Steelers Now
BALTIMORE — The Pittsburgh Steelers may have saved their 2025 season with an improbable upset win over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, and they did it by leaning on one of the things they’ve been the worst at.
You may have heard a statistic that’s been going around lately, that the Steelers hadn’t completed a pass over 20 air yards since Week 8. Sunday’s game in Baltimore came in Week 14. That’s a long time to go between passes that aren’t even exceptionally long for 2025.
The Steelers heard it, too. And they entered the week of practice for the Ravens game determined to do something about it.
It wasn’t just because it had been a while since they had done it. In Week 13’s loss to the Buffalo Bills, the Buffalo defense spent a large portion of that game effectively daring the Steelers to pass the ball on them, and the Steelers did every little to make them pay for that choice.
The Ravens need no inducement to prioritize stopping the run, and in general, attacking them with downfield passing is something that the Steelers have had success with over the years as a result.
“I just think that’s the way we needed to play,” head coach Mike Tomlin said. “We needed to be aggressive. We’ve just been in here a lot. We are familiar with them in this environment, and that’s what’s required.”
It’s one thing to look at what the Bills had done to the Steelers, to look at the way the Ravens like to play and the way they would respond to the Steelers’ showing weakness on tape, and say “hey, we should probably open it up and throw the ball down the field this week.”
It’s an entirely different thing to do it. And boy, did the Steelers do it. They broke through the 20-yard ceiling on the first offensive play of the game, with Aaron Rodgers connecting on a 52-yard pass to DK Metcalf that set up an opening-drive touchdown.
First play of the game is a 52-yard pass from Rodgers to DK Metcalf.
That's the first #Steelers pass play of longer than 20 yards since the Teapot Dome scandal of 1921.pic.twitter.com/Cl3e3O2yeF https://t.co/Fod9EngD90
— Alan Saunders (@ASaunders_PGH) December 7, 2025
In the second quarter, Rodgers again connected with Metcalf on a 28-yarder that led to a field goal. On the opening drive of the second half, it was another deep shot from Rodgers to Metcalf for 41 yards, setting up another Boswell field goal. On the next drive, it was a deep pass to Calvin Austin III that preceded a Jaylen Warren touchdown.
Rodgers goes to deep to Metcalf again, this time 28 yards, all through the air.
That's the first time the #Steelers have had two 20-yard passing plays in a game since the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869.pic.twitter.com/jYCHSaR8ob https://t.co/jCwmhYBFvo
— Alan Saunders (@ASaunders_PGH) December 7, 2025
And the #Steelers...
