Rookie kicker Tyler Loop watched a season-long hope turn into a heartbreaking finish in the closing seconds of the Ravens’ regular-season finale in Pittsburgh. With the AFC North title on the line, Loop pushed a 44-yard attempt wide right, sealing a 26-24 loss and ending Baltimore’s season. Loop said he felt the kick was off immediately and described hitting the ball “thin,” sending it spinning to the right. Teammates, coaches and the special-teams staff rallied around him afterward, but the miss will linger into the offseason.
Key Takeaways
- Tyler Loop missed a 44-yard field goal wide right in the final seconds, costing the Ravens a chance at the division title in Pittsburgh and ending the regular season with a 26-24 loss.
- Loop, a rookie sixth-round pick, had converted every attempt under 50 yards during the season and finished the year with only three misses overall.
- Prior to Loop’s kick, Steelers kicker Chris Boswell missed an extra point with 55 seconds left, opening the door for a game-winning field-goal attempt.
- Isaiah Likely made a critical 26-yard catch on fourth-and-7 to set up the final field-goal opportunity for Loop.
- Loop also had a kickoff go out of bounds in the fourth quarter after a 50-yard touchdown pass to Zay Flowers, a play that drew public frustration from quarterback Lamar Jackson.
- Head Coach John Harbaugh and teammates, including long snapper Nick Moore and punter Jordan Stout, provided immediate visible support to Loop after the miss.
- Loop described the miss as a thin strike — lower on the foot than intended — and said the moment will take longer than his usual “one-minute rule” to process.
Background
The Ravens entered the regular-season finale in Pittsburgh with the division crown at stake, staking years of roster moves and strategic planning on a single game’s outcome. Special teams had been a point of stability; Loop, a sixth-round rookie, had stepped into the role vacated by longtime kicker Justin Tucker and delivered strong numbers throughout the year. Baltimore’s coaching staff and special-teams unit practiced high-pressure scenarios repeatedly in anticipation of late-game moments like the one that arrived.
Rosters and front-office decisions in recent seasons emphasized reliable kicking as a competitive edge, and replacing an established figure like Tucker carried both performance and emotional weight for the franchise. Loop’s regular-season statistics — a near-perfect record under 50 yards and only three misses — framed him as a dependable option, but he had limited experience in truly high-leverage, season-deciding situations before the Pittsburgh game. The matchup against the Steelers featured a tense atmosphere and magnified every specialist action.
Main Event
Late in the fourth quarter, after a sequence of lead changes and a dramatic 50-yard touchdown pass to Zay Flowers that briefly put Baltimore ahead, the game tightened into a one-possession finish. With 55 seconds remaining, Pittsburgh’s Chris Boswell missed an extra point, leaving the Ravens with an opening to win with a field goal. On the ensuing drive, Isaiah Likely converted a crucial fourth-and-7 with a 26-yard reception, positioning the Ravens for a 44-yard attempt.
Loop approached the kick in front of a raucous crowd in Pittsburgh. He later said the contact felt lower on his foot — what specialists call a “thin” strike — and the ball spun to the right immediately after impact. The attempt pushed wide right, and the officials ruled the try no good, finalizing the 26-24 score and eliminating the Ravens from postseason hopes tied to the division race.
The special-teams unit had earlier celebrated on the bench after Boswell’s miss, according to long snapper Nick Moore, and practiced for a moment like this all season. Following the miss, coaches and teammates quickly surrounded Loop. Head Coach John Harbaugh put an arm around him in the walk back to the locker room, while Moore and punter Jordan Stout flanked him as he addressed reporters. Loop sat alone at his locker for an extended period, reading supportive messages and a pregame prayer he had written.
Analysis & Implications
Technically, Loop’s seasonal performance remains strong: he converted every attempt under 50 yards and finished with only three misses, which supports the view that the miss was an outlier rather than a pattern. However, kicking is a results-driven position where a single high-leverage miss can dominate perception and influence offseason evaluation. Teams and fans often weigh clutch performance heavily when projecting future roster plans.
For the Ravens, the immediate consequence is emotional and practical: elimination from divisional contention and the need to assess special-teams consistency under pressure. Coaching staff will review mechanics, snap-to-kick timing, protection and situational scripts used late in games. Given Loop’s rookie status and the limited number of true season-deciding kicks he had faced, evaluators will likely balance his overall accuracy with the experience deficit exposed in Pittsburgh.
Beyond personnel considerations, the miss underscores how tight margins determine playoff access in the NFL. A single missed extra point earlier in the sequence (Boswell’s) shifted the mathematical requirement to a field goal rather than overtime or another possession. The episode may prompt both teams to reexamine in-game decision rules, special-teams practices and psychological preparation for specialists.
Comparison & Data
| Metric | Tyler Loop (2024) | Previous Ravens Kicker (Justin Tucker, career) |
|---|---|---|
| Under-50-yard accuracy | 100% (season) | Very high (career) |
| Total misses (season) | 3 | Varied by season |
| High-leverage attempts | Limited | Extensive |
While Loop’s inside-50 accuracy for the season was spotless, the table highlights a gap in high-leverage experience relative to a veteran like Justin Tucker. That difference in sample size helps explain why a single late miss can weigh heavily in evaluations despite strong aggregate numbers.
Reactions & Quotes
“For it to end like that sucks, and I want to do better…for that to happen tonight sucks.”
Tyler Loop
Loop acknowledged the pain of the moment and expressed a desire to improve, framing the miss as part of the job’s high-variance nature.
“We work every single day for that moment.”
Nick Moore, long snapper
Moore stressed the unit’s preparation and the expectation that specialists will be ready in late-game situations, highlighting how practice translates to critical plays.
“He’s a rookie. It’s all good. Just leave it in the past.”
Lamar Jackson, quarterback
Jackson’s comment offered public support and perspective, urging teammates and fans to move beyond the error while acknowledging Loop’s inexperience.
Unconfirmed
- Whether Loop’s miss will directly influence the Ravens’ long-term kicking plans or offseason roster moves remains unannounced by the team.
- Any internal evaluation details about mechanical adjustments or psychological interventions being considered by coaches have not been publicly confirmed.
- No official statement has linked fatigue, weather conditions, or equipment issues as contributing factors to the miss beyond Loop’s description of contact.
Bottom Line
The final play in Pittsburgh crystallized the precarious nature of kicking in the NFL: a season of reliable performance can be overshadowed by a single, high-stakes miss. Tyler Loop’s 2024 campaign included strong accuracy inside 50 yards and only three total misses, evidence that the result was an exception rather than a pattern, but the emotional and evaluative consequences are immediate.
Coaches, front office staff and Loop himself will analyze mechanics, preparation and situational readiness through the offseason. While teammates publicly supported Loop and emphasized his potential, the team must reconcile the objective data with the need for proven performance in late-game scenarios as it plans ahead.
Sources
- BaltimoreRavens.com — Official team website reporting postgame comments and game details.