PITTSBURGH -- John Harbaugh was talking with the other Baltimore Ravens coaches about lining up on fourth down and trying to draw the Pittsburgh Steelers offside in overtime. Joe Flacco then walked up and ended the conversation.

"Just let him win the game," Flacco told Harbaugh.

Justin Tucker did more than win the game Thursday night, when his 52-yard field goal lifted the Ravens to a 23-20 overtime win and allowed them to avoid an 0-4 start. He saved the Ravens' season and earned the title of the game's ultimate closer.

Consider this: Tucker is 12-of-12 on field goal attempts to either tie or put his team ahead in the fourth quarter or overtime, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Of his eight game winners, five have come from 44 yards or longer and the one Thursday night happened in one of the trickiest stadiums for kickers.

It comes down to having swagger. Tucker loves performing on the big stage, whether it's getting up stage at a concert or parodying Matthew McConaughey in a car commercial. It was only two years ago when Tucker hit a 61-yarder with 38 seconds left on Monday Night Football.

That's why on Thursday the Ravens were so confident Tucker was going to nail the longest field goal by an opponent at Heinz Field before a hostile crowd and a national television audience. Long snapper Morgan Cox was so sure that he started running down the field as soon as he hiked the ball so he could retrieve the memento for Tucker.

As the Ravens debated whether to try to draw the Steelers offside, Joe Flacco said of Justin Tucker: "Just let him win the game." AP Photo/Don Wright

"I'd say our range tonight could've been anywhere," Tucker said. "We would have put the ball down and kicked it anywhere in that stadium and felt good about it."

In an intense rivalry known for hits, this one came down to kicks. In the fourth quarter, Steelers kicker Josh Scobee missed wide left on field goal attempts from 49 and 41 yards. In overtime, Pittsburgh decided to go for it on fourth down instead of attempting kicks from 56 and 50 yards.

Meanwhile, Tucker tied the game with a 42-yarder with four seconds remaining in regulation, and won it in overtime on the seventh field goal over 50 yards by an opponent in the 15-year history of Heinz Field.

"When you have a guy like Justin, kicking field goals is a pretty safe bet," Flacco said.

The Ravens lost their first three games of the season because they failed to finish. In the season opener, Steve Smith dropped a winning touchdown pass and Flacco was intercepted in the end zone in the final minute. Over the past two weeks, the defense has been unable to hold three fourth-quarter leads.

This time, the pressure fell on Tucker, who had been adjusting to the wind moving left to right for most of the night. He was aiming about a foot to the left in order to get his kicks through the uprights.

That is, until his final kick with 5:08 remaining in overtime.

"On the last one, more than anything I was thinking, 'let's just rip it and get the hell out of here,'" Tucker said.

About an hour after the game, Tucker walked back on the field and took a picture of the spot where he kicked the winning field goal.

He then rejoined his Ravens teammates who have renewed hope with upcoming games against Cleveland at home and San Francisco on the road.

"I think this is going to be one hell of a plane ride back to Baltimore," Tucker said. "I think this first win should catalyze us to go on to big things."