Steelers fall to Ravens in OT, 26-23

The Steelers lost an overtime heartbreaker, falling to the Ravens, 26-23. The loss drops the Steelers to 1-4 on the season The team also lost quarterback Mason Rudolph, who suffered a concussion in the game. Rudolph left Heinz Field during the game to be further evaluated at the hospital. Coach Mike Tomlin said he will have an update on Rudolph on Tuesday.The Steelers won the toss in overtime and deferred, putting their defense out there first. The defense held, giving the offense the ball with Devlin Hodges at the helm. Hodges completed a pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster, who fumbled. The ball was recovered by Marlon Humphrey. The Ravens drove down the field at the end of the game and Justin Tucker tied it with 10 seconds to play, 23-23, to send the game into overtime. Chris Boswell put the Steelers back in the driver's seat when he hit a 33-yard field goal with 2:37 to play, going up, 23-20. The key play on the drive was when Hodges scrambled and broke free for a 21-yard gain, with a holding call tacked on to the end of it.With the game tied at 20-20, a swarming defense completely shut down the Ravens. Buried at their own one-yard line following a punt, they went no further. The Ravens had to punt, and the Steelers took over at Baltimore's 45-yard line. The Steelers took their first lead of the game despite losing quarterback Mason Rudolph in the third quarter. Rudolph suffered a concussion on third-and-11 from the Steelers’ 12-yard line while extending the play and eventually finding wide receiver James Washington for a 26-yard gain while absorbing a helmet-to-helmet hit from Ravens safety Earl Thomas III. A 15-yard roughing-the-passer penalty was tacked on and gave the Steelers a first-and-10 at the Baltimore 48. Enter Devlin Hodges.The Steelers’ third quarterback of the season hit wide receiver Diontae Johnson for 13 yards and tight end Vance McDonald, this time on a play-action bootleg, for 14 yards to the Baltimore 1. Running back James Conner, with inside linebacker Tyler Matakevich at fullback, finished off the 10-play, 87-yard drive in 4:40 with a 1-yard touchdown run. Kicker Chris Boswell’s extra point made it 20-17 Steelers, with 3:42 left in the third quarter. The Ravens reached the Steelers’ 9 on their next possession but ultimately settled for a 26-yard field goal from kicker Justin Tucker that tied the game at 20-20. The Steelers scored the final six points of the first half and went to the locker room after two quarters trailing, 17-13. An interception of a deflected pass and 10-yard return by safety Kameron Kelly gave the Steelers possession at the Ravens’ 16. Kelly was being used periodically a six-defensive backs package on third downs. The Steelers reached the Ravens 7 on the subsequent possession but lost 5 yards on a second-and-1 Wildcat sweep by running back Jaylen Samuels and then 11 more when Rudolph was sacked on third-and-6. Boswell salvaged a 41-yard field goal on a scoring drive that lost 7 yards but cut the Ravens’ lead to 17-10.Another interception, this one by nickel cornerback Mike Hilton, set the Steelers up at the Ravens’ 25 with 33 seconds left prior to halftime. A roughing-the-passer penalty pushed the ball to the 11, where Rudolph threw incomplete into the end zone for Washington. Boswell’s 29-yard field goal on the last play of the first half drew the Steelers to within four at the break. The Ravens scored on three consecutive possessions after holding the Steelers without a first down on the game’s opening possession. Baltimore went 50 yards in 10 plays after taking over at its 41-yard line following a punt and 2-yard return and concluded the march with a 27-yard field goal by Tucker for a 3-0 lead. The Steelers’ next snap ended on an interception thrown by Samuels on a Wildcat pass for Washington. Linebacker Josh Bynes’ pick set the Ravens up at the Steelers’ 15. Running back Mark Ingram finished a four-play series with a 4-yard touchdown run for a 10-0 Baltimore lead with 4:48 left in the first quarter. The Ravens went on 13-play, 65-yard drive in 6:20 that culminated with an 11-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Lamar Jackson to wide receiver Marquise Brown for a 17-7 Ravens’ advantage. The Jackson-to-Brown scoring strike countered a 35-yard touchdown pass from Rudolph to wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster that cut the Steelers’ deficit to 10-7. Smith-Schuster hauled in Rudolph’s pass at the Baltimore 20 and ran through cornerback Marlon Humphrey’s attempt to hammer the ball from Smith-Schuster’s grasp at the Ravens’ 10.

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Steelers fall to Ravens in OT, 26-23