Ravens' Kyle Van Noy on Steelers after Mike Tomlin's departure: 'They weren't a good football team'

Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti fired head coach John Harbaugh less than 48 hours after his club suffered a 26-24 Week 18 loss at the rival Pittsburgh Steelers that eliminated Baltimore from the playoffs. 

That was the second time across five games that Baltimore fell to Pittsburgh. During the latest edition of the "Throwbacks with Matt Leinart & Jerry Ferrara" podcast, Ravens linebacker Kyle Van Noy spoke about what went wrong for the club during those matchups versus the Steelers. 

Kyle Van Noy hates that Ravens lost to a subpar Steelers team

"We let a 42-year-old [Aaron Rodgers] wax us twice, which just eats at me," Van Noy explained, per Troy Montgomery of Steelers Depot. "Because they weren't a good football team. They were better that day, but they weren't a good football team collectively. And we weren't a good football team either. I think the first game, there was a couple calls that didn't go our way. I hate saying that, but there were huge plays in the game."

Specifically, the Ravens had a go-ahead touchdown taken off the scoreboard with 2:47 left in the Week 14 game against the Steelers after replay review determined that Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely didn't complete a catch before Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. knocked the ball out of Likely's hands. Understandably, at least some Ravens players felt they were robbed of crucial points in that moment. 

Van Noy acknowledged that the Steelers "were the better team" when Rodgers completed a go-ahead touchdown pass with under a minute to play in regulation of the Week 18 contest between the sides. Baltimore's Tyler Loop later missed what would have been a game-winning field goal as time expired that evening.

Kyle Van Noy takes shot at Steelers over Mike Tomlin stepping down

Less than 24 hours after the Steelers suffered a 30-6 wild-card playoff loss to the Houston Texans, Mike Tomlin stepped down as Pittsburgh's head coach. He had been in the role for 19 seasons. 

"They ended up going to the playoffs, and we saw what happened in the playoff game," Van Noy added about the Steelers. "And their coach ended up saying, 'No thanks anymore' because of what he has had to deal with."

Neither the Ravens nor the Steelers will play another meaningful game before September, but that didn't stop Van Noy from dumping some fuel onto the fire that is one of the NFL's most heated rivalries.