Baltimore vs. Pittsburgh
Defense Stymies Big Ben as Ravens Snap Four Game Skid, 21-14 over Pittsburgh
October couldn’t disappear from the calendar quickly enough for the Ravens. After four consecutive losses and a BYE week to let that skid simmer, Baltimore returned to its winning ways, putting the clamps on Ben Roethlisberger and Steelers, 21-14 on Sunday.
“We haven’t won since, what, September?” linebacker Terrell Suggs jokingly asked the media. “It’s good to finally, finally get one, you know, get back one in the winning column, especially against our division rival. It’s good to win.”
Suggs and the defense had plenty to do with the end result. Baltimore built a 21-point lead while keeping the Steelers off the scoreboard for the first 51 minutes of the contest.
“We stopped the run, and we didn’t give up any big plays,” said head coach John Harbaugh. “I thought we tackled really well, put it that way. We played screens well, we played the check downs really well. We played fast, really disciplined defense.”
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It wasn’t just not putting points on the scoreboard, it was the ineffectiveness of the Pittsburgh offense to move the ball at all. Punter Jordan Berry wound up the most active man in black and gold, as the Steelers went three-and-out on eight possessions.
“It was pretty pathetic,” Steelers guard David DeCastro told reporters. “You know when you look up in the third quarter, and there’s two first downs, it’s kind of frustrating and an empty feeling.”
Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and company finally found their footing in the fourth quarter. Roethlisberger connected with Brown on a 23-yard touchdown pass while running in a second score to cut the deficit to 21-14 with less than a minute to play. That would be Pittsburgh’s final play from scrimmage though as Chris Boswell’s onside kick attempt went wildly askew. The kickoff traveled less than a yard when Boswell tried a stepover move and hit the football directly into his back leg.
Most of the Ravens’ offensive output came on a single play. Backed up on their own 5-yard line, Joe Flacco and Mike Wallace tag-teamed for the longest play in regular season franchise history. Wallace beat his defender Artie Burns on a slant route and then outraced free safety Mike Mitchell down the sideline for a 95-yard touchdown.
“That’s how it works,” quarterback Joe Flacco said. “Especially for guys that have speed like that. You win your one-on-one. He did a great job of getting his arm on the safety and throwing his steps off a little bit, then out running him to the endzone. I love those. They’re as easy as possible for me.”
The Ravens’ other touchdown came courtesy of special teams. Javorius Allen blocked a Berry punt and Chris Moore returned it 14 yards for a score early in the fourth quarter.
GAME RECAP
Pittsburgh’s opening drive lasted all of 87 seconds as the Ravens quickly forced a three-and-out. A poor Jordan Berry punt set the Ravens up with solid starting field position at their own 44 and moved the ball down to the Ravens’ 35. A Ronnie Stanley illegal use of the hands penalty negated any long field goal possibility and Baltimore would punt as well.
Following a second straight Steelers three-and-out, the Ravens advanced into enemy territory again behind a 30-yard reception from Steve Smith Sr., who played his first game in three weeks following an ankle injury. The drive ended abruptly after Joe Flacco threw across his body for Dennis Pitta, but was grabbed by Artie Burns for his first career NFL interception.
The Steelers would finally move the chains on the ensuing possession but would punt again, pinning the Ravens at their own 4-yard line.
Starting from the shadow of their own endzone didn’t seem to bother the offense. Flacco found Mike Wallace, who was able to stiff-arm and outrace free safety Mike Mitchell for the longest play in regular season franchise history. The 95-yard touchdown reception started the scoring, 7-0 with 1:07 left in the first quarter.
The score remained the same after the next seven series ended in punts. The Ravens added three points just before halftime as a nine-play, 43-yard drive ended with Justin Tucker splitting the uprights for a 10-0 Baltimore lead at the break.
The defensive chess match persists into the third quarter as the first three drives resulted in punts. The Ravens would find themselves with great starting field position when nose tackle Brandon Williams batted a Ben Roethlisberger pass in the air and hauled in by Timmy Jernigan at the Steelers’ 32-yard line.
Baltimore could not move the chains but added three on the scoreboard following Tucker’s second successful field goal of the day, a 42-yarder which made it 13-0 with less than five minutes remaining in the third.
The fourth quarter opened with a special teams spectacle. Javorius Allen dove and engulfed Jordan Berry’s punt, which Chris Moore scooped and ran back the remaining 14 yards for a score. Flacco and Smith Sr. connected for the two-point conversion, extended the lead to 21-0 with 13-and-a-half minutes remaining in regulation.
Pittsburgh offense would finally wake up as Roethlisberger found Antonio Brown on three completions, including a 23-yard touchdown to cut the Ravens’ lead to 14.
Roethlisberger and Brown would team up on their ensuing possession, travelling inside the red zone before a Matt Judon sack and a 4th down incompletion, a bobbled Roethlisberger throw to Sammie Coates in the back of the endzone, ended that drive without any points.
Pittsburgh would get the ball back once more and go 65 yards in just over a minute, making it a one possession game following a 4-yard Roethlisberger quarterback keeper.
A badly botched onside kick attempt by Chris Boswell ended any hopes of a comeback, as Flacco would kneel it twice to secure the 21-14 win.
UP NEXT
It’s a short week for Baltimore (4-4) who are back at M&T Bank Stadium on Thursday for its second showdown of the season with division rival, Cleveland (0-9). Dallas had its way with the winless Browns as the Cowboys’ rookie dynamo duo of quarterback Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott had a hand in five touchdowns in a 35-10 victory. The Ravens overcame an early 20-point deficit to beat the Browns back in Week 2, 25-20.
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