PITTSBURGH — Even when everything on paper all but ensured a high-scoring Steelers-Ravens meeting, old habits just die hard. These two beat each other up, thrived defensively and took it down to the wire, as they almost always do.

The Steelers leveled up and scored a whopping 18-16 win Sunday at Acrisure Stadium against their arch rivals after back-to-back 17-10 scores last season. But a victory by any number smells just as sweet in this twice-annual slugfest, and the Steelers now have won four in a row — eight of the past nine — in the series.

Russell Wilson moved the offense in a clunky fashion for much of the afternoon, but his placekicker and his defense dominated the day. Wilson threw for 205 yards on 23-of-36 passing, including a dumbfounding third-down interception in the end zone.

Lamar Jackson wasn’t much better as the Steelers (8-2) continue to be the ultimate thorn in his side. He threw for 207 yards, a touchdown and an interception on 16-of-33 passing. His 16-yard strike to Zay Flowers put the Ravens (7-4) in position to tie it with 1:06 left, but the ensuing 2-point conversion try was snuffed out when he tried to keep the ball around left end by Joey Porter Jr. crashing down from his right cornerback spot.

The familiarity of Steelers-Ravens was on full display considering Baltimore also blew its chance to win in Pittsburgh a year ago when a two-point conversion attempt for the win fell incomplete in 2021. And Porter got the first interception of his NFL career last year against none other than Jackson, so he’s etching his name in this history book already.

It was over when: Najee Harris churned forward for a yard on third-and-1 with 54 seconds left, and he took the handoff from Justin Fields — one play after Fields was inserted for a quarterback keeper, picked up 9 yards and slid too early to get the game-clinching first-down.

Player of the game: Chris Boswell. Nick Herbig, Patrick Queen, Najee Harris and George Pickens provided big plays, but they weren't perfect. Boswell was and continues to be this season except for one 62-yard field-goal attempt. He was the difference against arguably the greatest of all time at his position, out-kicking Justin Tucker and drilling 3-pointers from 32 (twice), 52, 57, 27 and 50 yards for a clunky offense. Sure, some in the NFL community still like to say specialists aren’t real football players, and Dallas kicker Brandon Aubrey booted a 65-yarder this season. But Boswell’s consistency makes him the best in the game right now bar none.

Trending up: Patrick Queen. In an emotionally charged matchup with the only other NFL team he’s ever known — he even went to midfield with the captains for the coin flip — Queen let his motivation work for him instead of against him. He ripped the ball away from Isaiah Likely as if it was the No. 2 tight end who declined to offer him a contract extension in Baltimore. Queen even recovered Likely’s fumble himself and gave the Steelers a bonus possession at the Ravens 19 with less than 30 seconds left in the first half. This is back-to-back strong performances from the every-down linebacker. Rookie Payton Wilson got in on the takeaway party, too, with an excellent fourth-quarter, post-“Renegade” interception.

Trending down: Cordarrelle Patterson. In two games since he returned from a Week 4 ankle injury, Patterson appears to have lost a step — or maybe more than a step. His contributions as a complementary rusher, receiver or kick returner have been minimal. The Colts game offered a glimpse at optimism for him to be a factor this season but it’s likely back to the Harris-Warren show in the backfield.

Up next: A quick turnaround and short week to prepare for a Thursday night trip to face the Browns, whom the Steelers have only beaten once in Cleveland since 2017.

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