Russell Wilson lives and dies by the sword in crushing Steelers loss vs. Ravens

The Pittsburgh Steelers know how to put fans on a rollercoaster of emotions. At times against the Ravens, Mike Tomlin's team effortlessly moved the football. In other moments of the game, this usually tough defense couldn't stop a nosebleed.

Despite the Steelers hanging with the Ravens in terms of yards and statistics, Baltimore eventually ran away with a 34-17 victory. But it was really two defining moments in this game that pulverized Pittsburgh's chances of stealing a road win against their biggest AFC North rival.

Sadly, Russell Wilson was responsible for both of these disastrous plays.

The first was Wilson's fumble near the goal line. After effortlessly chewing up 52 yards on five plays, the Steelers' would-be scoring drive came to a screeching haul when Wilson's nose for the endzone caused him to discard all common sense.

Wilson took off down the field for a 19-yard scramble. But instead of wisely sliding down and giving his team a fresh set of downs just four yards away from the endzone, he tried to make a man miss and punch the ball in himself for a score. This resulted in the 36-year-old quarterback taking a huge hit —dislodging the football from his grasp. The ball hit the turf and was recovered by the Ravens.

After the momentum was sucked from the Steelers, it only took Baltimore 3:29 to march down the field in the opposite direction to punch in a score off the turnover.

This was strike one.

Wilson's second costly play was far more egregious. Immediately after Minkah Fitzpatrick came up with a score-saving interception for the Steelers, Wilson made a careless decision with the football. Looking for MyCole Pruitt on an out route, Wilson's low-upside pass was well behind. This resulted in an interception for cornerback Marlon Humphrey, who returned the football for a 37-yard pick-six.

That was strike two. And two strikes is all it takes to lose a game against a top opponent like the Ravens.

This was the dagger in the game, as the colossal mistake resulted in the Steelers going down 31-17 with not enough time to realistically mount a comeback. Though Wilson played well for 95 percent of the game, it was the five percent of bad play that had devastating consequences for the team.

Steelers need more consistency from Russell Wilson

The Baltimore Ravens are a great team. It wasn't surprising to see the Steelers come up short in a December road game against the league's top offense. However, the manner in which Pittsburgh lost was incredibly deflating.

In the first half alone, a loose football hit the turf three times, but the Steelers were never able to get their hands on the ball. Fumbles are often random, and we can't blame the loss on this. Sadly, in two moments of weakness, Wilson tried to do too much with the football, and that was all she wrote.

Wilson would love to take back these two game-changing plays that led to the loss. Now it's about looking forward and preparing for the Chiefs on Christmas day on a short week.

It's not easy to run an offense for three straight weeks without your top receiving option. George Pickens' absence has had disastrous effects on this team. However, Wilson must find a way to overcome adversity and be a more consistent and reliable player for the Steelers.

Last week against the Eagles, Wilson completed just 14 of 22 passes for 128 yards and a touchdown. Against the Browns two weeks ago, Wilson went just 15 of 26 for 158 yards with a pair of scores. While his statistical production was better against Baltimore (22 of 33 for 217 yards with two touchdowns, an interception, and a fumble), the inconsistencies have been killing the offense.

Most of the time, Russell Wilson has looked like a quarterback the Steelers can rely on to be a threatening team in the playoffs, but this has been a rough three-game stretch, and he has to be more consistent if he wants to be Pittsburgh's starting quarterback in 2025.