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Brooke Pryor
PITTSBURGH — Cigar smoke wafted out of the tunnel connecting the Steelers’ locker room to the Acrisure Stadium news conference room, trailing after Pittsburgh quarterback Aaron Rodgers as he grinned and took a seat at the dais wearing his new “Been There, Won That” AFC North champions T-shirt.
“We haven’t made it easy on ourselves, really all season, I guess,” he said with a chuckle. “But I’m proud of our guys.
“I’m proud of the way that we responded multiple times after they took a lead. It just takes a little belief at this point in the season.”
Led by coach Mike Tomlin’s pursuit of Rodgers, the Steelers (10-7) placed their belief in the four-time MVP during the offseason, and he showed why they were right to do so Sunday night as he helped the Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens 26-24 in a rock fight-turned-boat race for the division crown and a playoff berth.
“This was the vision in the spring when we pursued him,” Tomlin said. “That’s why you do business with a 42-year-old guy, been-there, done-that guy with a résumé like his. He’s not only capable; he thrives in it. I think he put that on display tonight.”
Rodgers and the fourth-seeded Steelers now head to the postseason and will host the 5-seed Houston Texans on “Monday Night Football” (8:20 p.m., ESPN) in next week’s wild-card round.
“We are AFC North champs,” Tomlin said. “And that sounds good, and it feels good. But we didn’t come here for that. We came here for what lies ahead, so excited about that.”
Rodgers, who returns to the playoffs for the first time since 2021, completed 11 of 14 attempts for 133 yards in the fourth quarter, including a go-ahead 26-yard touchdown to wide receiver Calvin Austin III with 55 seconds remaining. The signal-caller finished the game completing 31 of 47 attempts for 294 yards and the one score. Rodgers also had a 20-yard rush to convert a third-and-long in the second half.
“You see the ball in the hands of [No.] 8 there,” Pittsburgh star pass rusher T.J. Watt said, “it’s like, [Rodgers] is here for a reason. This is why he’s here. This is the best dude in the NFL for this moment. And to be able to see him deliver on a big stage like that was incredible to see.”
Around the corner from where Rodgers and his teammates spoke, bass thumped through the speakers and permeated the cinderblock walls as the Steelers passed out more shirts and hats to celebrate the franchise’s 25th division title and first since 2020.
The night before the game, defensive captain Cameron Heyward, the team’s longest-tenured player, delivered a rousing speech that called on his teammates to channel their frustration of last year’s blowout playoff loss to the Ravens and change their fortunes this time around.
“‘This is what we’ve all been waiting for,'” Heyward told his teammates. “Last year, the playoffs, going to Baltimore, we were really hurt by that. I remember me and T.J. just sitting in the training room, just kind of scratching our heads. To get out here this year and play the same team — had some success in different ways — but it was a team performance. There’s not a guy in that locker room that didn’t step up in a different way, and we needed everybody today.”
The Ravens (8-9) jumped out to a 10-3 lead at halftime thanks in large part to a 79-yard first quarter by running back Derrick Henry. But the Steelers rallied by adjusting their run defense, getting a timely interception by Watt and using their own dominant run game to score 10 unanswered third-quarter points.
The two teams traded blows in the fourth quarter by combining for 27 points, after scoring 23 points across the first three quarters. The four go-ahead touchdowns in the final 10 minutes of the fourth tied for the most in any game this season, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Leading by two points with less than a minute to play after Pittsburgh kicker Chris Boswell missed his first extra point attempt in more than two seasons, the Steelers’ title hopes came down to the foot of Ravens kicker Tyler Loop. After Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson converted a fourth-and-7 on a 26-yard pass to Isaiah Likely with 14 seconds left, the Ravens rookie’s 44-yard field goal attempt to win the game sailed wide right.
“I heard the stadium go crazy,” said Pittsburgh linebacker Patrick Queen, who added he couldn’t watch Loop’s kick. “I was just shocked. I was just shocked. I didn’t look back. I didn’t look at the scoreboard. I just literally just stood there.”
Heyward, who was on the field as part of the field goal block unit for the final play, was in disbelief too.
“I got my head around,” Heyward said. “And I was like, ‘Damn, he missed it.’ We haven’t had a lot of misses here. I remember early on in our career, [former Ravens kicker Justin] Tucker had one to win the game, and that kind of ended our season. So, we were due to give them one back.”
That the Steelers won the AFC North title after squandering an opportunity against the Cleveland Browns a week ago is a testament to the resiliency of the locker room. It’s a trait, Steelers players said, that comes from their coach, one whose future in Pittsburgh appeared murky in the week leading up to the regular-season finale.
After the win, Steelers players were emphatic in supporting Tomlin as they puffed on cigars.
“It’s awesome, man … being able to get this for Coach T,” said tight end Pat Freiermuth, who had three significant second-half catches for 51 yards.
“Coach T is the best coach I ever played for. And I think a lot of people in this locker room feel the same way. And he’s one of one. We wouldn’t be here without him. He instills belief. He instills confidence in us. And I’m just super grateful to be here with him.”
The Steelers entered the season at +475 to win the division, and according to DraftKings Sportsbook, they have the second-longest odds to win the Super Bowl, ahead of only the NFC South champion Carolina Panthers. Yet, the Steelers aren’t listening to the prognosticators.
“At the end of the day, we got Coach T and 8,” Austin said. “So, we always have a shot.”
