Tyler Loop hoped all season for a game-winning field goal attempt.
It finally came in the final seconds of the Ravens' regular season, with the division title on the line. There could be no better script.
Loop's dream quickly turned to a nightmare, however, as he pushed the 44-yard attempt wide right. It was a brutal finish to a strong rookie season for Loop, as the Ravens fell in Pittsburgh, 26-24, to end their season.
"For it to end like that sucks, and I want to do better," Loop said. "Unfortunately, the nature of the [kicker] job is you have makes, and those are awesome, and unfortunately, you have misses, and for that to happen tonight sucks."
Loop said he knew the kick wasn't good as soon as he struck the ball.
"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."
Loop had made every kick from under 50 yards this season and had only three misses all year. Yet the rookie sixth-round pick hadn't had a high-leverage situation like the one he faced Sunday night in Pittsburgh.
Long snapper Nick Moore said the specialists were celebrating on the bench after Steelers kicker Chris Boswell missed an extra point with 55 seconds remaining that left the door open for a game-winning field goal.
"We work every single day for that moment," Moore said.
A miraculous 26-yard catch by Isaiah Likely on fourth-and-7 seemingly won the game, setting the stage for Loop.
It wasn't the only challenging moment of the game for him, as he also sent a kickoff out of bounds in the fourth quarter after the Ravens re-took the lead on a 50-yard touchdown pass to Zay Flowers.
That gaffe drew the ire of quarterback Lamar Jackson, who made several jaw-dropping plays in the fourth quarter to keep the Ravens punching back.
"I felt like it was going to come down to him to win the game for us at the end just because of how the game was going," Jackson said. "He's a rookie. It's all good. Just leave it in the past."
Despite the disappointment, the Ravens embraced their young kicker after his miss. Head Coach John Harbaugh put his arm around Loop as they walked to the locker room. Moore and punter Jordan Stout flanked Loop's sides as he spoke to reporters.
Loop sat at his locker for a long time after the game ended. He was reading texts from family and friends telling him to keep his head up, and he read a prayer that he had written down before the game.
Loop did well this season replacing Ravens legend Justin Tucker, who had nailed so many clutch kicks over the years. But it's an ending that will sit with Loop for a long offseason.
"We talk about having a one-minute rule," Loop said. "Obviously, this one will be a little bit longer than a minute, because it is the last play of the season. It's going to be one of those things that next time I get back out on the field to kick a ball, it's time to move on."
