did go right for them on Sunday.
Down 13-9, Pickett drove the Steelers 80 yards in 3:20 against their rivals with the season on the line. On third-and-8 from the 10, the rookie scrambled away from pressure and threw a perfect pass to Harris, who had slipped behind linebacker Roquan Smith along the left sideline.
The Ravens (10-6) are heading to the playoffs but now need Buffalo to beat Cincinnati on Monday to win the AFC North.
Tyler Huntley threw a touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely late in the first half for the game’s only other touchdown.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett scrambles against the Baltimore Ravens (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
The Steelers need help to make the playoffs, but they have full control of another streak. They haven’t had a losing record since 2003 and they never have under coach Mike Tomlin, now in his 16th season.
A penalty on Pittsburgh’s Cam Heyward led to the game’s first touchdown. With the score tied at 3 late in the second quarter, the Steelers stopped Baltimore on third down, but Heyward was called for unnecessary roughness while on top of the pile. Instead of settling for a field goal, the Ravens had a new set of downs at the Pittsburgh 7 with 11 seconds left.
On the next play, Huntley threw to his left to Likely at the goal line to put Baltimore up by seven.
The Ravens are 2-2 without quarterback Lamar Jackson, who was sidelined again with a knee injury. The passing game looked sharper on Sunday than in some of Huntley’s previous action, but he was intercepted at the end of the game after the Steelers took the lead.
Pickett hands off to running back Harris (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Stats leaders
Steelers
- Passing: Kenny Pickett, 15/27, 168 yards, 1TD
- Rushing: Najee Harris, 22 carries
- Receiving: Pat Freiermuth, 3 catches, 36 yards
Ravens
- Passing: Tyler Huntley, 14/21, 130 yards, 1TD, 1 INT
- Rushing: J. K. Dobbins, 17 carries, 93 yards
- Receiving: Mark Andrews, 9 catches, 100 yards
What they said
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said: “Poor performance by us. Didn’t get the job done. Very disappointed. We’ve got to play better than that.
“We didn’t do a great job of finding a way to make plays. We had a few here and there.
“We could have put the game away.”
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Pittsburgh Steelers rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett squeezes a go-ahead touch down dime to running back Najee Harris with under one minute left.
What’s next?
The Buffalo Bills visit the Cincinnati Bengals for the final game of week 17, watch live on Sky Sports Action or Sky Sports Main Event live at 1.30am on Tuesday (January 3).
The Ravens need Buffalo to beat Cincinnati to win the AFC North.
Live NFL
January 3, 2023, 1:00am
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