Steelers set for playoff berth after astonishing win vs Ravens

The Pittsburgh Steelers are likely heading to the playoffs after a big win over the Ravens. Here’s what went right in the season finale. 

What a game it was for the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 18. Mike Tomlin’s team needed all of the chips to fall their way in the final week of the 2021 season. Fortunately, that’s exactly what happened.

Prior to their season finale against the Baltimore Ravens, the Steelers were given just a 6 percent chance to make the playoffs, according to FiveThirtyEight.com. Now the only thing that can stand in their way is a Chargers-Raiders tie on Sunday Night Football.

Despite their season being on the line, this wasn’t an easy win for Pittsburgh. The offense was a big issue in this contest. Ben Roethlisberger and company scored just 6 points through the first three quarters of regulation.

Meanwhile, the defense had a very strong performance against Ravens QB Tyler Huntley through the air. By the end of the game, Keith Butler’s unit had allowed just 141 passing yards on 31 attempts for 0 touchdowns and 2 interceptions for a 37.2 passer rating. Though Baltimore was able to rush for 249 yards on 6.9 yards per attempt, the Steelers held the Ravens to just 13 points in this contest.

Even with a lackluster performance from the offense, the Steelers were still able to force overtime. In the extra inning, Pittsburgh quickly forced Baltimore off the field on their first possession.

After getting the ball back, Ben Roethlisberger made some key third-down conversions that eventually got the Steelers into field goal range before Chris Boswell punched in the game-winning field goal for a final score of 16-13.

Steelers almost guaranteed to make the playoffs

This game was special for several reasons. T.J. Watt was able to tie Michael Strahan for the all-time single-season sack record in the NFL with 22.5. Additionally, Ben Roethlisberger was able to finish his final regular-season game on a high note with an overtime road win against the Baltimore Ravens.

However, the most important thing that happened in Week 18 was the Steelers defying the odds to (almost certainly) make the playoffs this year — something that almost nobody gave them a shot at doing.

In order for them to be in this position, Pittsburgh was counting on a huge upset this week. For Mike Tomlin’s team to get into the playoffs, the Steelers needed a win against the Ravens as well as a Colts loss to the Jaguars. Considering that Jacksonville opened as 15.0-point underdogs this week, courtesy of odds from WynnBET, this was a tough ask.

Fortunately, a miracle fell into their lap in the final week of the season, as the Jaguars trounced the Colts in the final game. Pittsburgh was able to do just enough on their end to defeat Baltimore on the road in the finale.

Barring a rare tie in the Chargers-Raiders game tonight, the Steelers will be in the playoffs in 2022. Let’s hope Ben Roethlisberger can rally the troops and give us a great last ride. This is how we were all hoping he would be able to go out.