In Week 14 of the NFL season, the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers face off for the first time this season, with the division lead at stake. Meanwhile, Shaddell Sanders gave the Cleveland Browns a reason for optimism in their loss while the Cincinnati Bengals’ playoff hopes plummeted.
Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6)
In the first meeting between the Steelers and Ravens, Pittsburgh won 27-22. The Steelers currently occupy first place in the AFC North with four games remaining in the regular season.
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Pittsburgh’s passing attack was at its best against Baltimore, with Aaron Rodgers turning back the clock with a classic aerial performance as he fired multiple long shots to wide receivers. The veteran quarterback completed 23 of 34 pass attempts for 284 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for a touchdown. Rodgers found DK Metcalf with several explosive plays against the Ravens that have been largely missing this season. Metcalf finished the game with a season-high seven catches for 148 yards, his second 100-yard game this season.
James Pierre had an early interception for Pittsburgh’s defense, but the team overall struggled to stop Baltimore’s offense from moving the ball. A week ago, the Steelers allowed 249 yards rushing and 217 yards rushing to the Ravens.
Baltimore Ravens (6-7)
Baltimore fell to Pittsburgh 27-22, losing its second straight conference game at home. The Ravens are now below .500 again and in survival mode as they look to make the playoffs.
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Despite an early interception, Lamar Jackson had perhaps his best game since returning from injury earlier this season. In the game, Jackson completed 19 of 35 passes for 219 yards, a touchdown and an interception, while also advancing 43 yards and a touchdown. Jackson looks more active than he has in recent weeks, which is a great sign if Baltimore hopes to have a chance to finish the season strong.
Unfortunately, the officiating overshadowed much of the buzz surrounding the game, as the Ravens found themselves on the wrong end of three questionable calls. Perhaps the most controversial was an Isaiah Likely touchdown catch that was overturned because the tight end pried the ball away before he could even take his third step in the end zone. Teddye Buchanan’s interception was overturned by a Rodgers catch, another head-scratcher. The third time was when Travis Jones took an unnecessary roughing penalty on a field goal attempt that resulted in a Steelers touchdown on the next play.
Cincinnati Bengals (4-9)
Entering Week 14, any hopes the Bengals had of making the playoffs with Joe Burrow back at the helm were dashed as they lost to the Bills 39-34 in a shootout.
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Cincinnati led for most of the game until Burrow gave Buffalo the lead in the fourth quarter with a late pick-six. Burrow started off strong before throwing two interceptions. In the whole game, he completed 25 passes in 36 attempts, advanced 284 yards, scored 4 times, and was intercepted 2 times. Tee Higgins leads the team with 92 receiving yards and two touchdowns on six catches. Higgins hit his head hard on the ground multiple times during the game but was eventually allowed to finish the game. After the game, he was placed in a concussion protocol for the second time in recent weeks, leading to scrutiny of his stipend to return to the field in Buffalo.
The Bengals aren’t mathematically eliminated from the playoffs yet, but they’ll need a combination of factors, plus winning the four remaining games on their schedule, to make the postseason for the first time since 2022.
Cleveland Browns (3-10)
Despite a 31-29 loss to the Tennessee Titans in Week 14, the Browns left the game with some reasons to be excited.
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On Sunday, Shedeur Sanders produced the best performance by a Cleveland quarterback this year. The rookie completed 23 passes for 364 yards, three touchdowns and one interception on 42 attempts, while also rushing for 29 yards and one touchdown. Kevin Stefanski later announced that Sanders would remain the team’s starter for the remainder of the season. Rookie Harold Fannin leads the team with 114 receiving yards and has eight touchdown catches.
Myles Garrett picked up his 20th sack of the season against Tennessee. Garrett is now 2.5 sacks away from tying Michael Strahan’s single-season sack record (later matched by TJ Watt). With four games left, it’s a safe bet that Garrett will become the new record holder.