Lamar Jackson and the Ravens had their season come to an end in crushing fashion Sunday night when rookie kicker Tyler Loop missed a 44-yard field goal attempt as time expired. That miss gave the Steelers a thrilling 26-24 win which clinched the AFC North title and the final spot in the AFC playoffs.
Jackson was brilliant down the stretch for the Ravens and put them in a position to win the game after Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers had grabbed the lead in the final minute.
Loop, however, pushed his kick to the right and he immediately knew that he had missed what was the biggest kick of his young NFL career.
"It was a great situation, exactly what we wanted, and unfortunately, I just mishit the ball," Loop said. "We call it hitting it thin. It spins fast and goes off to the right.
"The second it made contact with my foot, I felt it lower. We talk about hitting on the fourth lace of the shoe. It felt a little lower down the foot and hit it thin."
Jackson had a classy message for Loop during his postgame press conference. Instead of being down or being angry with the rookie, he picked him up by saying:
"He's a rookie," Jackson said. "It's all good. Just leave it in the past."
"He's a rookie, it's all good ... Just leave it in the past now."
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) January 5, 2026
Lamar Jackson showed support for Tyler Loop despite the rookie missing the game-winning FG 🤝
(via @Ravens) pic.twitter.com/Sn8vxnie1m
After a slow start to the game, Jackson was electric in the fourth quarter, throwing two long touchdown passes that gave the Ravens a chance to win the game.
The first was a 50-yard strike to Zay Flowers that came after Jackson was somehow able to get away from two Steelers defenders before throwing a dime to his top receiver.
Lamar Jackson makes an INSANE play to throw a go-ahead Ravens TD to Zay Flowers!
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 5, 2026
Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth went nuts on the NBC broadcast. 🏈🔥🔥🔥🎙️ #NFL #SNF pic.twitter.com/5eBkOBUVbr
Then a few minutes later he hit Flowers again for a 64-yard touchdown that gave the Ravens a 24-20 lead with just over two minutes remaining.
LAMAR JACKSON TO ZAY FLOWERS AGAIN!
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 5, 2026
Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth can't believe it. 🏈🔥🎙️ #NFL #SNF https://t.co/hjzWrzODfc pic.twitter.com/AVm3aURMPs
Rodgers then led the Steelers down the field in a hurry and gave them the 26-24 lead with a touchdown pass to Calvin Austin III with just 55 seconds remaining.
Aaron Rodgers on Calvin Austin III #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/GJBvPLqTN7
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) January 5, 2026
Jackson and the Ravens quickly got into field goal range but Loop wasn't able to make the kick and their season came to another disappointing end.
The Steelers, meanwhile, will host the Texans next Monday night in the wild-card round.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Lamar Jackson Had Classy Message for Ravens’ Rookie Kicker After Missed FG .
