Steelers Now
The NFL has officially amended the box score from the Steelers against Ravens matchup, ruling that Chris Boswell’s fourth-quarter extra-point attempt was blocked, not missed.
Video evidence backs up the correction. From an end-zone angle, Ravens rookie safety Keondre Jackson comes through nearly untouched and clearly gets a hand on the kick, forcing the attempt wide. While the blocked extra point ultimately did not decide the outcome, Baltimore later missed a potential go-ahead field goal by Tyler Loop, it very easily could have. Had that kick been converted, the Steelers would have paid the price in the most painful way possible.
In that sense, the ruling delivers both good news and bad news for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
On the positive side, the clarification reinforces that Boswell didn’t simply miss a routine kick. He remains one of the most dependable specialists in football, and in a season where every edge matters, maintaining confidence in your kicker is no small thing. Boswell has built his reputation on consistency in high-leverage moments, and that trust remains intact.
The downside, however, is harder to ignore. Jackson’s path to the kick was alarmingly clean, exposing a breakdown in protection that can’t happen, especially against a division rival like the Baltimore Ravens. That lapse will almost certainly be addressed this week by longtime special teams coordinator Danny Smith, who has built his units on discipline and attention to detail. Still, mistakes like that at this point in the season are concerning.
This wasn’t an isolated moment, either. Over the past two weeks, the Steelers have now been involved in multiple special-teams hiccups. One field-goal miss stemmed from a poor hold by Corliss Waitman, while this week’s issue came down to protection. Individually, each mistake has an explanation. Taken together, they underscore how thin the margin for error has become.
At this stage of the year, when the best teams are playing the best teams, nothing is insignificant. One blocked kick, one missed assignment, or one mental lapse can quietly flip a game, swing a playoff race, or alter a season’s trajectory.
Boswell has long given Pittsburgh a built-in advantage in the kicking game. As the stakes continue to rise, the Steelers must ensure that the operation around him is just as reliable. Because in January football, points don’t just matter, they define legacies.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: League Correction Confirms Boswell Kick Was Blocked, Not Missed
