The Ravens' season ended in the cruelest of ways Sunday night after rookie kicker Tyler Loop missed a 44-yard field goal that sealed their Week 18 loss to the Steelers as well as their playoff fate.
On a kick that would have won the Ravens the AFC North title and sent them into the postseason, Loop's kick sailed wide right as time expired, leading to heartbreak for Lamar Jackson and Co. who had fought their way back after Pittsburgh took a late lead in the game. The Steelers ended up eking by with a 26-24 win and secured the No. 4 seed in the AFC playoff picture.
Loop was seen sharing an emotional moment with coach John Harbaugh after his miss, and he has since received plenty of public support from Jackson and his other Ravens teammates. At the end of the day, though, he knew the missed field goal was on him and said as much in his postgame media availability.
Loop admitted to reporters that he knew he had botched the kick the second he made contact with the ball.
"I caught a little bit—operation was great, it was a great situation, exactly what we wanted. Unfortunately I just mishit the ball. We call it hitting it 'thin,' spins fast and goes off to the right. And yeah, that was it," Loop said.
"I felt great. We had good warmups. I feel like our extra points through the course of the game were good, struck well. Felt good about our operation and everything. When it came down to it, just didn't come together."
Loop was then asked to elaborate on what was going through his head before the kick:
"Got back there, looked at the play clock, I saw 22 seconds. Took my steps, took over, visualized what the ball looks like when it's held down. Jordan [Stout] picked up his fingers and that was my cue to go, tried to visualize the ball going through the uprights where I wanted, swung, and the results didn't match my process."
Ravens rookie kicker Tyler Loop spoke with the media after the team's 26-24 loss to the Steelers 🎥 pic.twitter.com/ro91JzcXKV
— Baltimore Banner Sports (@AllBannerSports) January 5, 2026
Loop said Harbaugh told him to "get back in the saddle" after his brutal miss and reminded him that he was going to have many more opportunities down the line. The rookie kicker was drafted in the sixth round by Baltimore last April and was putting together a solid first year in the pros; entering Sunday, Loop was 41-for-43 on extra point attempts (95.3%) and 29-for-32 on field goal tries (90.6%), including 7-for-7 on tries between 40 and 49 yards.
"That's the special thing about this team, man. You saw it this year, we started 1-5 and it's tough, and the team never flinched. That was the thing that was really special," continued Loop. "Guys love each other and care about each other and that makes it incredible to be a Baltimore Raven. It's just true of our organization. And it stings. It hurts. But those guys having my back means the world to me."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ravens’ Rookie Kicker Tyler Loop Got Brutally Honest About His Season-Ending Missed FG.
