Baltimore allows 47 second-half yards, no points, in road win.
Pittsburgh, PA, Sunday, September 30, 2018. It’s too bad that HBO is getting out of the boxing business in a few months. That’s because the Ravens-Steelers rivalry is a good example of how boxing and football have evolved.
From games past. In 2000, on this run Priest Holmes broke through the Steelers’ line (photo, Sports Illustrated)
When the two teams have met in the past, the script has been akin to heavyweight boxers throwing haymakers. And what else would you expect from NFL heavyweights? It’s a reflection of football’s run-dominant, blue-collar past– with bruising ground attacks, tough defense, and low-scoring games.
But Baltimore and Pittsburgh have joined the 21st-century scheme of things with pass-oriented formations, more yardage, and higher point totals. For these teams, football has turned from a game of knockouts into a contest of well-placed, finesse-laden jabs.
That approach was apparent on Sunday night during this pair’s 49th-lifetime meeting (including playoffs). The Ravens landed more damaging blows in this one, wearing down Pittsburgh in the second half to pull off a 26-14 win before 62,030 Heinz Field fans.
It wasn’t easy, though. The Ravens squandered an early 14-point lead and, then, relied on smothering second-half defense. The result? The Baltimore D gave up 0 second-half points, forced four puts, and held Pittsburgh to only 47 yards.
The final outcome was a marked improvement from Baltimore’s last two visits to the Steel City. In each of those contests, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger carved up the Ravens’ defense to pull out last-second wins. In fact, Pittsburgh (now 1-2-1) had won four of the last five games.
Those facts made it an especially satisfying win for the Ravens (now 3-1), who face two more road games before returning to their friendly confines. It’s the longest road stretch the team has faced since 2008. The road continues this week with Baltimore traveling to Cleveland for a Sunday, October 6, 1 p.m. game (WJZ-TV, WIYY-FM).
John Brown makes a dazzling catch (photo, OregonLive)
The tone was set early in this one. The Ravens took the opening kickoff and drove 75 yards in eight plays (four runs, four passes). Alex Collins (42 yards, 11 carries on the night) had two strong early runs for 17 yards, Michael Crabtree’s two catches (29 yards, three catches on the night) put the ball into Pittsburgh territory, and then John Brown split two defenders and caught an over-the-shoulder 33-yard touchdown for the game’s first points.
The total nearly grew on the Steelers’ third play of the game. TE Vance McDonald had the ball taken from him by safety Tony Jefferson, who then ran 32 yards for a touchdown. But replay correctly called McDonald down by contact and the Ravens took over.
The Ravens then scored again. Joe Flacco (28-for-42, 363 yards, two touchdowns, two sacks, 109.5 rating) found Chris Moore for a 19-yard completion, which set up Alex Collins’ three-yard touchdown reception.
Barely seven minutes into the game the Ravens were up 14-0. The lead was the result of good offensive balance and expertly-mixed play-calling.
The scores had another meaning, too. In four games, the Ravens were an unprecedented 13-for-13 in Red Zone touchdown rate. But for Pittsburgh, a counter streak continued as well. The Steelers have spotted opponents 56 straight first-quarter points over its last three home games.
That trend continued as the Ravens’ lead nearly grew to 21 points when Crabtree’s double move got him wide open on the sideline. But Flacco’s pass overshot him. Still, though, the Ravens dominated the first 11 minutes by outgaining the hosts, 108-9.
But that dominance wouldn’t last.
The game seemed to turn from the Ravens when the defense abandoned its trademark aggressiveness. That allowed Pittsburgh to get into a rhythm against Baltimore’s zone defense, which left the middle of the field wide open–a mistake that plagued the Ravens last year.
That enabled the Steelers to drive 69 yards with Chris Boswell’s 34-yard boot putting Pittsburgh on the board. But there was some good news, at least. Second-year corner Marlon Humphrey shadowed Antonio Brown (62 yards, five catches, touchdown on the night)–as many thought he should have done last season.
The Ravens’ offense went back to work after the score. Flacco found a streaking John Brown (116 yards, three catches, touchdown on the night) for 71 yards, but the drive stalled there. For the first time this year, the Ravens didn’t get a Red Zone TD. It’s because Collins fumbled near the goal line and the Steelers recovered the ball.
Antonio’s short-lived exuberance (photo, The Edwardsville Intelligencer)
Pittsburgh seized the moment by going up-tempo. Ben Roethlisberger (27-for-47, 274 yards, touchdown, interception, one sack, 72.5 rating) found Antonio Brown for his first two catches on the day. Boswell ended the drive with a 39-yard field goal, cutting the Ravens’ lead to eight, 14-6.
After the Ravens stalled, McDonald ran over several Ravens defenders for a 33-yard gain. That play set up a Brown TD catch. A two-point conversion knotted the game at 14.
McDonald had a great night, catching five balls for 62 yards, and that performance signaled more trouble for the Ravens D. Baltimore has had trouble covering opposing tight ends in recent seasons and that trait has haunted the team in past losses. But a loss wasn’t in the cards this night.
The Ravens got just enough offense in the second half to put the game away. In the third, a clutch third-down catch from returner Tim White set up Tucker’s 47-yard go-ahead field goal, 17-14.
Meanwhile, Baltimore’s defense, which hadn’t allowed a second-half touchdown over the season’s first three weeks (the only team in the league that can make that claim) forced four straight Steeler punts. The hosts appeared to bog down though offensive imbalance–pass-heavy as it was.
That enabled the Ravens to sustain pressure. Early in the fourth, wideout Chris Moore sprung a surprise by carrying the ball on a fourth-and-1. That first down lead to Tucker’s 49-yard three-pointer, making it 20-14.
Later, an 82-yard, 14-play drive sealed the win. Flacco hit Nick Boyle for 18 yards, Buck Allen for 13, and Williams for 22 more (he had 51 yards, five catches on the night). A ten-yard catch by Willie Snead (56 yards, six catches on the night) set up Tucker’s 29-yard field goal with 3:37 to go.
That score capped off a nearly seven-minute drive and highlighted the Ravens’ imaginative and dominant second-half performance.
Anthony Levine’s interception on the Steelers’ next drive put a nail in the Steelers’ coffin. Tucker kicked yet another field goal (his fourth of the second half), this time from 31-yards out. (Lifetime, Tucker is 16-for-17 at Heinz Field).
At that point, the game was over and both teams returned to their corners. But there’s a rematch in store. It will happen in November when the stakes will be even higher than they were on Sunday night.
