BALTIMORE – Fortune has finally given the Baltimore Ravens a smile in their heated rivalry with Pittsburgh.

The Ravens made up for three of their own mistakes — and one big mistake by the Steelers. And when the game seemed to be coming to an end like so many others in this series, Marlon Humphrey made the breakthrough by returning an interception for a touchdown.

“It was great. That’s what you want to do to put out the fire. Our offense has saved us so many times. “In the past, we gave up a touchdown and then they scored,” Humphrey said. “It felt good to be able to return the favor.”

The Ravens defeated Pittsburgh 34-17 on Saturday, clinching a playoff spot and tying with the Steelers for first place in the AFC North. Baltimore had lost eight of the previous nine games against Pittsburgh.

Humphrey has a career-best six interceptions this season, and few defensive players have had his influence in changing the game.

– On Oct. 6 in Cincinnati, he intercepted a pass in the fourth quarter that helped the Ravens win in overtime.

– On Oct. 21 at Tampa Bay, he intercepted two passes in the second quarter – one in the end zone – as Baltimore rallied from an early deficit to win comfortably.

– On Nov. 7 against Cincinnati and the Ravens, trailing 21-7, Humphrey forced a fumble in the third quarter. In the end, Baltimore won by one.

– On Nov. 17 in Pittsburgh, Humphrey intercepted a pass in the end zone with the Ravens down five in the fourth quarter, although Baltimore still lost.

Then there was pick-6 on Saturday, the first of his career.

“I think I set my goals a little too low for this year. I think I had six interceptions there and a pick-6 and some forced fumbles and I don’t remember it all,” Humphrey said. “Coming into this game I had zero interception yards, so I thought, ‘Man, hopefully I’m not the first one to have five or six picks with zero yards,’ so it was good to try to get that average up .” .”

Baltimore’s other takeout Saturday was also a big one. Ar’Darius Washington forced a fumble from Russell Wilson as he headed toward the Baltimore end zone.

“That was huge. The defense was preaching turnovers, knocking the ball out, intercepting passes (and fourth-down stops),” tight end Isaiah Likely said. “We achieved the mantra of losing possession today and that was a big reason why we won the game.”

What works

If the Ravens avoid self-inflicted problems, their offense will remain very difficult to stop. Lamar Jackson threw touchdowns to three different players against the Steelers and Derrick Henry ran for 162 yards.

What needs help

Aside from those two big turnovers, Wilson caused problems for the Ravens by moving the ball pretty well against them for most of the game.

Stock up

The Ravens showed significantly better discipline in defense. Baltimore was only stopped twice for 10 yards in the game – a couple of false starts on offense.

“We covered better. They had a couple of throws from the field that we defended without grabbing,” coach John Harbaugh said. “So, I thought we did a good job.”

Inventory reduced

Baltimore fumbled three times but was fortunate to recover them all. Two of those errors came courtesy of Desmond Kane, who appeared to have taken over punt return duties after a good performance the previous week, but looked shaky against Pittsburgh.

Injuries

Baltimore’s running back depth took a hit when Justice Hill left the game due to a concussion. Rookie Rasheen Ali had 2 yards on his only carry.

Key numbers

Henry (1,636) became the fifth player in NFL history to record 1,500 rushing yards in four different seasons. The others were Hall of Famers Barry Sanders, Eric Dickerson, Edgerrin James and Walter Payton. Henry also joined Dickerson and Clinton Portis as the only players with 1,500-yard seasons for multiple franchises.

Next

The Ravens complete three games in 11 days when they play a Christmas game in Houston on Wednesday.