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Best, Worst, Most Clutch Plays From Ravens Win Over Steelers

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Ravens RB Gus Edwards

Getty Ravens RB Gus Edwards picks of game-sealing first down in Week 14 win over Steelers on December 11, 2022.

The Baltimore Ravens got back in the win column in Week 14 with a gritty 16-14 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on December 11. Games are often won and lost as a result of a handful of key plays that turned the tide in one team’s favor over the other.

This AFC matchup featured several pivotal plays that were impressive and incredibly clutch, and some that could’ve cost them dearly but unheralded players stepped up to avoid disaster. Here are the best, worst, and most clutch plays from the Ravens this past Sunday:

Best Plays

The Ravens’ defense and running game set a strong tone early in the game and ultimately paved their way to victory. On defense, midseason trade acquisition, Roquan Smith, got his monster of a game started off on the unit’s first drive of the game where he brought down Steelers’ rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett for a drive-ending sack.

His running mate, Patrick Queen, forced the initial pressure on a blitz with a near sack, and Smith finished the play with a violent takedown that essentially ended the first-year pro’s day as he would go on to get ruled out with a concussion after playing one more drive.

Some may argue that as good as the play was, it might have been a bad one since Pittsburgh’s offense moved the ball much better and picked up more chunk plays after veteran quarterback Mitchell Trubisky entered and finished the game. Nevertheless, it was the first in what would be several big plays that the defense made in this game.

Typically when the Ravens’ future Hall of Fame kicker, Justin Tucker, makes a successful boot from under 50 yards, it’s nothing too special given that he has been pretty much automatic from that range throughout the length of his illustrious 11-year career.

However, the 42-yarder he made in the first quarter against the Steelers in Week 14 not only marked the first points of the game and gave the Ravens the lead, but it also moved him past fellow franchise legend, Matt Stover, as the franchise’s all-time leading scorer.

The focal point of the Ravens’ offense that got things going for them on that side of the ball was third-year running back J.K. Dobbins who led the team in rushing with 120 yards on 15 carries in his glorious return to the lineup after being activated from injured reserve. He helped put the team up by 10 points in the opening quarter with a tough 4-yard touchdown run where he kept his legs moving and powered his way into the end zone.

It marked his first touchdown since Week 4 when scored a pair against the Buffalo Bills and was the Ravens’ only touchdown of the game.

Another player that made a big impact in his return to action after spending multiple games on injured reserve was starting free safety, Marcus Williams. The team’s prized free-agent acquisition recorded his fourth interception of the season in just his sixth game on a play where he brilliantly tracked and reeled in an overthrown pass in the third quarter.

It ended what looked like a promising drive for the Steelers, marked the defense’s third turnover of the game, and gave the team lead in that statical category. He has now tied his career-high for interceptions in a single season with four games left in the regular season to set a new career-high mark. Williams will be poised to do so over the team’s next three games going up against a rusty DeShaun Watson, a rookie Desmond Ridder, and another matchup with the Steelers.

Worst Plays

Eerily similar to last week, the absolute worst play for the Ravens came on a play that knocked out their starting for the remainder of the game. They were already without their MVP-winning signal caller, Lamar Jackson, and about midway through the third quarter, they lost his backup, Tyler Huntley, who had started the game.

The Ravens were facing a third-and-short from the Pittsburgh 49-yard line when Huntley was running the ball to the right after faking a handoff to wide receiver Devin Duvernay when he was blown up by Steelers’ safety Minkah Fitzpatrick while getting tackled to the ground. He was clearly out of sorts after taking a blow to the head and neck area and would not return to the game.

The third-year pro was playing a solid game up until that point and finished as the team’s leading passer by going 8-of-12 for 88 yards and adding another 31 yards rushing on nine attempts. They were forced to punt on fourth-and-1 after the officials decided to inexplicably waive off what should’ve been a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness.

Ravens All-Pro corner Marlon Humphrey has been playing lights out all season and while he still has yet to give up a touchdown, he had a rough day in coverage against the Steelers in this game. Specifically going up against rookie wide receiver George Pickens who caught a pair of long balls with Humphrey draped all over him.

However, the worst play that the two-time Pro Bowler allowed in coverage came on a 37-yard completion late in the fourth quarter on the Steelers’ last drive of the game. He let Diontae Johnson get behind him and gain enough separation to haul in a well-placed back-shoulder pass on a drive that ended in a touchdown that brought Pittsburgh within two points.

What made this particular play even worse was that an additional 15 yards were tacked on to it after a horrible roughing the passer penalty was charged to Ravens defensive tackle Justin Madubuike. The third-year pro was wrapping up Trubisky right as he was releasing the ball and was unjustly called for the penalty.

It was just one of several examples of highly questionable calls that went in favor of the Steelers in this game but this one was especially damaging because it made a bad play even worse by setting up Pittsburgh as the Baltimore 23-yard line.

Humphrey wasn’t the only Ravens defensive back that struggled in coverage at times in this game and gave up some back-breaking plays to Steelers’ pass catchers. First-round rookie safety Kyle Hamilton who has been shining in his role as a nickel/dime defender over the middle of the field had a rough day as well. He allowed Pittsburgh tight end Pat Freiermuth to get inside position on him and catch a 10-yard strike from Trubisky for a quick score to cap off the same drive that Humphrey got beat deep by Johnson.

According to NFL Rookie Watch, it marked the first touchdown that he gave up in coverage since Week 2 when he played a key role in the epic collapse that allowed the Miami Dolphins to erase a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter.

Most Clutch Plays

Dobbins’ big day on the ground was highlighted by several impressive runs for chunk plays and first downs but none were as clutch or exciting as the 44-yard gallop he ripped off in the first quarter. It was the Ravens’ longest offensive play of the game, his longest run since his rookie season in 2020, and set up his own touchdown run one play later. After great blocks from rookie center Tyler Linderbaum and right guard Ben Cleveland, he erupted up the middle before trying to outrace Fitzpatrick to the endzone up the right sideline.

Smith’s sack on the first drive of the game was his first splash play in his debut in the Ravens-Steelers rivalry. His interception on the Steelers’ first drive of the second quarter cemented his legacy in it and was his most clutch play of the game. When dropped underneath a pass over the middle by Tribisky for the timely turnover, it thwarted a red zone drive that looked destined to finish in the end zone and swung the momentum back in the Ravens’ favor.

Queen, who had been 0-4 against the Steelers since coming into the league, made an even more impressive play on the ball dropping into underneath coverage in the second quarter when he intercepted a pass over the middle on the defense’s very next drive. Like Smith’s, the third-year pro’s turnover also put an end to what looked like a promising Steelers drive that was deep in Baltimore territory but was abruptly ended and kept the Ravens in the lead 13-7 at halftime.

With Huntley out, the Ravens were forced to turn to undrafted rookie Anthony Brown who was called up from the practice squad to serve as the backup to the backup for this game and was making his NFL regular season debut. The first-year pro played the entire fourth quarter but before that, he closed out the third period by taking his first snap from the Baltimore 1-yard line.

His first career completion only went for three yards but it was arguably just as impressive and clutch as his other two that came on a time-consuming drive in the fourth quarter. With five-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Cam Heyward charging at him full steam ahead and standing in his own end zone, Brown completed a short pass to veteran wide receiver Demarcus Robinson to give the offense some much-needed breathing room and avoid disaster.

Dobbins’ patience, vision, burst, and ability to make cuts in the open field came in handy several times in this game but arguably none were as clutch as the play he made on an 11-yard run on the Ravens’ last offensive drive of the third quarter.

With the offense backed up to their own 4-yard line and with a rookie quarterback under center, he was able to give them even more breathing room when waited for a pulling Ronnie Stanley to get in front of him and spring him into the second level to move the ball to their 15-yard line and pick up a first down.

Tucker isn’t the only future Hall of Famer on the Ravens roster nor is he the only one that made a huge contribution on special teams. Veteran defensive end Calais Campbell blocked a 40-yard field goal attempt by Steelers’ kicker Chris Boswell earlier in the fourth quarter.

It marked the ninth of his career, kept the Ravens ahead by more than a field goal, and apparently was the result of an audible that he and special teams coordinator Chris Horton came up with on the fly.

“Chris Horton came to me on the sideline, and it was like, ‘Hey, I’m going to switch it up. I know we don’t practice it, but I want you to get in the A-gap and try to swim on the snapper.’ We did it last year against some, but I haven’t worked on that since last year,” Campbell said in his postgame press conference on December 11, 2022. “It was a good call. He kicked the ball, [and] I had a good chance to get up there and get it, get my left hand on it. It was a good feeling.”

The most clutch play of the entire game was the one that sealed the victory for Ravens and officially ended their four-game losing skid to their archrivals. Facing a third-and-short from their own 28-yard line and needing one more first down to keep the Steelers offense off the field and ice the game, the offense got all the yards they needed and then some on a beautifully designed and perfectly executed inside run.

They began it by bringing Duvernay in motion as if they were going to pitch it to him and got the Steelers’ defense to fall for the fake and proceeded to hand the ball off to running back Gus Edward for the third straight time. The bruising ball carrier followed left guard Ben Powers and Pro Bowl fullback Patrick Ricard, both of which were pulling on the play and picked up six crucial yards to win the game.

Josh Reed covered the Baltimore Ravens for Heavy.com from 2022 to 2023. His NFL coverage has been featured on SB Nation's Baltimore Beatdown and Maryland Sports Blog. Based in Alaska, he also covers local sports for the Anchorage Daily News. More about Josh Reed

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