Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers battled past the Baltimore Ravens to claim a controversial NFL road win on Sunday, as Josh Allen inspired a late comeback to give the Buffalo Bills a dramatic victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
A series of contentious officiating decisions — including a crucial disallowed fourth quarter touchdown — left Baltimore coach John Harbaugh fuming as the Ravens slipped to a 27-22 defeat against divisional rivals Pittsburgh in Maryland. The potentially pivotal win saw the Steelers take control of the AFC North divisional race, improving to 7-6 to lead the standings, with the Ravens falling to 6-7 in second place.
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“It’s been an up and down season for all of us, a lot of people crushing us in the last week or so,” Pittsburgh quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “So to come in here in a hostile environment as the underdog and take the lead in the division is really special,” added Rodgers, who ran for one touchdown and tossed another, finishing with 284 passing yards.
But the main talking point after a fiercely contested duel at the M&T Bank Stadium in Maryland came after the Ravens saw tight end Isaiah Likely have a touchdown chalked off in the fourth quarter. Likely’s score — which would have given Baltimore a 28-27 lead with 2 minutes and 47 seconds remaining — was initially awarded before being reversed on review after being deemed incomplete. The Ravens subsequently turned the ball over on downs, and the Steelers hung on for the win.
Baltimore had also seen calls go against them earlier in the game, notably an apparent interception by Rodgers which was reversed. “The explanation was that the third (footstep) didn’t get down before the ball came out. That’s what they said,” Ravens coach Harbaugh said, who was also baffled by the overturned Rodgers interception. “I don’t know why it was ruled the way it was on that one,” he said.
Elsewhere on Sunday, the Buffalo Bills rallied from a 28-18 fourth quarter deficit in a snow-blanketed classic in upstate New York to beat the Bengals 39-34. Bills quarterback Allen was the catalyst for the comeback, producing a 40-yard touchdown run — the longest rushing touchdown of his career — to cut the Bengals’ lead to 28-25 with the extra point. Christian Benford then picked off Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and galloped 63 yards into the end zone to put the Bills ahead, and after another Burrow interception immediately afterwards, Allen’s touchdown pass to Jackson Hawes pushed the lead to 39-28.
“The fight in this team is unbelievable,” said Allen, who tossed three touchdowns with 251 passing yards. “We didn’t have much hope, just a sliver — but that’s all we need.”
The Indianapolis Colts suffered a potential season-ending injury to quarterback Daniel Jones, who damaged an Achilles in a 36-19 defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars. “It’s not looking good,” Colts head coach Shane Steichen said of Jones’ injury.
The Los Angeles Rams, meanwhile, bounced back from last week’s upset defeat to Carolina with an emphatic 45-17 drubbing of already eliminated Arizona. The win leaves the Rams level with the Seattle Seahawks at 10-3, but Los Angeles lead the NFC West by virtue of beating Seattle last month.
The Green Bay Packers defeated the Chicago Bears 28-21 in their NFC North divisional clash, while the Denver Broncos improved to 11-2 with a 24-17 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders to retain the AFC top seeding. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers suffered a shock 24-20 loss at home to the New Orleans Saints in an NFC South divisional upset.
© 2024 AFP
