Oh, I could say the game was on the line, but believe me, it'd be well beyond any clichéd context.
Because there it was, on the literal line of scrimmage that lay before both the Steelers and Ravens late Sunday afternoon at Acrisure Stadium, in pretty much the only place anyone would've anticipated it'd be within this, the NFL's most remarkable rivalry: Two points separated them on the scoreboard, less than two minutes were left on the clock, and two whole yards was all that separated Baltimore's No. 1-ranked offense from tying it up.
As if that weren't enough, the Ravens would need to tee up for this scenario not once but twice.
"You know, everybody talks about this rivalry around the league, about what these games are like," Dean Lowry was telling me a lot later in the Steelers' locker room. He's a 30-year-old defensive tackle, now in his ninth NFL season, his third in a row with a new team. "Everyone talks about it here, too, a lot more. And especially this past week. But I gotta tell you, this was my first and ..."
He raised both eyebrows.
"I've never been part of anything like that. I mean, wow."
Spoiler: The Steelers won, 18-16.
Second spoiler: When these teams meet again Dec. 21 in Baltimore, that'll be sorted out the same way by a similar margin. They always are.
Third spoiler: By then, poor Marlon Humphrey might be institutionalized.
“Shoot, honestly I was .... it was a lot," the Ravens' veteran corner would say of the heat between the teams, best evident by pushing, shoving and finger-pointing after every other whistle. "I've been in this rivalry for a while, and I told the guys ... it was a lot. The emotions were high for me, honestly. I can't really say I’ve been in a situation where I felt kind of so emotional during a game. I kind of blame it on my family, on my family group message, mainly my big sister. I told some of the guys, I was like, ‘Help me out. Emotions are flying for me.’ They helped me out."
Dude wasn't done.
"I found myself watching over the years the Ravens-Steelers highlights the other day and ... I don’t know. I love this rivalry. I love rivalry games, but this is really the one. You've got the Browns and the Bengals, but to me this is really the one. You want to get the dub. We came up short, but ... I can’t do that. Can’t let emotions get the best of you. And it's no big deal, really."
Clearly.
OK, deep breath here. For everyone except Humphrey's elder sister, anyway.
____________________
There aren't many secrets in this setting, even less where Patrick Queen's concerned. He's been on both sides and, as Mike Tomlin would remind him all week long right up to kickoff, when he'd send Queen out with the captains for the opening coin toss -- this was his first from the Pittsburgh perspective, from the perspective of a proud athlete who'd been unceremoniously pushed out into free agency after four years in Baltimore.
To which he'd respond with a team-high 10 tackles, including this artful forced/recovered fumble in the first half:
BIG PLAY PQ‼️ @Patrickqueen_
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) November 17, 2024
📲 Stream on NFL+: https://t.co/COxKRnr6Mc pic.twitter.com/7Nyt40chKD
"You dream about making plays," Queen would say. "Some days they don't happen, but everybody today was like you're going to get one. This was my dad's birthday, too. He was, like, you've got to get me one. It's just crazy how things work out, though. Knowing I had to come out here and support my team and play as hard as I can for them."
His current team, of course.
"One man's trash is another man's treasure," Tomlin couldn't resist responding to the only question he'd be asked about Queen. "I'm glad he's on our team."
He'd be needed to the end, naturally. The Steelers would have seven possessions in Baltimore territory, four inside the red zone, and still somehow settle for six Chris Boswell field goals. So it'd surprise exactly no one when Lamar Jackson would lead the Ravens 74 yards on their final possession for the touchdown that'd pull them within two, 18-16.
Setting up the initial two-point try ...
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSmedia) November 18, 2024
... that'd be aborted when Tomlin -- with advance intent -- called a timeout.
"I wanted to see what structure they were in," he'd explain. "Thankfully, we even saw some of the semblance of the schematics of what they intended to run. I think that made them change and go the other direction."
Meaning the actual other direction.
"Obviously, Mr. Jackson's a little bit less dangerous when he's going to his left than to his right. So we're thankful for that."
This was it, then. This was that line, that familiar line that influences the entire event, sometimes within a single series, sometimes through a single play. So I'd made up my mind, right there in that minute-plus between the two attempts, that I'd invest most of my time in the locker room trying to find out all I could about what'd occur. No matter how much more had already happened. No matter who'd win or lose.
And with input from Queen, Lowry, Elandon Roberts, Joey Porter Jr., Donte Jackson and one coach, this was the sum:
• The initial try was supposed to be one of Jackson's trademark "pop" passes, where he'll dart forward toward the line as if he's about to run, then leap up and throw over the defenders converging upon him for someone right behind. In this case, as Queen had recognized, Baltimore's big tight end, Mark Andrews, would be the intended target, cutting across behind the Pittsburgh linebackers onto open grass.
Would it have worked?
"We had it read," Queen told me. "I saw where Mark was going. And we're thinking pop pass."
• Most striking on both of these tries as that the Ravens didn't deploy Derrick Henry, his generation's premier power back, either time. He'd run 13 times for 65 yards, he broke a 31-yarder, and he's in the midst of a roar-back season at age 30, but he never left the sideline.
"I'm, like, 'Where's Henry?' " Roberts would tell me. "Why not?"
Baltimore reporters asked John Harbaugh, and he'd reply, “We’ve talked about that stuff before. We have two-point plays called. We called one, they called timeout, and we called the next one.”
I've got no idea what that meant.
Henry himself was asked what he thought of being left out, and he'd reply, "They have in there who they think can execute the play, and I’m always going to support that."
Fine, but it was a mess. Toward the right side, the Ravens put two blockers on Roberts, a longtime goal-line terror, but still, as Roberts told me, "If there's two on me, who's blocking the real play?" Toward the left side, Isaiah Likely, a tight end, had to rush up to Nelson Agholor, a wide receiver, and grab him by the hips to slide him further left. To which Agholor bumped Likely back, to which Likely motioned emphatically for Agholor to move where he was being told to move. (Harbaugh denied noticing any of that.) And all this chaos allowed Lowry to break through way too easily and create too much traffic for either center Tyler Linderbaum or left guard Patrick Mekari to pull across that way, per the scheme.
"We just got caught up," Linderbaum would tell Baltimore reporters. "And it's a tough block for the receiver there."
Meaning Agholor, who's supposed to help clear a path for Jackson moving forward but instead sealed off Nick Herbig to the inside.
Which left ...
"Nobody," Porter told me. "As soon as I see the receiver turning in to block, then I know Lamar's keeping the ball. Because there's nobody to throw to anymore."
All right, let's watch it:
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSmedia) November 18, 2024
Now this time, only Porter:
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSmedia) November 18, 2024
To boot, the offspring of maybe the biggest mouth in franchise history -- who's nothing like Joey Porter Sr. in that regard, by the way -- had something to say in the huddle between the two tries, per Queen: "Joey, who's usually the most quiet one, said, 'We're stopping them! They're not scoring!' That was huge. Hearing him gave everyone confidence to get that stop."
"I wanted it," Porter would tell me. "I want those moments at the end, those big moments."
Confidence. Concentration on everyone's part. Competence across the board.
One swing, and it goes the Steelers' way. Because they make it go their way. Because they're better than the teams they're beating. Even when those opponents walk into the stadium with seven wins, as the Commanders and Ravens each just did.
Picking up on the pattern yet?
____________________
Winning's a tangible trait, and it's accompanied by a tangible reward:
NFL
That's not the AFC North. That's not the conference. That's the best of the whole bleeping league. And the teams that tend to stick in such stratospheres ... yeah, they've got talent, toughness and all that, but they also know -- or learn -- how to win.
The Steelers are far from perfect. The offense chewed up 36:22 of clock on the way to 303 yards and 18 first downs, but there's never anywhere to hide from zero touchdowns. Russell Wilson, 1 for 8 when the Ravens pressured him in the pocket, held the ball far too long. Broderick Jones ... I don't even know where to begin, but that sure wasn't a sequel to his bounceback showing in Landover. Calvin Austin's not a No. 2 wide receiver, Mike Williams is, but Williams wasn't targeted once. And even the defense, amid doing so much right, didn't need to bend like that on Baltimore's final drive.
But when a kid like Payton Wilson's making magic like this ...
WHAT A PLAY @payton_wilson21‼️
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) November 17, 2024
📲 Stream on NFL+: https://t.co/COxKRnr6Mc pic.twitter.com/HrLSYaBOrB
... then trying to downplay it when I ask about it, that's legit:
When another kid like Herbig's routinely splashing all over the place ...
WELCOME BACK @nickherbig_‼️
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) November 17, 2024
📲 Stream on NFL+: https://t.co/COxKRnr6Mc pic.twitter.com/LyAOlprd6v
... then equally humble, that's just as legit.
"Man, I'm not sure which hand put the ball out," he'd tell me. "For us to make a big play like that early on, that felt so huge."
It was. So were the rest. And so was the one at the end.
Some just count more than others.
• Chris Halicke's Chalk Talk breaks down a dynamic day for the defense.
• Greg Macafee's Spotlight shines on Boswell authoring all the offense.
• Much more from all three of us in our Steelers Feed.
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