The Tougher Team Won. STEELERS WIN

What a game. That felt like 2008. Pretty high-scoring affair for a Steeler/Raven matchup, but it had 100% of the intensity we expected. We all hate Baltimore; if you don’t, you probably came to the wrong website. But the Ravens, as a football team, get nothing but respect from us. And with a victory against the second toughest team in the NFL, the Steelers are on their way to the AFC Championship.

Not bad for a team that was supposed to finish 4-12 and last in their division after some early-season quarterback issues. Recap after the jump.


FIRST QUARTER

The Steelers wisely defer the opening kickoff. Suisham pulls out some crazy wrestling tackle. Webb thinks he’s not down but he totally is. Tomlin has to challenge the big return, so we lose all the intensity that was building up with a mind-numbingly slow review. The Ravens can’t crack field goal range.

Hines Ward blocks Ed Reed and Reed gets predictably pissy about it so he hauls Ward down by his facemask. Ward gets the 15 yard penalty somehow. Mike Wallace fixes the damage on 3rd & 12. He draws an interference call on the next play. The DB complains, but that’s what happens when you get beaten and you have to hold your guy back by the arm. How good is Mike Wallace?

Mendenhall finishes the drive. 7-0.

Derrick Mason and Ike Taylor trade interference penalties. Ike gets KO-ed somewhere in there, but he only misses one play.

A replay clearly shows Michael Oher punching someone in the face, but as we all know, people with touching backstories can’t be called for penalties. The Ravens quietly drive down the field with dump-offs to running backs one after another.

Woodley finally gets in and gets a sack, but then Anthony Madison interferes with Mason. Ray Rice humiliates everyone and dances into the end zone. 7-7.

Brown fields the kickoff and another penalty accompanies it. Ben gets hit low by Suggs and gets up limping. No call. I bet you’re surprised. On the next play Suggs gets him from behind and the ball pops into the air. Everyone ignores it when it hits the ground. Except Cory Redding. He picks it up and walks into the end zone. Tomlin has to challenge. Not gonna work. 14-7.


Just a total lack of focus by the Steelers’ offense.

SECOND QUARTER

Punts are exchanged. Brown fields it inside his 5. Big mistake. Mendenhall fumbles for like the first time this year. Ravens take over at the 16.

Ray Rice makes his magic happen again. Todd Heap finishes the drive. 21-7.

Suggs brings down Roethlisberger. Jon Scott still hasn’t shown up for that play. Dierdorf starts talking about the Steelers running a hurry-up offense as they take a delay-of-game penalty. They settle down after that and string together a few first downs.

The offense awkwardly comes out on 4th & 7. Ben moves out and lines up at tight end. They call timeout and Suisham tries a 43 yard field goal. He hooks it left. What was that about?

HALFTIME

We may never know exactly what was said at halftime, but surely it was powerful.

THIRD QUARTER

Hines Ward passes Thurman Thomas for 5th most postseason receptions all time.


Weird stat.

Ben gets sacked and Ray Lewis makes sure to punch him in the side of the head after he goes down. Symbolic of how the Ravens have dominated the game to this point.

The defense has had enough. James Harrison brings down Flacco. Then Ziggy Hood makes things happen. Ray Rice fumbles for probably the first time in his life. Woodley is on it. Mendenhall tears off on a huge gain. Heath Miller is the openest he has ever been in the end zone. Ben finds him. 21-14.


It’s a game again. No reason this recap shouldn’t have this picture in it.

Harrison isn’t done yet. He busts into the backfield for a sack. Then he stonewalls McGahee for a loss. Flacco’s next pass is deflected. Huge three and out for the defense.

Unrivaled linebacking performance right there.

The offense finally starts picking up the pace to keep up with the defense. They hurry to the line with 5 WRs, and Ben runs up to the center to change the play. Then he randomly sneaks up the middle with the ball. Strange looking play, but there’s nothing wrong with adding a new wrinkle.

Arians calls an ill-advised end-around for Mike Wallace. He gets swallowed in the backfield. See what I did there? As soon as something didn’t work, I mentioned Arians’ name, totally ignoring him when they scored right after a turnover. Popular Steeler blogging tactic.

Kapinos lands a punt at the 1 but they get an illegal man downfield play (on a punt, what) and they have to re-kick. Baltimore is guilty of a hold on the play and they start at their own 10.

Ryan Clark picks off Joe Flacco.

Mendenhall runs away with the Willie Parker fake-block-screen-play. Ben and Hines hook up at the goal line for a touchdown.


21-21

Joe Flacco loses his cool in the pocket and throws a pass into the turf with no real pressure on him. Keisel gives him a solid finger-wagging taunt. Matt Birk can’t tell the difference between Flacco’s hands and his own backside, and shoves the ball into the latter. Steelers recover the fumble.

Jonathan Scott gets blindsided and injured.


Maybe now he can never get called for penalties either.

FOURTH QUARTER

Doug Legursky replaces Scott on the line. How do you make use of a patchwork line? With a quick screen to Antonio Brown, of course. It’s 4th & 1 and Harbaugh tries to challenge… something. The Steelers line up like they’re going to try and draw the Ravens offside, and with a second left on the play clock, Ben sneaks. It’s an easy first.


Suisham takes the lead. 24-21.

Ike Taylor shuts down a pass. James Harrison is to the Ravens backfield as the average hurricane is to a treehouse in Louisiana. 4th & 19. Punt. Randle El shakes and bakes and gains a little bit of yardage.

Three and out. Punt. Webb breaks through the gunners, cuts back, and scores. But wait, could it be…?


Back to the 30.

The Ravens threaten but the defense holds. Billy Cundiff kicks the tying field goal. 24 all.

It’s Steelers/Ravens, you knew the winning points couldn’t have been scored that early.

Ben lasers a ball into Hines Ward’s loving grasp on 3rd & 10. First down. Ben keeps being Ben and pump fakes with linemen all over him. But that’s what he does. It catches up with him when they face a 3rd & 19 and have to burn their second timeout.

Faced with that down and distance, thoughts race through your head. Maybe it is the Ravens’ time after all. What if they don’t make the first down here? There’s a lot of time left for the Ravens to get in position for a game-winning field goal. What if Ben’s injuries catch up to him here and he can’t get away from the pressure? What if he’s lost that comeback magic that won so many games two years ago?




That feeling you felt when Brown caught that pass in stride? That’s what the playoffs are about.
You no longer have any room to doubt Ben Roethlisberger when the game is on the line.

Harbaugh has no idea how to call a timeout. He runs onto the field windmilling his arms screaming about timeouts.


Harbaugh oughta take pointers from a professional.

Mendenhall plunges and plunges and it takes him six downs (thanks, defensive holding) but he drives it in for the lead. 31-24.

Squib kick is fielded by Le’Ron McClain. He gets hurt and exactly zero people care. Flacco has no idea what’s going on anymore. Timmons and Hood make the play on 3rd down. On 4th & 18, Flacco hits Houshmandzadeh in the hands.

And he drops it.


Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. Enjoy your early offseason.

Notes:

  • This was the most important game of the season. Regardless of how the rest of the playoffs unfold, whether or not this was a good season depended on the outcome of this game. If the Steelers had lost, everyone would be disappointed with the season. But this is a signature win we can hang out collective hat on.
  • Everyone pulled their weight in this game. Every player on offense and defense contributed something to the comeback.
  • Not just anyone comes back from a 14-point deficit against the Baltimore Ravens.
  • One way or another, we’re going to see a team that has beaten us already next week. Let’s see if the Steelers can manage a little revenge.

About Brian Schaich

Brian studied computer engineering long enough to know he just wanted to talk about sports all day for a living, so that's what he does.

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