The Ravens have once again failed to defeat their biggest division opponent, the Pittsburgh Steelers, falling to them 18-16. Here are my winners and losers from Sunday’s contest.

Winners

Defense: Ten days after coming one play away from losing a shootout against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Ravens were once again looking for answers. Their efforts this season have made them one of the worst defenses in the NFL and in team history. That changed when they faced the Steelers. The defense allowed just four third down conversions on 16 attempts. They kept the Steelers out of the end zone four times. The pass defense allowed just 181 yards on the day, 114 yards less than their season average. The Steelers had to rely on kicker Chris Boswell six times, including three times from 50 or more yards (52, 57, 50).

Marlon Humphrey: The Ravens were in desperate need of turnovers and who else but the Ravens’ greatest defensive playmaker to catch an exhausted errant throw from Russell Wilson and give the Ravens life again. Rarely did the Steelers throw his way and when they did, he snagged the interception.

However, Humphrey left the field with 51 seconds left. It’s unclear why, as Harbaugh made no comment.

Odafe Oweh: A big play brought out the best of Oweh, who recorded 2.5 sacks, according to the NFL game stats tracker. He helped the Steelers keep the offense down the entire game and his pressure forced Wilson into Humphrey’s interception.

Honorable mentions

Rashod Bateman: While Bateman only caught two receptions on the day, both were crucial in keeping drives alive. He also set a new record for receiving yards in a season, surpassing his rookie year.

Zay flowers: The drop was bad, but he made up for it with the 23-yard touchdown in crunch time.

Losers

Justin Tucker: In a match decided by two points in a rivalry decided by one score over not, they cost six points. Tucker’s kicking woes have a direct impact on the team’s record. Today he missed twice in a stadium he knows is pretty much perfect. Meanwhile, Boswell scored six field goals to give the Steelers the victory.

Raven: It’s a record loss, but more of a painful reminder that the Ravens haven’t gotten over the hump against the Steelers yet. They have lost eight of their last nine games against a team they have a good squad for but who don’t perform when called upon.

Sanctions: We have reached a point where flags are expected for positive play, but also for bad play. The Ravens were flagged twelve times for 80 yards in this game, many of which were procedural penalties. Blocking in the field, too many people on defense, playing special teams, it never ends.

Ball security: Just ugly, ugly ball security today. Henry loses the football on the second play of the game. He probably coughed up the ball from a Patrick Queen strip just before half time to score three points, which was a difference maker in this close game. The Steelers thrive on takeaways and they gave up two easy ones that led to points.

Two-point game: Something clearly went wrong on the two-point attempt. After the Steelers called the first, the Ravens went to their next play call. Both Nelson Agholor and Isaiah probably looked surprised and it resulted in a quarterback run down the left side with no room to go. Monken definitely wants that back.

Offence: For the first time this season, the Ravens scored under 20 points. Over the past five games, they have averaged 34.2 points per game. But mistakes, execution and decision-making led to their downfall.

Special teams: Everything seems broken right now outside of Jordan Stout. Tucker is missing. Nick Moore’s photos are not consistently sharp. Return protections repeatedly raise flags. It’s all wrong for them now.