Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson saw the middle of the field wide open and only had one thing on his mind.

“I thought I had a chance to get in the end zone,” Wilson said. “I tried to cut back and just got hit. Just before I hit the ground the ball came out. Unacceptable. This can’t happen.”

Wilson launched from the Ravens’ 23-yard line into wide open space and glanced toward the end zone before Ravens defensive back Ar’Darius Washington closed in and forced a fumble from Wilson at the 4-yard line .

“I didn’t want to slip into that. I felt like we could get into the end zone, score a touchdown and go,” Wilson said. “They played a good game.”

The difficulty of the open field tackle against Wilson was not a high priority for Washington.

“It wasn’t too difficult. “It actually wasn’t that hard,” Washington said.

The Ravens responded with a 94-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 14-yard pass from quarterback Lamar Jackson to Rashod Bateman for a 14-7 lead, a lead that Baltimore never relinquished.

“The crowd bought into it and the offense went there and scored,” Washington said. “I knew for sure there was going to be a momentum shift when the offense broke down and scored off the turnover.”

The win secured the Ravens a spot in the NFL playoffs and moved level with Pittsburgh (10-5) in the AFC North standings.

It was the first of two game-changing turnovers by Wilson on Saturday.

He finished the game 22-for-33 for 217 yards and two touchdowns as the Steelers suffered their second straight loss in five days, following a 27-13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on December 15.

While the game was completely within reach following the fumble, Wilson’s interception in the fourth quarter essentially put the game away.

Two plays after safety Minkah Fitzpatrick’s first interception in two years, Wilson was picked off by Marlon Humphrey on a pass intended for MyCole Pruitt into the flats.

Humphrey went untouched for 37 yards down the left sideline, and the result – the first pick-six of his career – gave the Ravens a 24-17 lead with 13:06 left in the fourth quarter.

“I think we did a really good job getting the momentum back. Even late in the game we had a chance. The interception just hurt us. I tried to throw it to him (Pruitt) to his front number, but unfortunately the ball just stayed in there.

“They made two crucial plays against us,” Wilson said. “And unfortunately I can’t allow that.”

The Steelers host the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas Day, completing a series of three games in 11 days.

Wilson is 6-3 as a starter in Pittsburgh this season after being inserted into the lineup on October 20.

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