The Baltimore Ravens moved to 6-2 overall, sweeping the season series from the Steelers with a 23-20 victory in Pittsburgh. Down 4 points with 2:24 on the clock, Joe Flacco marched the Ravens 92 yards for the winning score.
The Good:
1) After Rice’s TD run was called back with the penalty, Flacco drove the Ravens right back down the field. The impressive thing was the conversion of three straight 3rd downs. Flacco would hit Williams out of the backfield on 3rd and 2, followed by a 23 yard strike to Pitta on 3rd and 6 , and a 15 yard completion to Boldin on 3rd and 7. Even though the Ravens had to settle for 3, Baltimore ate up nearly 7 minutes of possession, and had some immediate positive offensive results.
2) Pittsburgh’s first drive ended with Lardarius Webb stopping Mendenhall cold on 3rd and 1.
3) On the 2nd Baltimore drive, the Ravens called timeout prior to 3rd and 7. Flacco, out of the shotgun, had lots of time with a strong block up-front from Grubbs. Surveying the field, Flacco was able to find Pitta for another 1st.
4) I don’t root for any players to get hurt, but I did enjoy watching Lewis lay out Ward over the middle.
4a) Good challenge from Coach Harbaugh and his staff there.
5) The play almost ended horribly with the fumble, but D. Reed gave the Ravens good field position with his Kick Return following Pittsburgh’s initial FG.
6) The Ravens third drive featured two more 3rd down conversions, with Flacco finding LaQuan Williams for 15 yards on 3rd and 10, and Pitta on 3rd and 4 (Pittsburgh was off-sides.)
7) With Pittsburgh facing 3rd and 4 from the Baltimore 4, Paul Kruger and Pernell McPhee would get to Roethlisberger for a sack, forcing the Steelers into a FG attempt.
8) After missing his previous 7 attempts from 50+ yards, Cundiff would give the Ravens the 9-6 lead with his 51 yard boot to end the half. The Ravens were able to take advantage of the penalty on Clark, with Flacco completing passes to Boldin and Rice to give Cundiff the opportunity.
9) Huge game changing interception from Suggs in the 3rd. The Steelers had been running a no-huddle offense on that possession to start the 2nd half, and Baltimore was getting zero pressure on Roethlisberger. With plenty of time in the pocket, Roethlisberger was driving Pittsburgh down the field. Instead of Pittsburgh immediately answering the Ravens FG to end the 1st half, they came away with nothing.
10) Coming off the heels of Suggs interception, Flacco and Pitta combined to convert two more 3rd downs on the following drive. Flacco would find Rice out of the backfield for yet another 3rd down conversion on that possession.
11) Rice and the Ravens took advantage of Taylor’s penalty, finding the end zone for a 16-6 lead.
12) Webb and Williams provided good coverage on the Steelers receivers.
13) Mendenhall’s TD had made it a 16-13 game, when Baltimore got the ball back in the 4th. With the Ravens facing 3rd and 10, the Pittsburgh crowd was in a frenzy. Flacco was able to escape pressure and hit Smith for the 1st. Several plays later Flacco found Boldin on 3rd and 5.
14) A beautiful 92 yard drive orchestrated from Flacco, in the most hostile of locations, gave the Ravens the 23-20 victory. Flacco illustrated to everyone tonight that he is not just another ‘Joe.’
14a) I’m very happy that Smith was able to redeem himself and grab the winning touchdown.
15) The Ravens held the ball for 37 minutes and 55 seconds tonight. Baltimore was 14 of 21 on 3rd down.
The Bad:
1) Torrey Smith’s holding penalty, which negated Rice’s 76 yard TD run was an early killer.
1a) Smith dropped a pass on a quick out in the 2nd which hit him dead in the numbers.
2) Plenty of positives in the initial Ravens drive, but with 3 plays from the Pittsburgh 1, you need to put that ball in the end zone.
3) Cundiff left points on the board with his 1st Quarter miss from 40 yards out.
4) On the last play of the 1st Quarter, Roethlisberger found Brown for a 32 yard gain. The Ravens appeared to be out of position before the snap.
5) Pittsburgh was able to convert 3rd and 17 from their 23, with a 21 yard pass to Brown. On that same drive, Miller would walk through an attempted tackle by Pollard, picking up an additional 30 yards. On this drive, the Steelers marched 80 yards over 11 plays for the TD. As the Ravens had just taken control of the game at 16-6, it was a disappointment to see Pittsburgh go right back down the field for their score.
6) After Flacco’s fumble, Pittsburgh rolled down the field, taking the 20-16 lead on Wallace’s 25 yard grab. The Steelers went 58 yards over 6 plays for that score.
7) On Pittsburgh’s last offensive possession, Redding was called for a 5 yard off-sides penalty, with the Steelers looking at 3rd and 9. Pittsburgh was able convert the much easier 3rd and 4 which kept the clock moving.
8) It worked out in the end, but Smith and Boldin both had misses/drops on the final drive.
9) Baltimore had a 10 point lead when the 4th Quarter began, and the Ravens defense was not able to prevent Pittsburgh’s offense from making plays down the stretch.
The Ugly:
1) We illustrated above the numerous examples of how Flacco and the Ravens were excellent overall on 3rd down tonight. A key negative play came on a 3rd though, when Harrison beat Oher on the outside, causing a Flacco fumble in the 4th.
1a) That was Harrison’s 3rd sack of the night. With Woodley, and Farrior out with injuries; the Ravens should have been able to limit Harrison’s impact better.
Owner
Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.