Coming into the game, the Ravens had an 8-8 record and were second in the AFC North Standings to the Pittsburgh Steelers with a 9-7 record. After continuous heartbreak the last two years with a loss in the AFC Championship in 2023 and a missed two-point conversion due to a fumble in the 2024 season, the Ravens were hoping to turn it around for 2025 and get deeper into the playoffs, like their NFC neighbors, the Washington Commanders, had in 2024. However, before the season began, there was some uncertainty that their star kicker, Justin Tucker, would not be present on the team for the first time since 2011 due to allegations of sexual misconduct. Replacing him was sixth-round pick Tyler Loop from the University of Arizona. Other than Tucker, the Ravens retained most of their star power, with QB Lamar Jackson, RB Derrick Henry, WR Zay Flowers, and TE Mark Andrews still present on the roster.
Their first six weeks were miserable, scoring only a “gimme” win against the Cleveland Browns in week two and losing the other five. The team got back on track after one bye week, followed by five straight victories against the Bears, Dolphins, Vikings, Browns (again), and Jets, putting the team at a 6-5 record. Weeks 13 and 14 featured losses against the Bengals and Steelers, as well as one more loss in Week 16 against the breakout New England Patriots. Weeks 15 and 17, however, featured wins for the Ravens against the Bengals and Packers, putting the team at a balanced 8-8 record going into the final game of the regular season against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
This game was set to be an absolute barnburner on Sunday Night Football, with huge stakes on the line. The winner of the game would not only go to the playoffs but also be crowned the 2025 AFC North Champion. The loser wouldn’t play for the rest of the season.
Five minutes into the game, Devontez Walker made the first scoring play of the game with a successful pass from Lamar Jackson turned touchdown, with the extra point. In the second quarter, the rookie Tyler Loop made a 40-yard field goal to put the Ravens up 10-0, to which the Steelers responded with their own field goal from Chris Boswell, which put the game back within a touchdown by halftime. In the third quarter, the Steelers picked up the pace, with a short scoring run by Connor Heyward to tie the game, and another field goal from Boswell to take the lead by three.
The fourth quarter was by far the craziest part of not just the game, but arguably the most insane 15 minutes of the entire 2025 season. Zay Flowers scored a touchdown about halfway through the quarter to put the Ravens back up by four, and then the Steelers got the lead back with just under four minutes left with another touchdown to make the game 20-17. The Ravens then had yet another Zay Flowers touchdown to once again put the Ravens up by four. Five seconds into the final minute of the game, the Steelers got a possibly season-saving touchdown but shockingly missed the extra point, which put them only two points above the Ravens. If the Ravens could somehow get a field goal in the final minutes of this game, they could win the game by one point. On the fourth down at the 50-yard line with just under 30 seconds left, Lamar Jackson made a 26-yard pass to Isaiah Likely to put the Ravens in field-goal range. After kneeling on the first down, the Ravens set Tyler Loop up with a game-winning 44-yard field goal and the season on the line.
It wasn’t even close to going in.
Whether it was the wind blowing or just the nerves getting to the rookie kicker, the ball went wide right. Loop later said he knew “as soon as the ball left [his] foot” that it was going to be no good. It was steel-cold heartbreak for one of the best season turnarounds in recent memory.
Many Ravens fans were quick to pin the loss on Tyler Loop; however ,many were intelligently pointing out that if your entire season comes down to one kick, then the team needed to do more, both earlier in the season and for the first three quarters of the game. The defense during the game was especially weak, making the insane offensive effort in the fourth quarter effectively useless. What good is a highly scoring offense if the defense allows the other team to score just as much?
Now that the season is over, the Ravens have fired head coach John Harbaugh, and as of right now, have no replacement head coach lined up. The team is actively conducting interviews with the top offensive and defensive minds in the sport. Next season, we’ll see if the new management was the change that may finally bring the Ravens to the Super Bowl. But for now, they’re watching from Cancun.
