On third-and-2, however, tight end Pat Freiermuth was unable to escape the tackle of Ar’Darious Washington, getting stopped just short of the first down on a pass to the flat.
The Ravens made the Steelers pay, going on another long, sustained drive that saw them convert consecutive third-and-1s to start the possession that finished with an 8-yard touchdown run by Henry for a 14-0 lead.
The Steelers looked like they might answer when Wilson lofted a pass deep downfield for George Pickens on third-and-8 from the Pittsburgh 44. Pickens hauled the pass in at the Baltimore 7 for what would have been a 49-yard gain. But Pickens was flagged for offensive pass interference, negating the gain.
The Steelers were again forced to punt at the two-minute warning.
This time, Jackson used his arm to move the Ravens down the field, connecting on passes of 25 yards to Nelson Agholor after escaping pressure and rolling to his right and then finding Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely for gains of 24 and 19 yards to the Pittsburgh 5 with 11 seconds remaining in the half.
On second-and-goal, Jackson again evaded pressure in the pocket and flipped the ball to running back Justice Hill in the flat. Hill went into the end zone for a touchdown with two seconds remaining in the first half to give Baltimore a 21-0 halftime lead.
At that point, the Ravens had run 41 plays for 308 yards – 164 on the ground – and held the ball for 20:27. The Steelers had just two first downs and had 59 yards on 18 plays.
The Steelers got a defensive stop on the opening possession of the second half, but the punt was downed at the 3.
On third-and-9, Wilson fired a pass over the middle to Calvin Austin, who took a big hit at the end but held on for a 25-yard gain.
Then, on third-and-5, Wilson connected down the sideline for a 37-yard gain to Mike Williams.
Finally, on third-and-10 from the 30, Wilson hit a pass to Van Jefferson down the seam for a touchdown that put the Steelers on the board and cut the Baltimore lead to 21-7.
The momentum was short-lived, however, even though Alex Highsmith sacked Jackson on first down to set up second-and-20 on Baltimore’s ensuing possession.
The Ravens rolled Jackson to his right, sealing T.J. Watt to the inside, and Jackson threw a 21-yard completion to Tylan Wallace to pick up the first down.
Henry broke free for a 44-yard touchdown run up the middle of the Steelers defense to give the Ravens a 28-7 lead with 5:49 remaining in the third quarter.
The Steelers again answered quickly, taking just five plays and 2:25 to score on a 36-yard pass from Wilson to Pickens, who split the cornerback and safety help over the top to walk into the end zone and make it 28-14 with 3:24 remaining in the third quarter.
The Steelers forced a three-and-out on Baltimore’s next possession, but after getting the ball out to the 45, Wilson was sacked on third down on the final play of the third quarter and the Steelers opened the fourth quarter with a punt.
The Steelers again forced a punt, but not before the Ravens had taken another 6:24 off the clock, punting the ball back to Pittsburgh with 8:36 remaining.
But after back-to-back passes to Pickens to move across midfield, the Steelers turned the ball over on downs after a false start and sack pushed them back.
The Ravens ran out the clock from there, finishing off the game in Steelers’ territory.
The Steelers held the ball for just over 20 minutes in the game.
“The opportunity was there,” said Steelers defensive captain Cam Heyward. “But our execution was not. That’s all I can think about right now.”