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Steelers (Likely) Earn Final Playoff Spot

The Pittsburgh Steelers do their part to earn the AFC's final Wildcard spot.

Noah Strackbein

In this story:

The Pittsburgh Steelers may have earned their place in the AFC playoffs with a heart-stopping 16-13 overtime win over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 18.

The Steelers-Ravens rivalry kicked off as it has throughout the years, as the defense started the story. In the opening half, both teams combined for 248 total yards (Ravens - 166 yards, Steelers - 82) as they marched into halftime tied 3-3. 

The Ravens found life as the second-half opened, snapping an 18-drive streak without a touchdown on a 46-yard burst from Latavius Murray. 

The Steelers followed the touchdown run by driving 50 yards and kicking their second field goal, moving the score to 10-6 with 7:45 left in the third quarter.

The game turned back into a defensive shoot-out as Cam Sutton stalled a Ravens drive inside the redzone with an interception in the endzone. 

Ben Roethlisberger had to find the endzone at some point, though. In his final game against the Ravens, Big Ben led the Steelers 50 yards, overcoming three penalties, to find Chase Claypool for a six-yard touchdown. 

Behind the ol' cowboy, the Steelers took the lead, 13-10 with 2:58 left in the fourth quarter.

The Steelers defense stopped the Ravens' next drive at the 28-yard line, holding them to a 46-yard field goal, tying the game with 1:13 remaining in the game. 

Both defenses held their own once more, sending the game into overtime - continuing a classic Steelers-Ravens battle. 

With Roethlisberger calling the coin toss, the Steelers lost, sending the ball to the Ravens for the first possession of extra time. 

After a Cam Heyward run-stuff and an Ahkello Witherspoon deflection, Baltimore punted.

On the opposing drive, Roethlisberger found Pat Freiermuth and Diontae Johnson on third downs and Ray-Ray McCloud on a big fourth-and-8 with 2:18 left in overtime. 

A 15-yard burst to the outside by Najee Harris set up a game-winning 36-yard field goal by Chris Boswell.

Meanwhile, the Jacksonville Jaguars kept a lead the entire game against the Indianapolis Colts, winning 26-11. The Colts' loss means the Steelers earn the final AFC Wildcard spot with either a Las Vegas Raiders or Los Angeles Chargers loss. 

The two AFC West teams play each other. 

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Noah Strackbein
NOAH STRACKBEIN

Noah is the Publisher for All Steelers, Inside the Panthers (InsideThePanthers.com) and Inside the Penguins (InsidethePenguins.com), and is the host of All Steelers Talk (YouTube.com/AllSteelersTalk). A Scranton native, Noah made his way to the Pittsburgh sports scene in 2017. Now, he's pretty much full-yinzer.

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