The game ball nestled in the corner of Marlon Humphrey’s locker inside M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday night wasn’t the ball, but it was emblematic all the same.

It represented a life-changing week for the eighth-year cornerback, whose wife gave birth to a baby boy named Duke — the same as inscribed on NFL footballs. It was also a reward for the fruits of his labor on an evening in which his 37-yard interception return for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter finally helped vanquish the ghosts of Pittsburgh Steelers past.

And, perhaps most importantly, it clinched a playoff berth for the Ravens (10-5), who with a 34-17 victory over their archnemesis also pulled into a first-place tie in the AFC North with the Steelers (10-5) with two games remaining in the regular season.

“These rivalries mean a lot to me,” said Humphrey, who has six interceptions on the season and is back to performing at an All-Pro level again. “To put a big play in the archives, clinch the playoffs, it was huge. … It was awesome.

“I felt that this team has had our number over the years. The performance we put on, it wasn’t perfect, but I felt like that’s what we’re supposed to do. I feel like we are a good football team and it’s really good that we could play good football and not beat ourselves, which I feel like has been the result of the last couple games.”

After losing eight of its past nine against Pittsburgh, the ball finally bounced Baltimore’s way.

The Ravens had two fumbles and a muffed punt, but lost none of them. They committed only two penalties for 10 yards. Quarterback Lamar Jackson was intercepted on the Steelers’ 8-yard line less than a minute into the fourth quarter after a miscommunication with receiver Rashod Bateman as Baltimore looked to put the hammer down on Pittsburgh, but Humphrey bailed him out two plays later.

“It mean a lot,” said Jackson, who completed 15 of 23 passes for 207 yards and three touchdowns. “We been bustin’ our behind all season long, had ups and downs this whole season. But to clinch a playoff against a great team like that, that’s great. It means we’re moving in the right direction.”

The Steelers, meanwhile, weren’t as fortunate.

Not on Russell Wilson’s scramble from the Ravens’ 23-yard line through a wide-open middle of the field in the second quarter when he raced toward what looked to be a certain touchdown before diminutive safety Ar’Darius Washington came flying out of nowhere to knock the ball out with linebacker Kyle Van Noy recovering it. And not on his attempted pass to tight end MyCole Pruitt that Humphrey stepped in front of, caught and raced the rest of the way, holding the ball out in celebration as he crossed the goal line.

“I heard the crowd go crazy, so I’m like it’s either a big play for them or a big play for us,” said cornerback Brandon Stephens, who didn’t see Humphrey’s pick-six because he was himself locked in man coverage. “I just saw the numbers on his back and going and scoring a touchdown.

“We try to end it when [the defense is] on the field and put the offense out of their misery. To have a play like that, that was huge.”

Ravens fans can count the ways it was so.

It ended a four-game losing streak against Pittsburgh. It breathed life into the Ravens’ chances of repeating as AFC North champs, which is what the Steelers would have been (and still can be if they win out, via common opponent tiebreaker). And most importantly it showed that Baltimore still has plenty of bite when it comes to tough, physical and close games.

That much was evident from the start, with running back Derrick Henry racking up 52 yards on eight carries in the opening quarter before finishing with 162 of the Ravens’ 220 rushing yards against Pittsburgh’s stout defense.

It helped that the Steelers were without defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi, safety DeShon Elliott and cornerback Donte Jackson (along with wide receiver George Pickens) because of injuries and lost their other starting cornerback, Joey Porter Jr., early in the game. But Baltimore wasn’t about to blow another opportunity, the way it had in an ugly and sloppy loss in Pittsburgh earlier this season and so many times before against the Steelers.

After Washington caused Wilson to fumble with the score tied at 7 in the second quarter, the Ravens’ offense resumed moving the ball with ease (and by the chunk), with tight end Isaiah Likely hauling in a 19-yard pass and running back Justice Hill bouncing a 25-yard run to the outside.

The latter came at a price, with Hill knocked out of the game with a concussion after landing on his head, but it didn’t slow Baltimore.

One play later, Jackson hit Zay Flowers for a 14-yard gain and the play was padded by a 15-yard facemask penalty on Pittsburgh. Three plays later, Rashod Bateman broke to the outside on safety Damontae Kazee, and Jackson hit him for an easy 14-yard touchdown in the back corner of the end zone to cap a 96-yard drive to instead put the Ravens up 14-7.

Leading 17-10 at the half, the Ravens kept their offense rolling in the second.

Jackson opened Baltimore’s opening possession of the third quarter with a 16-yard completion to his favorite target, Mark Andrews. He finished it in the same manner five plays later, with the tight end wide-open in the middle of the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown.

It marked the 37th touchdown pass of the season for Jackson, who broke his own franchise record with a throw, fittingly, to his top target over the years.

Then with the Steelers facing a fourth-and-6 from the Ravens’ 45 at the start of the fourth quarter, Wilson’s deep pass down the middle of the field was broken up by safety Kyle Hamilton. One play later, Henry broke off a 44-yard run and the Ravens appeared to be poised to score again before Jackson was intercepted.

This time, it didn’t cost them.

“I feel like I could’ve played better,” Jackson said. “That interception that really got me mad still. We don’t turn the ball over almost any game we win the game. That one turnover could’ve been the difference.”

For a change, it wasn’t, which was particularly important in a series that over its previous nine games had an average margin of fewer than 4 points per game.

“Sometimes you wanna win so bad that you try to win suddenly, you try to win in one play,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “The game is not gonna be won in one play. It’s gonna be won one play at a time.

“You take that mindset … you have a tough play, you try to come back the next good play and suddenly a big run is broken off or there’s a pick-six or there’s a sack.”

The Ravens now face a quick turnaround with a Christmas Day game Wednesday against the Texans in Houston, while the Steelers will host the AFC’s top team, the Kansas City Chiefs, also on Christmas.

But the message remains the same.

“Don’t flinch,” Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum said. “No matter what happens, good or bad, we gotta go out there and do our job to the best of our ability and play as hard as possible.

“If we’re doing that, I think a lot of good things can happen with this team.”

Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1.