Baltimore Ravens vs Pittsburgh Steelers Match Player Stats: Aaron Rodgers Leads Pittsburgh to Victory

Missed field goals decide seasons, and on January 4, 2026, that’s exactly what happened. The Baltimore Ravens vs Pittsburgh Steelers match player stats from this AFC North title game tell a story of two 40-something quarterbacks trading haymakers until a 24-year-old kicker’s leg settled it. Pittsburgh survived 26-24 after Ravens rookie Tyler Loop pushed a 44-yard attempt wide right as time expired.

1. Title & Intro

Pittsburgh hosted Baltimore at Acrisure Stadium on Sunday, January 4, 2026, in front of 65,400 fans for a game that doubled as the AFC North championship. The Steelers won 26-24, with Aaron Rodgers throwing for a season-high 294 yards, the final 26 of which came on a go-ahead touchdown pass to Calvin Austin III with 55 seconds left. That score gave Pittsburgh its first division title in five years and sent it into the postseason as the AFC North’s top seed. CBSSports.com

Baltimore had answers of its own for most of the night. Lamar Jackson threw three touchdown passes, two of them to Zay Flowers, and the Ravens twice erased fourth-quarter deficits to retake the lead. But Loop’s missed 44-yard attempt as time expired sealed a heartbreaking 26-24 loss that ended Baltimore’s season without a playoff berth for the first time since 2021. This Ravens vs Steelers box score breakdown covers every meaningful number from the finale, from Rodgers’ methodical passing night to Derrick Henry’s ground production and the defensive stops that decided the AFC North. Baltimore Ravens

2. Match Overview Table

3. Core Match Statistics Overview

Team Stats Table

Passing Efficiency

• Lamar Jackson posted a sizzling 121.5 passer rating on just 18 attempts, averaging 13.2 yards per throw.
• Aaron Rodgers needed 47 attempts to hit 294 yards, but he cashed in the moments that mattered — the game-winning strike to Austin came on 3rd-and-comeback with under a minute left.

Ball Control and Tempo

• Pittsburgh ran 25 more offensive plays than Baltimore and held the ball more than eight minutes longer.
• That imbalance kept Jackson and the Ravens offense on the sideline for long stretches, even as Baltimore’s per-play efficiency (7.5 yards) outpaced Pittsburgh’s (5.3).

Rushing Production

• Derrick Henry carried 20 times for 126 yards and a long of 41, doing most of his damage on early downs.
• Pittsburgh split its ground game between Jaylen Warren (66 yards) and Kenny Gainwell (10 yards, 1 TD), leaning on Warren for chunk gains and Gainwell for short-yardage scores.

Receiving Distribution

• Zay Flowers turned six targets into 138 yards and two touchdowns, an average of 34.5 yards per catch.
• Pittsburgh spread the ball to seven different pass-catchers, with Gainwell (8 catches, 64 yards) leading the team in receptions out of the backfield.

4. Period-by-Period Analysis

• First quarter: Baltimore opened the game by quieting the Pittsburgh crowd with an 85-yard drive, capped by a 38-yard touchdown pass from Lamar Jackson to Devontez Walker for a 7-0 lead with 10:54 remaining. The Ravens defense then forced two quick stops, one via a sack from Derrick Harmon. Pittsburgh Steelers
• Second and third quarters: Pittsburgh’s defense tightened, and Tyler Loop’s 40-yard field goal after Harmon’s sack briefly pushed Baltimore’s lead to 10-0 before Pittsburgh clawed back with a field goal in the second quarter and a touchdown in the third to take a 13-10 lead into the fourth. That third-quarter score flipped the game’s entire complexion, giving Pittsburgh its first lead of the night. Pittsburgh Steelers
• Fourth quarter: This period alone decided the a storyline. Flowers’ 50-yard touchdown put Baltimore back in front 17-13, Gainwell answered with a 2-yard score to make it 20-17 Steelers, Flowers struck again on a 64-yard catch-and-run for a 24-20 Ravens lead, and Rodgers closed it out with a 26-yard touchdown to Calvin Austin III with 55 seconds left for the final 26-24 margin. CBSSports.com

5. Detailed Team Player Statistics

Baltimore Ravens Player Statistics

Lamar Jackson, QB: 11/18, 238 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT, 121.5 rating; 4 carries, 9 rushing yards
Jackson needed only 18 attempts to produce three touchdowns, connecting on explosive plays to three different receivers. His lone mistake, an interception picked off by T.J. Watt, proved costly in a two-point loss. fantasydata

Derrick Henry, RB: 20 carries, 126 yards, 6.3 avg, long 41
Henry provided the Ravens’ most consistent source of offense, chewing up yardage on early downs and keeping Baltimore ahead of the chains for most of the night, though he didn’t find the end zone.

Zay Flowers, WR: 6 targets, 4 rec, 138 yards, 2 TD
Flowers was the standout of this Ravens vs Steelers box score, scoring on plays of 50 and 64 yards in the fourth quarter and finishing as the game’s leading receiver by a wide margin.

Isaiah Likely, TE: 2 targets, 2 rec, 32 yards
Likely caught both of his targets, including a 26-yard grab in the fourth quarter that helped set up Baltimore’s final field-goal attempt.

Pittsburgh Steelers Player Statistics

Aaron Rodgers, QB: 31/47, 294 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 90.2 rating; 1 carry, 20 yards
Rodgers’ completion percentage hovered around 66%, and while his only touchdown pass came late, it was the one that mattered most for Pittsburgh’s AFC North hopes.

Kenny Gainwell, RB: 5 carries, 10 yards, 1 TD; 9 targets, 8 rec, 64 yards
Gainwell set career highs in targets and receptions in this game, giving Pittsburgh a reliable outlet that helped extend drives and control the clock.

Jaylen Warren, RB: 14 carries, 66 yards, 4.7 avg, long 15; 5 rec, 33 yards
Warren was the between-the-tackles complement to Gainwell’s receiving work, averaging nearly five yards a carry against a Baltimore front that had been stout against the run for most of the season.

Calvin Austin III, WR: 7 targets, 3 rec, 55 yards, 1 TD
Austin’s final numbers were modest outside of one play — he beat a slipping Chidobe Awuzie for the game-winning 26-yard touchdown grab in the final minute, instantly becoming the headline name of the night. cbssports

6. Statistical Leaders Summary Table

7. Analytical Breakdowns: Why They Won / Why They Lost

Why the Steelers Won

Sustained Drives Over Explosive Plays
Pittsburgh’s offense wasn’t flashy, but it was efficient enough over 73 plays to wear down Baltimore’s defense.

A Defense That Delivered One Big Play
T.J. Watt intercepted a pass in his return from a three-game absence following surgery to repair a collapsed lung, and his presence alone changed how Pittsburgh’s front seven attacked Jackson all night. CBSSports.com

Answering Every Ravens Score
Pittsburgh matched each of Baltimore’s two fourth-quarter touchdowns with scoring drives of its own, never allowing the Ravens to build separation. That resilience, more than any single stat line, decided this Baltimore Ravens vs Pittsburgh Steelers match player stats battle.

Clean Ball Security
Pittsburgh finished with zero turnovers against Baltimore’s one, a differential that mattered in a game decided by two points.

Why the Ravens Lost

A Missed Field Goal at the Worst Possible Moment
Sixth-round rookie Tyler Loop pushed a game-winning 44-yard field goal attempt wide right as time expired, the single play that will define this loss in franchise history. Baltimore Ravens

Heavy Dependence on Two Playmakers
Outside of Jackson, Flowers, and Henry, Baltimore’s next-highest offensive contributor was Devontez Walker with just 46 receiving yards. When Pittsburgh’s defense tightened on those top options, the offense had limited answers elsewhere.

Losing the Time-of-Possession Battle
Baltimore ran 25 fewer plays than Pittsburgh, which meant fewer opportunities for its offense despite averaging more yards per snap.

8. Historical Context & Advanced Insights

Season Series Breakdown

Pittsburgh swept the 2025 season series against Baltimore, winning both meetings by a combined five points — a sign of just how tightly contested this division rivalry has become.

Advanced Statistical Insights

Jackson’s 121.5 passer rating dwarfed Rodgers’ 90.2, and Baltimore actually out-gained Pittsburgh on a per-play basis (7.5 to 5.3). Yet volume and time of possession won out: Pittsburgh’s 73 offensive snaps against Baltimore’s 48 meant more scoring chances and less time for Jackson to operate.

The Ravens’ 3-to-1 yards-per-play edge simply couldn’t offset a 25-play deficit. It’s a reminder that efficiency numbers only tell part of the story when one offense controls the clock for over 34 minutes.

9. Game Implications & Key Lessons

What This Means for the Steelers

• Pittsburgh clinched their first AFC North title in five years and earned a home playoff game.
• Rodgers’ performance under pressure gave the locker room a jolt of belief heading into the postseason.
• The Steelers’ defense, anchored by Watt’s return, showed it could still make a difference late in games.

What This Means for the Ravens

• Baltimore’s season ended at 8-9, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2021 despite a strong second-half push.
• Special-teams reliability, particularly at kicker, becomes an offseason priority after Loop’s high-leverage miss.
• The passing offense needs more consistent options beyond Flowers to avoid one-dimensional stretches against playoff-caliber defenses.

Key Lessons

• Time of possession can offset a per-play efficiency disadvantage over a full game.
• A single special-teams mistake can outweigh a strong overall statistical performance.
• Depth at receiver matters as much as star power when a defense schemes to take away one or two options.
• Turnover margin, even a single-possession swing, is often the deciding factor in one-score games.
• Veteran quarterback poise in the final two minutes remains one of the most predictive traits in close divisional matchups.

FAQs

Who won the Baltimore Ravens, a team vs Pittsburgh Steelers game on January 4, 2026?

The Pittsburgh Steelers won 26-24, clinching the AFC North title.

What were Lamar Jackson’s numbers in this game?

Jackson completed 11 of 18 throws for 238 yards and 3 touchdowns, with 1 interception and a 121.5 passing rating.

What were Aaron Rodgers’ regular stats against the Ravens?

Rodgers went 31 of 47 for 292 yards and 1 touchdown, including the game-winning 26-yard score to Calvin Austin III.

Who got the most touchdowns in the game?

Zay Flowers topped all players with 2 receiving touchdowns on 138 yards.

What happened at the final play of the game?

Tyler Loop missed a 44-yard field goal attempt wide right as time expired, sealing the Steelers’ 26-24 win.

Where was Baltimore vs Steelers AFC North title game played?

The game was played at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in front of 65,400 fans.