The Pittsburgh Steelers scraped out a 26-24 win against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 18. In classic Steelers-Ravens fashion, the game came down to the wire. It looked like the Ravens had it won for sure because of a missed Chris Boswell extra point. However, Ravens Tyler Loop missed a 44-yard field goal as time expired. Former NFL corner Jason McCourty thinks Loop should have gotten another kick at a much closer distance.

“Steelers should get a penalty for leveraging on that FG,” McCourty wrote on Twitter. “They got away with one.”

Steelers should get a penalty for leveraging on that FG.

They got away with one…

— Jason McCourty (@JasonMcCourty) January 5, 2026

The NFL defines leverage as “a defensive player jumping or standing on a teammate or an opponent to block or attempt to block an opponent’s kick.” It’s a perfectly fair penalty, and while it’s not common, it can be seen called multiple times around the league throughout the year.

McCourty followed up that initial tweet with another that showed a screenshot of what he thinks was Ben Skowronek using Ravens players as leverage.

“Sheesh this was close! Hell of a game nonetheless.”

That screenshot shows Skowronek with both hands on the backs of Ravens players. The ball had just been snapped, with the holder still getting it down. It’s easy to see why McCourty would think that he could be called for leverage in that situation.

However, let’s look at the play in real time. It’s important to use that to judge, rather than simply looking at one frame.

The full play shows that Skowronek had already left his feet by the time his hands touched the Ravens. He doesn’t push off them to boost himself. In fact, placing his hands on them messes up his intent more than anything. He instantly ended up going horizontal in the air, which drastically lowered his chances of blocking the kick.

Also, it’s important to note that the officiating in the game was rough from the start. That went both ways. The Ravens got called for a bogus blindside block on their first offensive play of the game. Meanwhile, there were several times where the Ravens could’ve been called for defensive pass interference, but the officials kept their flags in their pockets.

Could a referee have called Skowronek for leverage? Sure. Would that have been the correct call? That’s far more debatable. It’s easy to talk about what ifs or missed calls in the NFL. One play doesn’t determine the game, though. There were plenty of other things that the Ravens could’ve done better.