In Week 14 of NFL, the Baltimore Ravens faced off against the Pittsburgh Steelers for the first matchup this season. The division lead was on the line. Shedeur Sands gave the Cleveland Browns hope in a loss while the Cincinnati Bengals saw their playoff hopes plummet.
Pittsburgh won the first matchup between Steelers and Ravens 27-22. With four games left in the regular-season, the Steelers are the sole owners of the AFC North.
Aaron Rodgers’ vintage performance in the air, where he hit multiple deep shots at his wide receivers, brought Pittsburgh’s pass attack to life. The veteran quarterback was able to complete 23 of his 34 pass attempts, resulting in 284 yards with a touchdown. He also scored a touchdown rushing. Rodgers made multiple explosive plays with DK Metcalf against the Ravens. This was something that has been mostly absent in this season. Metcalf had a season high 148 yards of receiving on seven targets. This was only the second time this season that he crossed 100 yards.
James Pierre had an early interception, but Pittsburgh’s defensive unit struggled to stop Baltimore’s offensive from moving the football. The Steelers gave up 217 rushing yards to the Ravens after giving 249 to Buffalo Bills one week earlier.
Baltimore lost their second divisional home game in a week with a 27-22 defeat to Pittsburgh. The Ravens have fallen below.500 once again and are in survival mode, hoping to make it into the playoffs.
Lamar Jackson’s best performance since his return from injury this season was despite an early interception. Jackson had 19 completions out of 35 attempts, which amounted to 219 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also added another 43 yards on the ground and a score. Jackson was much more mobile in recent weeks. This is great news for Baltimore if they want to finish the season strong.
The Ravens were on the receiving end of three questionable decisions. Isaiah Likely’s overturned touchdown was the most controversial, with the ball being pried out of his hands in the endzone before he had a chance to take a third foot. Another head-scratcher was an interception by Teddye Buchanan, which was reclassified as a Rodgers catch. The third was an unnecessary roughness charge against Travis Jones for a field-goal attempt. This led to the Steelers scoring on the following play.
The Bengals’ hopes of making the playoffs with Joe Burrow at the helm were short-lived when they lost to the Bills 39-34 in a shootout.
Cincinnati was in control for most of the game, but a late pick six by Burrow put Buffalo ahead at the end of the fourth quarter. Burrow had a strong start before throwing two interceptions. He had 25 completions out of 36 attempts, 284 yards, 4 touchdowns and two interceptions. Tee Higgins, who had six catches and 92 receiving yards on which he scored two touchdowns, led the team. Higgins was seen to have hit his head on the ground several times during the game. He was still allowed to play. After the game, Higgins was placed in the concussion protocols for the second consecutive week. This led to questions about his return to Buffalo’s field.
The Bengals have not been mathematically eliminated yet. However, they will need a number of things to fall their way and win the four remaining games on their schedule in order to make it into the postseason, for the first since 2022.
The Browns were able to enjoy the game despite losing 31-29 against the Tennessee Titans.
Shedeur Sanders had the best performance of any Cleveland quarterback in this year’s game on Sunday. Sanders finished with 23 completions out of 42 attempts, 364 yards, and three touchdowns. He also ran for 29 yards and scored another touchdown. Kevin Stefanski announced Sanders as the team’s starting quarterback for the remainder of the season. Harold Fannin, a fellow rookie, led the team in receiving yards with 114 and a touchdown. He had eight receptions.
Myles Garrett recorded his 20th sack this season against Tennessee. Garrett is only 2.5 sacks from tying Michael Strahan’s single-season sack mark, which was later tied by T.J. Watt. Garrett is likely to be the new record-holder with four games left.