The Steelers went into Baltimore last night and won another pivotal late season game against Ray Lewis and company. It was eerily similar to the 2008 game in Baltimore when Pittsburgh escaped with a last-second, 13-9, victory and clinched the AFC North division and a bye in the playoffs. In fact, the 13-10 score was nearly identical.
They did the same thing in 2001 when they went into Baltimore late in the year and clinched the then AFC Central division with a, 26-21, victory over the defending Super Bowl champions. Last night's victory didn't clinch the division for the Steelers, but they took a one-game lead over the Ravens heading into the last month of games.
As is usually the case when these two teams get together, last night's battle was like a heavyweight fight. And if I was scoring on points, the Ravens would have been ahead comfortably. They roughed up the Steelers pretty good the entire game. Ben Roethlisberger, already suffering from an injured foot, had his nose busted, Rocky-style, when he was hit in the face by Haloti Ngata. No penalty was called on the play, by the way. Heath Miller was knocked out of the game in the second half with a concussion when he was struck in the head while attempting to catch a pass. He was defenseless, but no penalty was called. Whatever, we're used to it, right?
Also, Daniel Sepulveda was lost for the year with an injured knee and Flozell Adams left the game with a high-ankle sprain.
Nevertheless, Pittsburgh kept the game close at 10-6, and staggered Baltimore with a flurry in the 12th round when Troy Polamalu stripped Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco of the ball and Lamarr Woodely returned the fumble to the Baltimore 9 yard line.
How many times has Polamalu done this for the Steelers? He's just an absolute blessing to watch every week and builds on his legendary reputation every time he emerges from the phone booth and saves the day.
The Steelers knocked Baltimore down for the count when Ben Roethlisberger hit Isaac Redman for a touchdown pass on third and goal to take a 13-10 lead with 2:51 to play.
Baltimore never got off the mat as Flacco threw an incomplete pass on 4th and 2 from the Steelers' 31 yardline with about 30 seconds remaining. Curiously, the Ravens elected to go for it rather than attempt the long, game-tying field goal against the wind.
I know Ben Roethlisberger didn't play his best last night, but whatever respect he was lacking from his teammates and the fans had to be earned with his gutsy performance. I can't imagine trying to go through a day's work with a fractured foot and a broken nose, but there was Ben last night having to dodge Terrell Suggs and the rest of the Ravens' fierce pass rush for 4 quarters. The win marked the 6th straight time the Steelers have defeated the Ravens with Big Ben under center, and he is 7-2 overall in his career against Baltimore.
You can say what you want about Roethlisberger, but he has "it" and it was on display last night. There aren't too many quarterbacks in the league who could have done what Ben did with the injuries he sustained. Yeah, the defense gets the nod for saving the day, and Redman gets a ton of kudos for his determined run to the goalline through many defenders, but Roethisberger is a special kind of player, and I'm glad that I'm able to watch him work his magic game after game. You can call him many things, but while you're at it, you better call him a winner, as well. That's what the man is.
And what more can be said about Shaun Suisham? Two more 40plus yard field goals, pushing his total to 6-for-6 with Pittsburgh and 13-straight overall. And he even did a great job filling in on punts after Sepulveda went down. Daniel couldn't have placed some of those punts any better than Suisham. He even downed one inside the five that, unfortunately, was nullified due to a penalty on Keenan Lewis. It's like clock-work. Every 8 years, the Steelers hold a kicking tryout and come away with quite a gem.
What a rivalry this has been between Baltimore and Pittsburgh. I know the Ravens are the former Browns, but for my money, these two teams are battling the way the Steelers and Houston Oilers went at it in the late 70's and early 80's. They're just so similar and it's reflected in the scores. Five of the last six games have been decided by 3 points, and the other one was decided by 4. You'd think just once one team would get the best of the other with a two or three score victory, but it just never happens.
Last week, Suggs called it the best rivalry in sports, and right now, at this very moment, it probably is.
The games are generally low-scoring and usually not very pretty, but they sure do pack a lot of action into the low-scores. I'm not one to say, "they play football how it should be played!" I think there are many ways to play the game of football that are very compelling, including high-scoring, finesse contests, but the Steelers/Ravens brand of football is pretty cool, and always a treat. It's easier to say after a win, of course.
So far this year, the Steelers and Ravens are tied at 1 game a piece. I say so far because I think there will be a rubber match in January.
No comments:
Post a Comment