What Did Lamar Jackson, John Harbaugh Say About Controversial Isaiah Likely Call?

NFL officials said they waved off a potential game-winning touchdown catch by Baltimore Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely late in Sunday's matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers because he didn't take a third step before losing the ball, head coach John Harbaugh told reporters.

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson said after the 27-22 loss that he felt the play should have been a touchdown.

When asked if he also felt Likely's catch had been a touchdown, Harbaugh instead spoke about a different call that went against the Ravens earlier in the game when officials ruled Aaron Rodgers had caught a ball initially recorded as a Teddye Buchanan interception.

"I believe a lot of things," Harbaugh said. "I think the Aaron Rodgers play, just covering the rules, here, it's not an officiating issue. It comes from New York. But when you're making a catch, you have to survive the ground. He didn't survive the ground. He's not down by contact. He was catching the ball on the way down with another person. So, you've got to make a catch there and survive the ground. I don't know why it was ruled the way it was on that one.

"All of those things I'm sure they'll explain it to us, but they had plenty of time to look at it, and they are the ones that are the experts on the rules."

The win allowed the Steelers to leapfrog the Ravens for the top of the AFC North, while Baltimore fell to the No. 10 seed and out of the playoff picture altogether.

NFL VP of Instant Replay Mark Butterworth also referenced the third step when explaining the call after the game, per The Athletic's Jeff Zrebiec.

"The third step is an act common to the game and before he could get the third foot down, the ball was ripped out," Butterworth said, per Zrebiec. "Therefore, it was an incomplete pass."

About the reversal of the interception on Rodgers, Butterworth said: "The offensive player had control of the ball and as he was going to the ground, there was a hand in there, but he never lost control of the ball and then his knees hit the ground in control."

Rodgers batted at his own pass after it was knocked aside by a Ravens defender, then grappled with Buchanan for control of the ball.

Later in the game, Likely made the catch with two hands, then appeared to take two steps before Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. knocked the ball away from him.

"I was just keeping fighting for the ball to come out. It was really up to the ref to decide if that was a touchdown or not. I was just happy they picked no touchdown," Porter told reporters after the game.

The Ravens got the ball back on the Steelers' 13-yard line after officials ruled Porter had successfully sacked Likely.

Baltimore tried another Jackson pass and running Derrick Henry up the middle before turning the ball over on downs.

"They made a call. Gotta live with what the refs say, at the end of the day," Likely told reporters after the game.

The loss marked the second straight game during which Likely has been involved with a missed touchdown opportunity.

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He also committed a fumble at the goal line last Thursday during the Ravens' Thanksgiving Day loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

NFL Next Gen Stats gives the Ravens a 33 percent chance of making the playoffs following Sunday's division loss. Baltimore may need better luck in next Sunday's road rematch with Cincinnati in order to stay in the postseason hunt.