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It seemed the stars were aligning for a fantastic finish to what had been a frustrating season. The Baltimore Ravens entered their finale with some momentum. They appeared ready to make the hated Pittsburgh Steelers a footnote in their continuing story. The final spot in the AFC playoffs was on the line.
Most of the country expected the road favorites to take care of business and punch their ticket. What can we say? Sometimes, things don't work out as we would like.
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Everyone knows what was on the line. Everyone knows how things ended, and even though dark clouds cover Baltimore today, we found a couple of silver linings.
The good we saw during the Ravens' Week 18 finale
In some respects, the Ravens got precisely what they wanted. Lamar Jackson posted a passer rating north of 100 and threw three touchdown passes. Derrick Henry topped 120 rushing yards.
Zay Flowers hauled in 138 receiving yards, and Isaiah Likely delivered a clutch play when it mattered most. In the aftermath, the right things were said. Temmates rallied around Tyler Loop after he missed a potential game-winner. There's a sense of unity that will carry this team into a brighter future.
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The bad we witnessed during Baltimore's loss
They say the same things that make you laugh are at times the things that make you cry. Zach Orr's unit began this one pretty well before falling apart in the fourth quarter,
Kyle Hamilton got hurt and was carted off. Twenty-three second-half points scored by the Steelers followed 30 minutes where Aaron Rodgers and company couldn't get anything going offensively.
Despite missing D.K. Metcalf, Aaron Rodgers torched the Ravens by completing at least one pass to nine different receivers. Those nine receivers finished with 31 catches and six yards shy of a combined 300 yards. The go-ahead score came on a toss to Calvin Austin III.
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The downright ugly
Yeah, we hate to bring it up. We know Tyler Loop will be a great Raven, but that miss is now woven into the fabric of the Ravens-Steelers rivalry.
Don't blame this loss on him, though. Blame it on the Ravens losing the turnover battle and time of possession. Pittsburgh was better on third down. They sacked Lamar Jackson one more time than the Ravens' pass rush got to Aaron Rodgers.
Pittsburgh reached the first-down marker more often (24 times vs. 12), which led to a time-of-possession advantage. In total, they ran 73 offensive plays compared to Baltimore's 48.
So, yes, we get it. Loop's miss will be the lasting image of this one because it was the last one, but Baltimore's loss isn't all on him. He should never have been placed in a position to have to make a last-second field goal in the first place.
This article originally appeared on Ravens Wire: Good, Bad, and Ugly from the Ravens' season-ending loss to Steelers
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