In the words of Amazon Prime broadcaster Kirk Herbstreit, “Where the h*** is the fight? They’re the Pittsburgh Steelers. They’re going through the motions.” That was obvious for much of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 28-14 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. The Steelers ended their season on a five-game losing streak after the loss in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.\

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson passed for 270 yards on a 69% completion percentage, and two touchdownsSteelers wide receiver George Pickens caught five passes for 87 yards and a touchdown. Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson passed for 175 yards on a 76% completion percentage, two touchdowns, and rushed for 81 yards on 15 carries. Ravens running back Derrick Henry rushed for 186 yards on 26 carries and two touchdowns.

The Steelers won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball first. Fittingly for an offense that’s lost four straight games, the first offensive snap for the Steelers was a drop by tight end Pat Freiermuth. Tight end Darnell Washington made up for the drop with a nine-yard catch on the next snap.

The Steelers discussed all week leading up to the playoff game that backup quarterback Justin Fields would play a role. On third and inches on the Steelers’ first drive, Fields entered the game. Fields ran a read option and handed the ball to running back Jaylen Warren for the first down. However, the Steelers needed six yards on the next third down, and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith elected to keep Wilson in the game. Wilson was pressured and tried to scramble for the first down, but was tackled short.

Ravens punt returner Steven Sims, a former Steeler, muffed the ensuing punt but no Steeler was close enough to recover the loose ball. No matter, Sims was tackled at his five-yard line.

The Ravens’ first offensive snap was a four-yard handoff to running back Derrick Henry. But a false start on the next snap negated the gain. Out of his endzone, Jackson found tight end Isaiah Likely for a nine-yard gain then kept the ball on a read option to pick up the first down. Jackson ran on the next five snaps for 22 yards. Henry got warmed up with a 12-yard gain. Then, the Ravens directly snapped the ball to Henry and he broke off a 34-yard run that included Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick getting thrown to the ground by Henry’s stiff arm.

After the Steelers’ pass rush forced a throw-away from Jackson and then pushed running back Justice Hill out of bounds for a loss of three yards, the Steelers had a chance to hold the Ravens to a short field goal try. But on third-and-13, Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman torched Steelers’ cornerback Donte Jackson and Jackson found him in the back of the endzone ending a 13-play, 95-yard drive. 7-0 Ravens. It’s the longest drive to begin a playoff game since at least 2000.

The Steelers’ first play call in the answering drive was a flea flicker when Wilson couldn’t even get the ball out of his hands and was sacked for a three-yard loss. Unsurprisingly, no one was open downfield on the play. Warren earned six yards back on a screen pass. On third-and-seven, Freiermuth couldn’t take his out-route past the sticks and the Steelers had to punt again. After just giving up a touchdown on a 7:13 drive, the Steelers defense was back on the field after only 2:11 off the clock.

On third-and-four, Jackson found Likely flying by Steelers defensive back Cam Sutton for a 25-yard pass over the middle of the field. The first quarter ended with Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen tackling Hill in the backfield for a loss of four yards. On third-and-long, Steelers safety DeShon Elliot threw Hill out of bounds short of the sticks, and the Ravens punted for the first time of the playoffs.

The Steelers have been outscored 63-0 in the first quarter of their past five playoff games including today.

In the first quarter, the Steelers opted to make the rare decision to throw on first down. But those decisions resulted in a dropped pass, an incompletion, and a sack. On their first offensive snap of the second quarter, the Steelers went back to their roots–a handoff to running back Najee Harris for five yards. After a three-yard run from Harris, Wilson connected with Freiermuth in the flat but was tackled short of the sticks. On fourth-and-inches at their 29-yard line, the Steelers punted.

On third-and-one, the Ravens threw a direct snap to tight end Mark Andrews who dove over the pile for the first down. Henry and Jackson continued to run right through the teeth of the Steelers’ defense. The Steelers finally caught a break when the Ravens were flagged for offensive holding, but Jackson scrambled for 19 yards and was granted more yards when Steelers defensive back Joey Porter Jr. was flagged for holding.

When the Ravens acquired Henry in the offseason, the Steelers and their fans had nightmares of what the rushing tandem of Jackson and Henry could look like. The duo has dominated all season, but the Steelers had those nightmares realized when Jackson fooled T.J. Watt with a fake handoff to Henry. Henry broke off a 17-yard run to the outside, and then dove in the endzone from eight yards out capping off a 13-play, 85-yard drive that took 7:56 off the clock. Every single play of the drive was a run. It’s the most rushes without a pass attempt on a drive in a playoff game since

Finally, the Steelers got another first down. Wilson found wide receiver George Pickens for an eight-yard gain and Warren picked up the first down. Then, Field entered the game and attempted only his second pass attempt since he was benched for Wilson earlier in the year. The attempt was a throw away out of bounds. On third-and-eight, Wilson connected with Pickens for 49-yard completion down the sideline. But Pickens put both hands on the shoulder of the Ravens defender and that was enough to draw offensive pass interference, setting the offense back ten yards. The Steelers couldn’t convert on third-and-18 and punted after the two-minute warning.

The Ravens’ two-minute drill was more of the same. The Ravens set the tone with running Henry up the middle. Then, as a change of pace, Jackson found wide receiver Nelson Agholor for a 25-yard completion and Andrews for a 20-yard completion over the middle of the field. Jackson then found Likely torching Sutton for a 19-yard completion and the Ravens were back into the red zone. The Ravens’ previous two touchdown drives each took more than seven minutes off the clock and focused on running the ball. When the Ravens needed to, they flew down the field through the air.

With two seconds remaining in the half, Jackson found Hill wide open in the flat for a five-yard touchdown. The Ravens led 21-0 after a nine-play, 90-yard drive that took less than two minutes. Making matters worse, Steelers first-team All-Pro defensive tackle Cam Heyward was hurt on the play and limped to the locker room. A 21-point deficit is the largest halftime deficit in Steelers’ postseason history and the Steelers have trailed by double-digits at halftime in the last five playoff games including today.

In the first half, the Steelers picked up two first downs and ran 18 plays for 59 total yards. The Ravens had 19 first downs and 308 total yards on 41 plays. Henry had 100 rushing yards on 13 carries and a touchdown in the first half.

The Ravens started the second half on offense. After the first snap, Watt was injured and frustratingly went to the sideline. Heyward jogged back onto the sideline but didn’t enter the game right away. The Ravens opened the half with five-straight rush attempts but Henry was stuffed on third-and-two forcing a punt that was downed at the Steelers’ three-yard line.

The Steelers’ offense needed to make something happen even if for nothing more than a moral victory. They’d start the second half without offensive tackle Dan Moore Jr. who suffered an ankle injury. The Steelers’ offensive line came into the game without offensive lineman Mason McCormick.

With a punt looking imminent, Steelers wide receiver Calvin Austin III held on through a big hit to catch a 25-yard pass from Wilson over the middle of the field. Warren picked up the blitz and bought Wilson just enough time to get the ball out. On third-and-five, wide receiver Mike Williams got open off a rub-route for a 37-yard completion down the sideline. After an incompletion and a throwaway, the Steelers faced third down again. After starting the drive on their three-yard line, Wilson took advantage of a confused Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton for a 30-yard touchdown. The Ravens led 21-7 with 8:05 remaining in the third quarter.

The drive was finally a bright spot for a Steelers offense that was decrepit in the first half, but it required three long completions on third-and-long–not exactly a repeatable recipe to complete a comeback.

Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith sacked Jackson for a loss of ten yards on the first play of the Ravens’ answering drive. Watt and Heyward, who had both entered the game also got pressure. But on second-and-20, Jackson bought enough time and found Likely for a first down completion.

As soon as the Steelers offense produced any amount of hope, the Ravens made sure it wouldn’t last long. Sims caught a 15-yard pass as the appetizer. Then, Henry broke free for a 44-yard touchdown. He scored so easily that the Steelers’ defenders were barely on the screen when Henry crossed the goal line–truly a visual of the impact that a Jackson-Henry read option has on defenses. Multiple Steelers flocked to Jackson and Fitzpatrick was down in the box leaving no one to stop Henry in case he broke into the third level. The Ravens led 28-7 with 5:49 remaining in the third quarter.

The next drive for the Steelers was what they needed. Harris recorded 34 yards himself over four snaps. Then, Wilson threw a perfectly placed ball deep to Pickens, who sensed the safety coming in to lay a big hit and pulled off a spin move into the end zone for a 36-yard touchdown. The Ravens led 28-14 with 3:24 left in the third quarter.

The Steelers defense finally forced a three-and-out on the ensuing defensive stand. Jackson threw a couple incompletions and were flagged for a false start penalty. The Steelers were flagged for running into the Ravens’ punter, but the penalty was declined.

With a chance to drive the field and make this a one-score game, Harris pushed through several tackles for an 11-yard gain and Pickens spun free in the middle of the field for an 11-yard gain. On third-and-eight, Wilson was pressured to scramble. He looked downfield, but no one was open, and was sacked for a loss of eight yards ending the third quarter and forcing a punt to open the fourth quarter.

On fourth-and-one at their 40-yard line, the Ravens did another direct snap to Andrews, who dove into the pile for the first down. But it didn’t matter. The Steelers scrambled to substitute the right personnel on the field and were flagged for having too many men on the field when the Ravens snapped the ball. All the Ravens had to do was chew the clock. On third-and-11, Porter Jr. broke up a pass over the middle of the field to wide receiver Tylan Wallace, forcing a punt. But the Ravens accomplished their goal. They ran over six minutes off the clock.

Trailing by 14 points, it looked likely the Steelers had just over eight minutes left in their season unless they could make a miracle happen. Wilson tossed a jump ball to Pickens down the sideline for a 26-yard completion. But when the Steelers offense follows up that play with a throw away, a false start penalty, and a sack, odds of victory drop. On fourth-and-15, Wilson made up his mind. He looked to the end zone for Austin III, but four purple jerseys were all over it. The Steelers turned it over on downs.

The Ravens just had to stay on the field and run out the clock. A task they completed without issue.

The Pittsburgh Steelers season ends with five straight losses and at the hands of their archrival in the playoffs. The Steelers never solved the Ravens’ rushing attack. The offense never found consistent offense. The offseason is now the focus, but there will be plenty of time for reflection in the coming months.