Steelers vs. Ravens: Recap
In another classic Steelers Ravens game Quarterback Joe Flacco came up huge against the #1 rated pass defense in the final 2 and a half minutes to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-3) at Heinz Field in front of a national audience. This was only the third time in the last decade that the Steelers have been swept by any division opponent. Flacco was poised and delivered a huge victory for the Baltimore Ravens (6-2) who now essentially hold a two game lead over the Steelers with the tiebreaker. The Cincinnati Bengals also hold a 6-2 record to be tied at the top of the AFC North with the Ravens.
The Steelers appeared to take a commanding 20-16 lead with 5 minutes left in the game. And on the ensuing possession. The Ravens went three and out. The Steelers drove down the field but were stopped and had a difficult decision to make. They could’ve attempted a 47 yard field goal into the open end of Heinz Field or take a delay of game penalty and pin the Ravens deep in the their own territory. Coach Mike Tomlin chose to go with the second option and Jeremy Kapinos, who was picked up in free agency this week, pinned them on the 8 yard line with 2:24 left on the clock in the 4th quarter.
Flacco drove the Ravens 92 yards while picking up 2 third down conversions and a fourth down conversion on the final drive. The Ravens were 14 for 21 on third down conversions on the night. Their previous high this year was 7. Flacco methodically drove down the field with short intermediate passes and was clutch when he needed to be. He made it look easy on third down and continued to pick up first down after first down. The Steelers could not get off the field and the secondary was picked apart on that crucial drive. You can’t expect to win football games if you can’t make a stop on third down. This was easily the most disappointing aspect of the night from a performance standpoint.
I’ve never been very impressed with Joe Flacco, but he showed me a lot last night. It wasn’t his first 4th quarter game winning drive, and it won’t be his last. But he was precise and picked up the necessary yardage when needed. People are too critical of Flacco, including myself, but he really showed the poise and determination to get the job done. Most of the criticism towards Flacco is his inconsistency. It’s a fact he is very inconsistent but this was a huge step forward. The last two weeks he struggled mightily, until he got it going in the second half in a victory over Arizona last week. But the week before he threw for less than 140 yards in a loss to Jacksonville.
In the beginning of Ben Roethlisberger’s career, he relied very heavily on his defense and the run game to win, very similar to how Joe Flacco is getting it done. You can now see some of the progression that Flacco is going through and they are putting more confidence in him. The Steelers have continued to rely on the defense, but they are in great hands when they let Roethlisberger sling it all over the field. He too had to rely on his run game and defense, but he has full control of the offense and he currently has thrown for over 300 yards the last three games, a Steelers individual record.
For next week the Ravens fly west to take on the Seahawks, but I don’t see a letdown happen like after week one when they beat the Steelers and lost to the Tennessee Titans the following week. The Steelers will travel to Cincinnati in another crucial AFC North showdown. The Steelers, Ravens, and Bengals have a combined record of 18-7. This is possibly the toughest current division to play in. So we will see how this plays out the rest of the year.
It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if these two teams meet up again in January. The Steelers will move on from this game and continue to play solid football. It was just a week ago that the “experts” were predicting this could be a possible repeat champion in the AFC Conference. The problem is now the road will most likely go through Baltimore if Pittsburgh has Super Bowl aspirations.
