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BALTIMORE — Jacoby Jones could ... have ... gone ... all ... the ... way.
But Mike Tomlin prevented the touchdown.
Maybe.
The most controversial snapshot from Thursday night's Ravens-Steelers slugfest involved Jones' 73-yard kickoff return in the third quarter when his flow was apparently disrupted by the Pittsburgh coach who stepped on the field of play.
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Jones never collided with Tomlin, but the Steelers coach entered the field of play during the return along the sideline near the Pittsburgh bench. Although Tomlin tried to hop out of the way at the last instant, his right foot was still on the field as Jones approached.
"I promise you, I'm looking at him the whole time," Jones recalled of the runback after Baltimore's 22-20 victory. "I'm like, 'Does he know he's on the field?'
"As I get close, I'm like, 'Is he going to move?' I just weaved to get out of the way. It broke my stride a little bit. I still shouldn't have got caught. It is what it is. (They) made the tackle. If I was him, I'd do the same thing to stop me."
Jones wouldn't blame Tomlin for his failure to score on the play, but realizes that such a response was bolstered by the victory that was so crucial to the Ravens' playoff hopes.
Had the Ravens lost on Thursday night?
"I would have been so (ticked)," Jones told USA TODAY Sports.
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Ravens star linebacker Terrell Suggs pointed to another guilty party: The officials.
Referee Clete Blakeman and his crew, which worked the recent Carolina-New England game that ended in controversy, didn't penalize Tomlin.
"The refs should have called it, and marked off 15 yards," Suggs told USA TODAY Sports. "But it's Ravens-Steelers. Anything goes."
Apparently so.
Said Suggs, "If you ain't cheating, you ain't trying to win."
It would be shocking if Tomlin, who downplayed the incident after the game, is not reviewed by the NFL for disciplinary action.
Replays of the incident, with a freeze frame for emphasis, drew jeers from the crowd as they were shown repeatedly.
<!--iframe comment-->Strikingly, the controversial play occurred on the day that Brooklyn Nets coach Jason Kidd was fined $50,000 by the NBA for taking gamesmanship a bit too far — spilling soda on the court to cause a stoppage of play while out of timeouts in the final seconds of a close loss against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night.
"Hey, man, coaches are smart nowadays," Jones said. "You've got to do what you've got to do. It's hard to get a win out here on these streets."
Clearly, Tomlin violated an NFL rule that prohibits coaches or players from entering the six-foot wide border along the sidelines during a play. Last Sunday, the New York Jets drew a 15-yard penalty along that same sideline at M&T Bank Stadium when an official collided with a Jets assistant coach during the course of a play.
Now Tomlin — a record-breaking receiver at William and Mary during the early 1990s — bent the rule to the point where the integrity of the play is called into question.
Asked if he knew the rule regarding the white border, Tomlin said, "Tell me something I don't know. I do it quite often, like everybody else in the National Football League. I was wrong, I accept responsibility for it."
Tomlin only accepted partial responsibility. While he was correct in asserting that the rule regarding the border is rarely enforced, he is wrong in insisting that he didn't interfere with the play. His presence could have done enough, even for a fraction of a time, to alter the result of the play.
<!--iframe comment-->Tomlin maintained that he was on the field of play to get a view of the play as it was shown in real time on the high-definition screens at both ends of the stadium.
"I always watch the returns on the Jumbotron," he said. "It provides a better perspective for me. I lost my placement as he broke free and saw at the last second how close I was to the field of play."
He should know better.
The Ravens aren't buying the notion that Tomlin's action was innocent.
That distrust, too, is expected when considering this added spice to another chapter of one of the NFL's most intense rivlaries.
Quarterback Joe Flacco said the incident reminded him of his playful suggestion at the end of Super Bowl XLVII, which was captured by NFL Films, when he threatened to run onto the field — if needed — to tackle the San Francisco 49ers kick returner in the final seconds of the game to preserve the championship.
"I took some flack for joking around in the Super Bowl and saying that maybe you should run onto the field and tackle somebody if this guy breaks it," Flacco said. "That's exactly what he just did. He was looking at the big screen the whole entire time. He knew where he was, and he knew where Jacoby was.
"He pulled my move."
Jones said, "Before I got to him, he was halfway on the field. He gave me a little juke, and I tried to juke him."
And now there's another definition for The 12th Man.
Follow NFL columnist Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell.
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Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Jacoby Jones (12) eats a turkey leg while being interviewed by NBC personality Michele Tafoya (right) after beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 22-20 during a NFL football game on Thanksgiving at M&T Bank Stadium.
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Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Brandon Stokley (80) is chased down after his catch by Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor (24) during a NFL football game on Thanksgiving at M&T Bank Stadium.
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Calvin Johnson dunks on the goal post to celebrate his third quarter touchdown.
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Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith (82) reacts after catching a pass against the Pittsburgh Steelers during a NFL football game on Thanksgiving at M&T Bank Stadium.
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Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray (29) celebrates after a touchdown against the Oakland Raiders during a NFL football game on Thanksgiving at AT&T Stadium.
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Ndamukong Suh sacks Matt Flynn in the end zone for a safety in the third quarter.
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Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell (26) runs with the ball against the Baltimore Ravens during a NFL football game on Thanksgiving at M&T Bank Stadium.
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Oakland Raiders wide receiver Andre Holmes (18) catches a pass while defended by Dallas Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr (39) in the second quarter during a NFL football game on Thanksgiving at AT&T Stadium.
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Lions defensive end Ezekiel Ansah sacks Packers quarterback Matt Flynn.
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Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Emmanuel Sanders (88) celebrates his touchdown catch against the Baltimore Ravens during an NFL football game on Thanksgiving at M&T Bank Stadium.
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Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray (29) is gang tackled by the Oakland Raiders defense in first quarter during a NFL football game on Thanksgiving at AT&T Stadium.
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Packers cornerback Sam Shields intercepts a pass intended for Calvin Johnson in the third quarter.
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Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Cole Beasley (11) is tackled by Oakland Raiders defensive back Chimdi Chekwa (35) on a kickoff during a NFL football game on Thanksgiving at AT&T Stadium.
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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) prepares to throw the ball against the Baltimore Ravens during a NFL football game on Thanksgiving at M&T Bank Stadium.
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Lions quarterback Matt Stafford throws a pass to wide receiver Dorin Dickerson.
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Oakland Raiders wide receiver Greg Jenkins (10) returns a punt and avoids the tackle of Dallas Cowboys defensive end Kyle Wilber (51) during a NFL football game on Thanksgiving at AT&T Stadium.
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Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Arthur Jones (97) and Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Marcus Gilbert (77) exchange words during a NFL football game on Thanksgiving at M&T Bank Stadium.
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Oakland Raiders quarterback Matt McGloin (14) fumbles the ball during the first quarter of the game against the Dallas Cowboys during a NFL football game on Thanksgiving at AT&T Stadium.
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Pittsburgh Steelers center Fernando Velasco (61) prepares to snap the ball against the Baltimore Ravens during a NFL football game on Thanksgiving at M&T Bank Stadium.
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Packers safety Morgan Burnett picks up a fumble and takes it in for a touchdown.
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Oakland Raiders quarterback Matt McGloin (14) throws a pass against the Dallas Cowboys in the first quarter during a NFL football game on Thanksgiving at AT&T Stadium.
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Recording artist Selena Gomez performs during the halftime show for the game with the Dallas Cowboys playing against the Oakland Raiders during a NFL football game on Thanksgiving at AT&T Stadium.
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Recording artist Tony Lucca performs during halftime of the Lions-Packers game.
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Lions running back Reggie Bush gets away from a defender during the first half.
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Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) is sacked in the first quarter Oakland Raiders by linebacker Nick Roach (53) during a NFL football game on Thanksgiving at AT&T Stadium.
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Packers cornerback Tramon Williams celebrates after a second-quarter interception.
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Clay Matthews forces Reggie Bush to fumble.
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Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice (27) gets introduced prior to the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers during a NFL football game on Thanksgiving at M&T Bank Stadium.
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Ford Field during the national anthem.
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Dallas Cowboys fans pose with a turkey during tailgate festivities before a NFL football game on Thanksgiving against the Oakland Raiders at AT&T Stadium.
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A Lions fan holds up a Thanksgiving-themed sign.
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Packers coach Mike McCarthy runs onto the field at the start of the game.
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