Baltimore vs. Pittsburgh

 Ravens Handle Steelers to Finish Franchise-Best 14-2 Despite Missing Jackson and 6 Other Starters

The Baltimore Ravens' playoff fate was sealed and the Pittsburgh Steelers came into Sunday's Week 17 matchup with an outside chance at reaching the playoffs, but the Ravens played like the team more desperate for a win. Robert Griffin III and more reserves handled the rival Steelers in a 28-10 victory to close out a 14-2 regular season, the best such record in Ravens' franchise history

The Ravens (14-2) came into the game having already locked up the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs, which gives them a first-round bye and home-field advantage until the Super Bowl. The 2019 team was one win better than the 2006 squad that went 13-3. In addition to beating that record, the team said they were motivated to beat Pittsburgh and not have the regular season end on a down note.

"This is the best team in football during the regular season. There's no doubt about that," head coach Jim Harbaugh said. "That's done, but that doesn't count anything toward the next season." 

Six Pro-Bowlers were among the seven players ruled inactive for this game at M&T Bank Stadium, including NFL MVP frontrunner Lamar Jackson, running back Mark Ingram—who's nursing an injured calf—and safety Earl Thomas. 

But the remaining players said taking it easy was out of the question.

"We definitely had to win this game. It means a lot to us to be 14-2 this year," cornerback Jimmy Smith told reporters. "It's a Steelers game, too. It's not the Titans or something." 

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The Tennessee Titans are one of four teams that the Ravens may play in two weeks, along with the New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills, or Houston Texans, as the four teams play on Wild Card weekend to determine the challengers for the Ravens and the No. 2-seed Kansas City Chiefs. 

The Steelers (8-8) needed to win this game plus a Houston defeat of Tennessee to make the playoffs and would have become just the third team since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger to reach the postseason after starting the year 0-3. Pittsburgh also played without starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger since he was injured in Week 2. 

For this game, the Ravens didn't take many chances and let their ground game do the talking, as Gus Edwards ran 21 times for 130 yards. Griffin III was 11-21 for 96 yards and an interception but did add 50 yards on the ground. Justice Hill had a rushing touchdown, and Jordan Richards recovered a fumble for a score in the fourth quarter to seal the win. Place kicker Justin Tucker was a perfect 4-4 in field-goal attempts with a long kick of 47 yards. 

The Ravens' defense also made it very difficult for third-string Steelers quarterback Delvin Hodges to get much accomplished, as he was just 9-25 on the day for 95 yards. Pittsburgh ran for just 91 yards as well. 

The win also extended Baltimore's franchise-record winning streak to 12 games and counting, making that 40-25 loss at home to Cleveland in Week 4 seem like several seasons ago.

"We were 2-2, and the statement was made in the locker room that, 'We'll find out what we're made of,'" Harbaugh recalled. "And boy, did we ever find out what we're made of—12-straight wins later." 

For Griffin III, the former No. 2-overall draft pick was hoping to be able to showcase his playing skills, but he was limited by the weather that affected both teams. Still, he was proud of what the group accomplished on Sunday.

"To keep our winning streak going, that means everything," Griffin III said in the post-game news conference. "I heard [offensive coordinator Greg Roman] talk about it earlier this week: protect the ball, run the ball and score points. And that's what we did, so it was awesome." 

A record-setting year for Baltimore led to another one on Edwards' nine-yard run in the second quarter. The club set an NFL record for rushing yards in a season, surpassing the total of 3,165 set by the 1978 New England Patriots. The new record is 3,296 yards after today's game was completed. 

GAME RECAP

Two of the hallmarks of the Ravens' season were on display earlier in this one. After taking the opening kickoff, Baltimore ran the ball for nine-straight plays were Griffin III was sacked by T.J. Watt to stall the drive at the Steelers' 27-yard line. But Tucker kicked a field goal to make it 3-0 Ravens after the drive chewed up seven minutes of game time. 

After a three-and-out by Pittsburgh, the Ravens engineered another drive to the Steelers' 4-yard line before settling for another field goal to make it 6-0 after the first quarter.

Pittsburgh broke through to start the second when Benny Snell ran four-straight times for 32 yards, the last of which was a four-yard touchdown run to put the Steelers on top 7-6. Tucker added another field goal, and after Matt Judon forced a Hodges fumble on the next possession, Hill punctuated a short drive with an eight-yard touchdown run to make it 16-7 Baltimore at halftime.

The teams traded field goals and it was 19-10 with 4:41 left in the fourth quarter when Steelers punter Jordan Berry couldn't handle a snap. He picked the slippery ball up but had nowhere to go, as Jordan Ricards ended up with it for a special teams touchdown for the Ravens to put the game out of reach at 26-10. Baltimore added a safety when Hodges was called for intentional grounding in the end zone amid pressure from Brandon Carr to make the final score 28-10.

UP NEXT

The Ravens have a week off as No. 6 seed Tennessee visits No. 3 New England and No. 5 Buffalo is at No. 4 Houston in the AFC Wild Card round matchups next weekend. Baltimore will host the lowest-remaining seed of those four teams, so it could be the Titans, Bills, or Texans depending on the results of those games. Among the AFC playoff teams, Baltimore has wins over New England, Buffalo, and Houston, a loss at Kansas City in Week 3, and they did not play Tennessee. 

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