The Ravens finally got the breaks in their series with Pittsburgh and they won convincingly

BALTIMORE — Fortune finally smiled on the Baltimore Ravens in their heated rivalry with Pittsburgh.

The Ravens recovered three of their own fumbles — and a big one by the Steelers. And when the game seemed to go down to the wire like so many in this series, Marlon Humphrey broke it open by returning an interception for a touchdown.

“That was huge. That’s what you’re going to be able to do to put that fire out. Our offense has bailed us out so many times. In the past we’d give up a touchdown, then they’d score,” said Humphrey. “It felt good to be able to return the favor.”

The Ravens beat Pittsburgh 34-17 on Saturday, clinching a playoff spot and a tie for first place with the Steelers in the AFC North. Baltimore had lost eight of the previous nine games against Pittsburgh.

Humphrey has a career-high six interceptions this season, and few defensive players have had his impact in terms of changing the complexion of games.

– On Oct. 6 at Cincinnati, he intercepted a fourth-quarter pass that helped the Ravens rally for an overtime win.

– On Oct. 21 at Tampa Bay, he intercepted two passes in the second quarter – one in the end zone – as Baltimore rallied from an early deficit to win comfortably.

— On Nov. 7 against Cincinnati and the Ravens down 21-7, Humphrey forced a fumble in the third quarter. Baltimore ended up winning by one.

– On Nov. 17 at Pittsburgh, Humphrey intercepted a pass in the end zone with the Ravens down by five in the fourth quarter, though Baltimore still lost.

Then there was Saturday’s pick-6, the first of his career.

“I think I set my goals for this year a little too low. I think I had six interceptions and a pick-6 and some forced fumbles and I can’t remember everything,” Humphrey said. “Coming into this game, I had zero interception yards, so I was like, ‘Man, hopefully I’m not the first guy to have five or six picks with zero yards,’ so it was good to try to get that average up.

Baltimore’s second takeout Saturday was also big. Ar’Darius Washington forced a fumble by Russell Wilson as he carried down toward the Baltimore end zone.

“It was huge. The defense has preached turnovers, punted the ball, picked off passes (and) fourth down stops,” tight end Isaiah Likely said. “That turnover mantra came through for us today and that was a big reason we won that game.”

What works

When the Ravens avoid self-inflicted trouble, their offense remains difficult to stop. Lamar Jackson threw touchdowns to three different players against the Steelers, and Derrick Henry ran for 162 yards.

What needs help

Aside from the two big turnovers, Wilson gave the Ravens problems, moving the ball pretty well against them for most of the game.

Stock up

The Ravens showed much better discipline on defense. Baltimore was only flagged twice for 10 yards in the game — a pair of false starts on offense.

“We covered better. They had a couple of down throws that we defended without catching,” coach John Harbaugh said. “So I thought we did a good job.”

Stock down

Baltimore fumbled three times, but was fortunate to recover all of them. Two of those fumbles were by Desmond Kane, who appeared to have taken over punt return duties after a good performance the previous week, but looked shaky against Pittsburgh.

Injuries

Baltimore’s running back depth took a hit when Justice Hill left the game with a concussion. Rookie Rasheen Ali had 2 yards on his only carry.

Key figures

Henry (1,636) became the fifth player in NFL history with 1,500 yards in four different seasons. The others were Hall of Famers Barry Sanders, Eric Dickerson, Edgerrin James and Walter Payton. Henry also joined Dickerson and Clinton Portis as the only players with 1,500-yard seasons for multiple franchises.

Next

The Ravens end a three-game stretch in 11 days when they play Christmas Day at Houston on Wednesday.