Divine intervention for the Steelers may have been at play in Week 18 with holy water blessing the end zone before kickoff, but it wasn\u2019t the only mysterious force at play when Ravens kicker Tyler Loop\u2019s 44-yard field goal went wide right. Myron Cope and the curve of the Terrible Towel also did some of that work.<\/p>\n
Baltimore\u2019s mayor made a grave error before the game via his Instagram page<\/a>. After a bet with Ryan Clark on the first Steelers-Ravens game in Week 14, he paid up by wearing Steelers gear in a video. Unfortunately for the Ravens, he used it as a chance to mock the Terrible Towel.<\/p>\n \u201cSo now my debt is paid,\u201d Brandon M. Scott said with a Steelers necklace around his neck and a Terrible Towel on the desk in front of him. \u201cBut forget all that. It\u2019s rivalry week, I\u2019m not doing that. Ryan, we\u2019re going double or nothing because it\u2019s for the playoffs on Sunday. Y\u2019all going home. Give me this towel, man. The only thing you do with this towel is you wipe your butt with it.\u201d<\/p>\n The Mayor of Baltimore Brandon M. Scott acted out wiping his butt with the Terrible Towel in a recent IG video ahead of Ravens-Steelers. Well, we all know how that turned out. They will never learn. #Steelers<\/a> #NFL<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/yBTbuWJaYq<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Steelers Depot 7\u20e3 (@Steelersdepot) January 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n He did indeed gesture as if he was wiping his rear end with the towel before slamming it down to the ground. Scott wouldn\u2019t even refer to the Steelers by name throughout the video, calling them \u201cblank\u201d several times as a placeholder.<\/p>\n Queue Myron Cope\u2019s famous line, \u201cThe Terrible Towel is poised to strike.\u201d<\/p>\n This video is even funnier in hindsight knowing how the game ultimately played out. The Ravens had every chance to win it, but their kicker, who hadn\u2019t missed a field goal under 50 yards all season, shanked it wide right.<\/p>\n There are countless examples of opposing teams invoking the curse of the Terrible Towel throughout the years. The most infamous examples include 2005 when T.J. Houshmandzadeh wiped his feet<\/a> with the towel. The Steelers went on to beat the Bengals in the playoffs that year. And in 2008, Ravens WR Derrick Mason stomped on the towel before losing all three games to the Steelers that season, including in the playoffs.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t wait to see what Brandon M. Scott has to do to pay up on his double-or-nothing bet. Clark should force him to wear Steelers gear during his next campaign speech. I bet you that would do wonders for his numbers in the polls.<\/p>\n