Steelers vs. Ravens: What they're saying in Baltimore after loss

On a Sunday when the kickers played a major role in the game’s outcome, Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker’s two missed field goals might be bothering him for awhile.

In a post-game interview, Tucker told reporters it can be tough to erase a mistake from his mind — he still thinks about misses in years past.

“I think that’s part of the challenge of playing this position is you have to go out there and make each kick its own kick,” he said. “So, compartmentalizing what happened on one kick that didn’t go through and putting it away so you can go and make the most for your next opportunity, that’s a challenge, that’s not necessarily an easy thing to do.”

Ravens special teams are an issue each week.
Penalties.
Kicking.
Snapping.

It's all out of sync and they're 11 weeks in.

— Baltimore Beatdown (@BmoreBeatdown) November 17, 2024

He made a slight adjustment after the two misses for the rest of the 18-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers before 67,551 fans at Acrisure Stadium. Tucker said the playing surface wasn’t ideal, but it’s something he takes note of during pregame warmups.

“We’ve dealt with that plenty of times here, elsewhere, at home,” he said during the interview. “And then throughout the course of the game the most action takes place in between the hashes and it naturally just gets chewed up.”

The two missed field goals in the first quarter brought Tucker’s total misses this season to six, Shanna McCarriston reported for CBS Sports. He had been the most accurate kicker in NFL history at 89.7%, but Tucker entered Sunday’s game with the seventh-worst field goal conversion percentage at 79%.

Steelers kicker Chris Boswell tied a career-best by nailing six field goals, allowing the team to take control of the AFC North in their division opener over their rival. He accounted for all of the Steelers points.

Chris Boswell is on pace to shatter the NFL record for most field goals made in a season.

Boswell has made 29 through 10 games, putting him on pace for 49 FGs made this season. The record is 44 by David Akers in 2011.

The NFL's most valuable leg right now.

— Daniel Valente (@StatsGuyDaniel) November 17, 2024

Coming into the game, the Ravens had the league’s highest-scoring offense. The final score didn’t sit well with quarterback Lamar Jackson.

“I was hot about that, our defense played great today, they held a great team, great offense to 18 points and we just scored 16 points,” he said in a post-game interview. “We been putting up all these points all this year, it’s annoying.”

He told reporters the team hurt themselves with penalties and turnovers.

“This environment …, that Steeler-Raven rivalry, it’s the one who has more possession of the ball and keeping it safe,” he said. “And we didn’t do a good job of that.”

Staff writers at Baltimore Beatdown agreed.

“The Ravens have the talent, play-calling, play-making and execution, but never all at once when they face the Steelers for 60 minutes,” Kyle Phoenix wrote.

“The Ravens embarrassed themselves in Pittsburgh on Sunday,” Nikhil Mehta wrote. “Penalties, turnovers, and confounding offensive play call squandered the defense’s best performance of the season.”

Statue of Liberty has more mobility than Russell Wilson.

— Mike Preston (@MikePrestonSun) November 17, 2024

Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson completed 23 of 36 attempts for 205 yards, and threw one interception. He was sacked four times. The team did not make it into the end zone.

Jackson also had one interception and completed 16 of 33 passes for 207 yards. He threw for one touchdown. It was a typical hard-fought Steelers-Ravens game, said Jay Busbee, senior writer at Yahoo Sports.

“Look, when the Steelers play the Ravens, you know it’s going to be a rock fight,” he wrote. “Sure, it’s a well-worn stereotype — like the fact that Pittsburghers put fries in their sandwiches, or Baltimoreans put Old Bay on everything — but stereotypes are rooted in truth.”