{"id":78294,"date":"2026-01-05T13:47:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T13:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/78294\/"},"modified":"2026-01-05T13:47:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T13:47:09","slug":"nfl-news-priest-blesses-end-zone-before-tyler-loop-misses-ravens-field-goal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/78294\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL news: Priest blesses end zone before Tyler Loop misses Ravens field goal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!\n  <\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/sports\/nfl\/pittsburgh-steelers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> called in a holy reinforcement before Sunday\u2019s divisional showdown against the Baltimore Ravens, and it seemed to have worked.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable\">Before kickoff on Sunday night, a priest was seen blessing the end zone where Ravens kicker <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/sports\/nfl\/baltimore-ravens\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Ravens kicker Tyler Loop<\/a> would eventually miss the would-be walk-off field goal that would have sent Baltimore into the playoffs.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/steelers-priest-ravens-tyler-loop-001.jpg\" alt=\"Tyler Loop reacts to missed field goal\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Baltimore Ravens kicker Tyler Loop (33) reacts after a missed field goal attempt in the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The game took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo\/Gene J. Puskar)<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This is a priest who is spreading holy water in that end zone,&#8221; NBC play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico said after the game during the &#8220;Sunday Night Football&#8221; broadcast.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/sports\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/faith-values\/faith\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Catholic community<\/a> in Pittsburgh is really strong, and its ties to the Steelers are everywhere,&#8221; Tirico added with a laugh. &#8220;And down at that end zone, Tyler Loop misses the field goal and allows the Steelers to win.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0&#8220;So it\u2019s not Tyler Loop\u2019s fault,&#8221; Cris Collinsworth chuckled.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;As with everything in football, it\u2019s at a higher power,&#8221; Tirico responded.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/steelers-priest-ravens-tyler-loop-002.jpg\" alt=\"Tyler Loop reacts to missed kicked\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Pittsburgh Steelers safety Jabrill Peppers (40) reacts after Baltimore Ravens kicker Tyler Loop (33) missed a field goal attempt in the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo\/Gene J. Puskar)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/sports\/ravens-season-ends-heartbreak-missed-walk-off-field-goal-gives-steelers-final-playoff-spot\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">RAVENS&#8217; SEASON ENDS IN HEARTBREAK AS MISSED WALK-OFF FIELD GOAL GIVES STEELERS FINAL PLAYOFF SPOT<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Loop, who was drafted by the Ravens in the sixth round of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/sports\/nfl-draft\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">2025 NFL Draft,<\/a> had a chance to clinch the AFC North title for the Ravens and secure their place in the playoffs when he lined up for the 44-yard field goal attempt.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But the rookie\u2019s kick sailed wide right just as time expired, sending the Steelers into the playoffs and ending the Ravens\u2019 season on a heartbreaking note.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I just want to say I\u2019m super grateful to Baltimore \u2013 the organization, the city \u2013 just how they\u2019ve embraced me this year. It\u2019s been incredible,&#8221; Loop said, speaking to reporters in the locker room. &#8220;For it to end like that just sucks, and I want to do better.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/aaron-rodgers-1426.jpg\" alt=\"Aaron Rodgers\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Aaron Rodgers of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates after throwing a touchdown pass during the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at Acrisure Stadium on Jan. 4, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Kevin Sabitus\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.onelink.me\/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&amp;af_dp=foxnewsaf%3A%2F%2F&amp;af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fapps-products\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Loop said he wrote down a prayer before the game, which he returned to read after the missed field goal.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Faith is a big part of my life,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It\u2019s such a fortunate thing to be here, even going back \u2013 just being placed in Baltimore with this team has been the biggest blessing of my life, and I\u2019m super grateful for it.&#8221;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Follow Fox News Digital\u2019s<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FoxNewsSports_\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"> sports coverage on X<\/a>, and subscribe to<a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/newsletters\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"> the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>  <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! The Pittsburgh Steelers called in a holy reinforcement before Sunday\u2019s&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":78295,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[4916,17433,1418,73,75,74,1833,726],"class_list":{"0":"post-78294","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh","8":"tag-baltimore-ravens","9":"tag-faith","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-pittsburgh","12":"tag-pittsburgh-headlines","13":"tag-pittsburgh-news","14":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","15":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78294\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}