The Pittsburgh Steelers secured a narrow victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night. The matchup had a ton of storylines going into it as the contest was the AFC North title game, with the winner clinching a spot in the postseason and the loser's campaign coming to a close. The Steelers lucked into the 26-24 win as the Ravens missed what would have been the game-winning field goal as time expired, which capped off one of the crazier games of the year. Pittsburgh is now set to host the Houston Texans at the end of Wild Card weekend as the franchise will look to win its first postseason game in nearly a decade.
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Steelers' Mike Tomlin with Ravens' John Harbaugh before the two clash in Week 18 of the 2025 season.
Pittsburgh started the game off slow and faced a deficit of 10-0 in the first half, but the group battled back and quickly took the lead in the second half. The offense seemed to open things up, but the secondary for the Steelers struggled which allowed the Ravens to stay alive.
Pittsburgh took the lead with just under a minute to go as Aaron Rodgers found Calvin Austin III down the left sideline for a touchdown, but Chris Boswell missed the extra point which kept Pittsburgh's lead at two points. The Ravens needed a field goal to win it, and Tyler Loop missed that kick from 44 yards as time expired.
Head Coach Mike Tomlin was questioned about the field goal attempt at the end of the game during his post-game press conference. The coach was asked to describe how he felt about just narrowly missing the postseason. His response was comical to say the least.
"You know how it is." Tomlin said. "If my aunt had male parts she'd be my uncle."
Tomlin is not going to think about what it would have been like to be sent home had the field goal attempt from Loop gone through the uprights. This is essentially another one of his clever ways of saying he doesn't deal in hypotheticals, but he added a comedic edge this time around. This is especially hilarious because of the opponent it came against, and the stakes of the entire situation.
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Ravens' Tyler Loop (33) after kicking a field goal during a home game in Baltimore during the 2025 season.
It's always hard to see a kicker cost their team the game, and that almost happened to Boswell on Sunday night as his missed extra point could have been extremely consequential. Thankfully, the script flipped on itself and Loop stepped in.
The Ravens actually used a draft pick on Loop as the organization selected him in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. The franchise found itself being forced to draft a kicker after Justin Tucker found himself in hot water due to some of his actions off of the field, and the rookie's first season in the league could not have ended worse. He could have been a hero and sent his team to the postseason, but instead he made a mistake that will be haunting him until he steps on the field again.
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Steelers' Mike Tomlin on the practice field preparing for the Baltimore Ravens during the 2025 season.
Steelers' Tomlin Doesn't Turn Away From Late-Game Kicks
Often times NFL games come down to the wire, and to the leg of a kicker from either team. Pittsburgh has been on both sides of things as Boswell has kicked plenty of game-winners throughout his career, but the Steelers have also lost on kicks at the end of games. This happened most recently when Pittsburgh played the Cincinnati Bengals for the first time during the 2025 season, and Tomlin was asked whether or not he looks away during those situations.
"Man, I'm gonna watch it." Tomlin said. "You kidding me?"
This will be a moment that Pittsburgh fans will remember for quite some time, and hopefully Tomlin and his team can make it feel even more special by putting together a playoff run.
What did you think to Tomlin's response to the final kick? Let us know in the comments below!
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