Another trip to Pittsburgh, another frustrating chapter in the Baltimore Ravens’ long-standing rivalry with the Steelers. Baltimore entered Week 11 riding high as the NFL’s top-ranked offense, led by an MVP-caliber Lamar Jackson, a surging run game, and a revitalized receiving corps.
But all that momentum evaporated in an 18-16 slugfest that underscored the Ravens’ recurring struggles against their AFC North nemesis. Pittsburgh has now won seven of the last eight matchups, and Baltimore fans are left asking the same agonizing question: why can’t this team figure it out when it matters most?
On Sunday, the Ravens’ issues weren’t confined to just one area – they were everywhere.
The offense, which has been a model of consistency this season, sputtered to a season-low 329 total yards while turning the ball over three times. Lamar Jackson, the league leader in quarterback rating, looked uncharacteristically flustered, completing just 16 of 33 passes for 207 yards with a touchdown and a crushing interception in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, penalties piled up, 12 in total, snuffing out drives and giving the Steelers prime opportunities to pad their lead with Chris Boswell’s six field goals.
What makes this loss particularly hard to swallow isn’t just the missed opportunities but the sense that the Ravens beat themselves. Justin Tucker missed two first-quarter field goals, Derrick Henry fumbled on the game’s second play, and John Harbaugh’s team once again failed to clean up the sloppy mistakes that have plagued them in high-stakes moments.
Against an opponent like the Steelers, who thrive in these physical, low-scoring battles, the margin for error is razor-thin. And the Ravens were nowhere near sharp enough to win.
3 Ravens to blame for Week 11 loss to Steelers
3. Lamar Jackson
Lamar Jackson is having an MVP-level season, but games like this remind us that he hasn’t fully shaken his kryptonite: the Pittsburgh Steelers. Jackson finished the day with a pedestrian stat line: 16 completions on 33 attempts for 207 yards, a touchdown, and a costly interception.
The interception, snatched away by Steelers linebacker Payton Wilson, effectively killed the Ravens’ momentum after a pivotal defensive stand in the fourth quarter.
Jackson also struggled to find consistency, completing fewer than 50% of his passes at one point, and the offense sputtered under his direction, scoring just 16 points. For a player leading the league’s top-ranked offense, this performance was a disaster. If Jackson wants to cement his legacy as an elite quarterback, he has to find a way to beat Pittsburgh when the stakes are highest.
2. John Harbaugh
John Harbaugh deserves a major slice of the blame for this loss.
Baltimore was completely undisciplined, racking up 12 penalties for 80 yards, and much of that falls on the head coach. Those penalties wiped out big plays, extended Steelers drives, and left the Ravens playing catch-up all afternoon.
Beyond the flags, Harbaugh made a baffling decision on the Ravens’ failed two-point conversion attempt late in the game. With the season’s top red-zone weapon, Derrick Henry, watching from the sideline, Baltimore called a QB run play that Pittsburgh read like a book. Why wasn’t Henry, the player tied for the most rushing touchdowns in franchise history, on the field?
Harbaugh’s inability to get his team to execute cleanly and his questionable decision-making in crunch time were both glaring issues in a game that demanded precision.
1. Justin Tucker
Justin Tucker is the most reliable kicker in NFL history, but even legends have off days. Unfortunately, Tucker picked the worst possible time to falter, missing two first-quarter field goals that ultimately cost Baltimore the game.
The Ravens lost by two points, and if Tucker connects on just one of those kicks, the game’s entire complexion changes. If he hits both, the Ravens win. Missing multiple kicks in the same game is a rarity for Tucker, he hadn’t done it since 2022, and it was jarring to see him struggle in such a tight contest.
Tucker himself admitted the frustration, and he knows better than anyone how crucial those points were. In a rivalry where games are almost always decided by razor-thin margins, Tucker’s misses were devastating.