PITTSBURGH — This wasn't exactly the changing of the guard when a younger Jack Nicklaus beat Arnold Palmer in his own backyard to win the 1962 U.S. Open at Oakmont.

Or Wayne Gretzky stepping aside for a younger Mario Lemieux.

But, in many regards, this was about Chris Boswell establishing himself as the best kicker in the NFL and taking steps to have one of the best seasons in league history.

And he did it on Sunday in front of the NFL's all-time field-goal percentage leader — the Ravens' Justin Tucker — widely regarded as the best kicker in history.

"We've got the best kicker in the world," quarterback Russell Wilson said.

Boswell set one NFL record and tied another on Sunday when he converted all six field goal attempts and accounted for all the points in the Steelers' 18-16 victory against the Baltimore Ravens. And he might not be done setting more.

Boswell is on pace to have the most prolific season by a kicker in league history. He has a league-high 29 field goals after 10 games, putting him on track to break the season record of 44 set by San Francisco's David Akers in 2011.

Boswell's performance against the Ravens was the second time this season he has connected on six field goals in a game. He also did it in the season opener in Atlanta in an 18-10 victory. The only other kicker to do it twice in the same season was San Diego's John Carney in 1993, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

However, Boswell became the first kicker in league history to do it three times in his career during the regular season, breaking a record held by six other kickers. One of those was Baltimore's Tucker, who missed two of his three field-goal attempts on Sunday while Boswell was setting records.

"Different teams, different opportunities, different everything," Boswell said about facing Tucker. "That dude is a Hall of Famer in his career. I just do what I can."

Boswell already holds the Steelers' record for most field goals in the season (36), set in 2021. But, he kicked three field goals from at least 50 yards against the Ravens, giving him nine for the season, two fewer than Houston's Ka'imi Fairbairn, who has already eclipsed the old single-season record of 10, held by Tucker (2016) and Minnesota's Blair Walsh (2012).

Boswell's only miss this season was a 62-yarder in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Chargers.

"Just swing and see what happens," Boswell said. "I feel like I'm hitting the ball well, and that's kudos to the o-line and (holder) Corliss (Waitman) and (long-snapper) Christian (Kuntz) and everyone doing their job."

None of that should come as a surprise. Boswell is so undaunted by pressure or clutch moments that he is the only kicker in league history to convert every attempt in the postseason (17 of 17).

"I don't really pay attention to what's going on," Boswell said. "They don't change the field, they don't change the ball, they don't change anything. I just kick my kick and see what happens after that."

Of course, there is a downside to Boswell's assault on the record books. Three of his field goals against the Ravens were a result of the Steelers failing three times inside the red zone, once from the Baltimore 9. Coach Mike Tomlin said the failures inside the 20 "reminds us of our warts."

But at least he has Boswell to ease the disappointment.

"He's been everything that we need him to be," Tomlin said Monday during his weekly press conference, which was moved a day earlier because of Thursday night's game in Cleveland. "He's performing at an extremely high level. We're extremely comfortable in calling upon him in just about any circumstance."

Steelers clamp down

The Steelers converted just 4-of-16 third downs, were 0 for 1 on fourth downs and averaged 4.1 yards per play, yet still managed to beat the Ravens for the eighth time in the past nine meetings.

The reason: The defense held the league's high-scoring team to its fewest points, fewest yards (329) and fewest first downs (16) of the season. Tomlin was asked if it was the best performance he'd seen from his defense in a while.

"I'm never surprised when they play well, particularly when they prepare the way they prepared last week," Tomlin said. "I don't know that I viewed it through that lens. It's more satisfaction than anything else because I know our talent level, I know our professionalism and our preparedness."

Tomlin's clutch call

Tomlin called timeout right when the Ravens were lining up for a two-point conversion that would have tied the game. But the Ravens actually snapped the ball to Lamar Jackson, who took a direct step toward the line of scrimmage before the officials stopped the play.

Asked if he saw Jackson do that, Tomlin said, "You're damn right I did."

That tipped the Steelers off that Jackson was going to fake a run up the middle and throw a jump pass to one of his receivers, something he does often.

The Ravens changed the play, and Jackson was stopped by cornerback Joey Porter Jr. on the conversion run toward the left sideline.

"We thought he was going to do his little pop pass — run to the line of scrimmage, jump over and pass it," Porter said.

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