Defense, Boswell Lead Steelers over Ravens, 18-16

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers turned three Baltimore Ravens turnovers into three Chris Boswell field goals, as the kicker did it all in an 18-16 rivalry victory to put the Steelers a game and a half up in the AFC North.

The turnover battle tilted in Pittsburgh’s favor early on, as Nick Herbig ripped the ball from the hands of star Ravens running back Derrick Henry on the second play of the game.

The Steelers turned that into three points via Boswell field goal, something that ended up being a theme of the game.

Late in the first half, with the Steelers trailing, 7-6, the same paradigm played out. This time, it was former Ravens linebacker Patrick Queen that ripped the ball away from Baltimore tight end Isaiah Likely, setting up Boswell for his third of the game.

While Boswell was the star of the offense for Pittsburgh, his opposite member, Justin Tucker, who has so often been a star of this rivalry, struggled. Tucker missed from 47 and 50 in the first half, flipping the lead into Pittsburgh’s favor.

After yet another Boswell field goal, the Steelers were knocking on the doorstep of their first touchdown when Russell Wilson threw an ill-advised pass into the back of the end zone that was intercepted by Marlon Humphrey. In four trips into the red zone, the Steelers offense came away with just nine points.

But the Pittsburgh defense avenged the lone Pittsburgh turnover. A few plays later, Payton Wilson ripped the ball away from Ravens running back Justice Hill for his first career interception. That set up another Boswell three-pointer to make it an eight-point Pittsburgh lead.

The Ravens responded, with Lamar Jackson throwing a late touchdown to Zay Flowers, but Jackson was stuffed on the two-point attempt and the Steelers preserved their lead.

Throughout the game, the Steelers offense moved the ball OK between the 20s in spurts, but struggled to sustain drives in addition to their red zone issues. Pittsburgh finished 3 of 15 on third down and 0 for 1 on fourth.

Wilson finished 23 of 36 for 205 yards and the interception for a season-low 67.5 passer rating. Najee Harris ran hard into the league’s top rushing defense, gaining 63 yards on 18 carries. Backup Jaylen Warren found sightlier easier sledding, rushing nine times for 41 carries. The only Steelers receiver with a solid day was George Pickens, who hauled in eight grabs for 89 yards.

The Pittsburgh defense completely stifled the Jackson-led Ravens attack that had been averaging over 31 points per game coming in. Henry, averaging an NFL-high 112 yards per game coming in, had 65.

Boswell tied his own team record with six field goals, and became the first Steelers kicker with two six-field goal games in the same season.

The Steelers moved to 8-2, their best 10-game start since 2020, and are now a game and a half up on second-place Baltimore at 7-4. They’ll continue their run of AFC North play with a short-week visit to the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night.