Ravens' season ends in heartbreak as missed walk-off field goal gives Steelers final playoff spot

The final game of the 2025 NFL regular season may have been the best one, and it came down to the final seconds.

Twenty-seven points were scored in the fourth quarter instead of 30, as Baltimore Ravens kicker Tyler Loop missed what would have been a walk-off field goal to send the Ravens to the playoffs.

Instead, the AFC North title went to the Pittsburgh Steelers, who had their fair share of miraculous efforts in the fourth quarter, while the Ravens' season ended in heartbreak.

It's no secret the face of the Ravens, Lamar Jackson, had not been himself this entire season, but he made his best play of the campaign — and maybe his career — midway through the fourth quarter. On third-and-4 from midfield and trailing by three, Jackson evaded a sack and let one fly to Zay Flowers, who caught it in stride for the long touchdown to give the Ravens a 17-13 lead. The Steelers weren't sweating, though, as they responded with an eight-play drive that ended with a touchdown by Kenneth Gainwell to take a 20-17 lead with 3:49 to go. But apparently, Jackson saved his best for last, finding Flowers again, this time for 64 yards to go up 24-20 with 2:20 remaining.

The Steelers quickly got across midfield, and on third-and-10, Aaron Rodgers found Calvin Austin wide open for a score with 55 seconds to go. However, Chris Boswell missed the extra point, and it was just a two-point lead. The Ravens took the kickoff to their own 47-yard line and had three timeouts — a golden opportunity.

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Jackson completed his first pass, but after an illegal formation and two incompletions, he faced a fourth-and-7. Jackson threw up a prayer, and Isaiah Likely high-pointed it for an unbelievable catch. Jackson took a knee to set up the field goal unit in the middle of the hashes with two seconds left, but it was for naught, as the Steelers were the ones celebrating a wide-right kick.

The scoring got started from an unlikely source, as Lamar Jackson found Devontez Walker for a 38-yard touchdown to take the early lead. Both teams then exchanged punts before the Steelers turned the ball over on downs, and the Ravens took advantage by kicking a field goal to go up 10-0 early in the second quarter. Pittsburgh answered with a field goal of its own for its first score.

In the final seconds of the first half, the Steelers benefited from a defensive penalty that put them at the 2-yard line with two seconds left. They opted to go for the touchdown instead of a field goal, but the decision backfired, as Kenneth Gainwell was stuffed as the clock hit zero.

Thankfully for them, the Steelers got the ball to start the second half, and they did not let their opening drive go to waste, finding the end zone to tie the game at 10. Then, in his first game back from a collapsed lung, T.J. Watt caught a batted ball at the line for an interception. Pittsburgh then added a field goal for its first lead of the game.

The Steelers, with 42-year-old Rodgers and a head coach in Mike Tomlin whom fans were ready to give up on, finished the season at 10-7 and will host the Houston Texans on Monday night in the wild-card round.

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Trump says Cuba is ‘ready to fall’ after capture of Venezuela’s Maduro

President Donald Trump late Sunday predicted Cuba was "ready to fall" after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, warning that Havana can no longer rely on Caracas for security and oil.  

Trump said Cuba’s fate is now directly tied to Maduro’s ouster and the collapse of Venezuela’s ability to bankroll allies in the region.  

Asked if he was considering U.S. action in Cuba, Trump replied: "I think it’s just going to fall. I don’t think we need any action. Looks like it’s going down. It’s going down for the count." 

The president’s comments during a press gaggle with reporters aboard Air Force One come after Saturday’s capture of Maduro and his wife on charges tied to a narco-terrorism conspiracy. The audacious operation has sent shockwaves through allied governments in the region, with Cuban officials calling for rallies in support of Venezuela and accusing the U.S. of violating sovereignty.

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U.S. officials say Cuban security forces played a central role in keeping Maduro in power. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Cuban operatives effectively ran Venezuela’s internal intelligence and security operations – including personally guarding Maduro and monitoring loyalty inside his government. 

"It was Cubans that guarded Maduro," Rubio said. "He was not guarded by Venezuelan bodyguards. He had Cuban bodyguards." 

Cuba’s government acknowledged Sunday that 32 Cuban military and police officers were killed during the American operation in Venezuela, marking the first official death toll released by Havana. Cuban state media said the officers had been deployed at the request of Caracas and announced two days of national mourning.

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Trump confirmed Cuban casualties while traveling back to Washington. 

"A lot of Cubans were killed yesterday," he said. "There was a lot of death on the other side. No death on our side." 

Trump also took aim at neighboring Colombia, accusing its leadership of fueling drug trafficking into the U.S.

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"Colombia is very sick, run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States," Trump said, adding that the country, "is not going to be doing it for a very long time." 

He suggested the U.S. was prepared to act against narco-trafficking networks operating by land and sea, citing recent interdictions.  

Trump also revived his long-standing focus on Greenland, arguing the Arctic territory is critical to U.S. security amid growing Russian and Chinese activity.

"We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security," Trump said. "Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place." 

Trump has framed Saturday’s operation as part of a broader effort to reassert U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere, invoking the Monroe Doctrine and warning that hostile regimes can no longer rely on one another for survival. 

Maduro is set to be arraigned in federal court in New York on Monday. 

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