Kenny Pickett's Game-Winning Drive Keeps Steelers Playoff Hopes Alive

A game-winning touchdown pass from Kenny Pickett to Najee Harris kept the Steelers in the playoff hunt.

BALTIMORE -- The Pittsburgh Steelers got all the help they needed from outside forces, and pulled off a thrilling win themselves to keep their playoff hopes alive. They trailed by four inside of two minutes remaining before Kenny Pickett hit Najee Harris for a game-winning touchdown with 1:02 left to cap the clutch, 80-yard march and secure a season-extending 16-13 win. 

After the Ravens won the toss and elected to defer, Justin Tucker sailed the opening kickoff through the back of the endzone to start the high-stakes AFC North battle. The Steelers converted a pair of third downs to move over midfield then Jaylen Warren set the Steelers up inside the redzone with a quick scamper for 31 yards up the sideline. 

A false start penalty on Pat Freiermuth backed the Steelers up and forced a third and goal from the two yard line. Kenny Pickett lofted a fade to George Pickens that backup corner Brandon Stephens broke up expertly. Chris Boswell came on and converted the chip shot field goal to give the visitors a 3-0 lead with 7:01 to go in the first quarter. 

Mark Andrews was immediately impactful during the Ravens' first possession. He caught a couple of passes to move the sticks on third down and that opened up the ground game, with J.K. Dobbins rushing for 15 yards to get Baltimore into the redzone. But the Steelers defense bowed up with their backs against the endzone and forced a short field goal attempt from Tucker, who knocked it through to tie the game at 3-3 with 14:12 to go until halftime. 

The Steelers couldn't mount a response on their next drive. Pickett was sacked by the turf monster for a loss of seven yards and on third and two, Pickens committed an illegal touching penalty that forced his team to punt. 

Pressley Harvin executed well, pinning the Ravens inside at their own six yard line and the defense forced a three-and-out but during the ensuing punt, Minkah Fitzpatrick got flagged for a holding penalty that backed the offense up 10 yards.

Pickett and company started their next drive on their own 26 yard line and ran on five of their first five snaps, gaining 27 yards and a couple of first downs in the process. The passing offense emerged to get the Steelers out of a third and five, with Pickett escaping pocket pressure to hit Freiermuth for 10 yards and a first down. He turned back to Freiermuth on third down but Chuck Clark was there to make the pass breakup and force a 48-yard field goal attempt that Boswell clanged off the right upright. 

Dobbins got hard on the Ravens' next possession. He ran for 38 yards on four carries to put his team in motion with the first half clock dwindling. Robert Spillane came up with a pair of tackles for loss to push them back outside of the redzone. But Cam Heyward committed an unnecessary roughness penalty that gave the Ravens a new set of downs inside of the 10 yard line. Huntley cashed in the Steelers' miscue by hitting Isaiah Likely for a touchdown with seven seconds to play until halftime. 

The Ravens carried their 10-3 advantage into the intermission and got the ball to start the second half. 

With their first possession of the third quarter, the Ravens turned to the pass. Andrews moved the chains with a couple of long catches and runs, but penalties prevented them from turning the drive into anything more than another field goal from Tucker. 

Trailing by 10 at the 9:35 mark of the third quarter, the Steelers took the ball back. Najee Harris' 15-yard run kicked the drive off and a spectacular diving catch from Pickens on third and 14 kept the unit on the field but once again, the offense stalled out inside of Raven's territory. Boswell attempted another field goal and connected from 51 yards away to make it 13-6, Baltimore with 3:47 until the start of the fourth quarter. 

The Steelers defense gave up a 22-yard run to Dobbins on the first play of their next series but didn't give an inch after and forced a punt. Elijah Riley committed a holding penalty on the kick that set the offense back to their own five yard line to open the next drive. 

Harris ran for 10 yards to give his unit some breathing room and as the game turned to the fourth quarter, he broke out a bruising 15-yard rush to the outside to keep the chains moving. Pickett stepped up to avoid pressure on the next play and hit Pickens for 15 more yards. Warren caught a pass then ran past the sticks to keep Pittsburgh's methodical drive moving forward then Diontae Johnson took a short pass 21 yards into the redzone. The drive ended with Warren losing two yards on a rush and Pickett missing Steven Sims in the endzone on third and 10. Boswell knocked through another field goal to make it 13-9 with 9:47 left in regulation. 

The Ravens returned the ensuing kickoff 56 yards but the Steelers defense moved their opponents backward two yards over three plays before they had to punt. 

The Steelers offense had to start another drive inside their own 10 yard line and while two Warren runs for 15 yards got them out from under the shadow of the endzone but that was all they could manage before having to punt back to the Ravens with 6:42 left in the game. 

The Steelers defensive line came up huge on the next series, tackling Dobbins for little to no gain on consecutive plays to force a three-and-out and a third consecutive punt. 

Trailing by four with the two-minute warning approaching, Pickett began to unleash the deep ball. He rolled out to create enough time for Freiermuth to to get open and hit him for a 20-yard completion that got the Steelers to midfield. Then he roped a beautiful 22-yard pass over the middle to Steven Sims, who was nestled in between two Baltimore defensive backs. 

Then came the Steelers' biggest challenge - the redzone. But on their final drive, they came up with their first touchdown of the game. After Pickett converted on third and one with a quarterback sneak, he hit Harris in the endzone on a broken play for the go-ahead touchdown with 1:02 left in the game. 

Leading by three and desperate to keep Tucker out of his very long range, Minkah Fitzpatrick came up with the victory-sealing interception of Tyler Huntley with 13 seconds left. Pickett was able to simply kneel the rest of the clock out and put a bow on the 16-13 win. 

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