The Baltimore Ravens went into Week 18 with a chance to win the AFC North and advance to the playoffs as the No. 4 seed. If the Ravens could beat the Pittsburgh Steelers on the road, Baltimore would advance, and Pittsburgh would be eliminated.
It was a slow game to start, but the last five minutes had plenty of fireworks. The Steelers scored a touchdown with 55 seconds left in the game, but star kicker Chris Boswell missed the extra point. This put Pittsburgh up two points, meaning Baltimore just needed a field goal to win.
After a long kick return and a huge fourth-down reception by Isiah Likely, the Ravens were set up with a 44-yard field goal. Rookie kicker Tyler Loop trotted out, but missed the kick wide right. Upon review after the game, it looked like a Pittsburgh defender pushed down on the center and an offensive guard to jump the line to try and block the kick.
This should have likely been called leverage, which would have resulted in a 15-yard penalty and a re-try of the kick, this time from 29 yards out. It wasn't called, and quarterback Lamar Jackson went on social media to succinctly show he wasn't happy with the no-call.
Here is more on Jackson's reaction to the end of the Week 18 loss against the Steelers.
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Lamar Jackson reacts to potential Steelers missed penalty
Football players tend to head to social media after a game. We have seen plenty of players go live on Instagram after wins, and other players post cryptic messages after losses.
The Ravens quarterback went to social media, but didn't leave any questions about the point he was making. Jackson quote-tweeted a fan's screenshot of what looks to be a Steelers defender pushing down on the Ravens lineman and jumping over the offensive line to try to block the kick. This is called leverage in the NFL and it is a penalty. Loop missed the kick wide right from 44 yards, but a leverage penalty would have given the Ravens 15 yards and allowed the rookie to re-kick from 29 yards.
On X/Twitter, Jackson simply said "Smfh," which is an acronym you can surely figure out or Google if you want it translated.
— Lamar Jackson (@Lj_era8) January 5, 2026
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What is a leverage penalty?
A leverage penalty in football is one that is very rarely called. The defense wants to do everything it can to try and block the kick. This resulted in some players pushing down on the center or an offensive lineman to try to gain more height to try for the block. When called, it results in a 15-yard penalty and a re-try on the kick if it was missed or blocked.
In the instance of the Steelers-Ravens ending, many believe that a Pittsburgh defender pushed down on the center and a guard to hop the line. They didn't end up blocking the kick, but it still looks like a missed penalty, which would have let Loop re-try the kick. With the added penalty yards, it would have been a 29-yard attempt.
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Tyler Loop missed field goal video
Here is a video of Loop's missed field goal. It starts off looking straight on, but then takes a strong turn to the right with a classic Mike Tirico call to add to the moment.
THE RAVENS KICK IS NO GOOD AND THE STEELERS ARE PLAYOFF-BOUND. Pic.twitter.com/cIVq2TPKwp
— NFL (@NFL) January 5, 2026