The game this week sees the visit of the Baltimore Ravens with the Pittsburgh Steelers leading the series 35-25 overall while 20-12 in Pittsburgh.
The Ravens are the old Browns and inherited the Turnpike Rivalry that existed between Cleveland and Pittsburgh.
Art Modell led the consortium that purchased the Cleveland Browns in 1961 for $4 million. Initially, Modell’s team met with success, and they routed the Baltimore Colts 27-0 to win the 1964 Championship game. They also dominated Pittsburgh before Coach Noll turned the Steelers around.
With the end of the Browns lease on the ‘Mistake on the Lake’ approaching, Modell was seeking the renovation of a very tired Municipal Stadium. With little support from local officials, Modell began negotiations with Baltimore to move the franchise there. Baltimore lost their NFL franchise, the Colts, in 1984 and were keen to welcome a new team.
The Browns morphed into the Ravens and materialized in Baltimore ready to play in the 1996 season. They won the season opener against Oakland before travelling to Pittsburgh where they were defeated 31-17.
As expected for a new franchise, they went a lowly 4-12 their first season. They then improved each year before winning Super Bowl XXXV in 2000.
When the 2017 season arrived in Pittsburgh, the Steelers had to recover from another loss to their nemesis Patriots in the previous year’s Conference final. It began with a draft that saw T.J. Watt, JuJu Smith Schuster, Cameron Sutton, James Conner and Joshua Dobbs join the roster.
When the Steelers faced the Ravens in week 14, they were on a streak of seven winning games and looking for their 23rd division title. Although three games behind, a Ravens win would bring the teams closer in the standings. It was yet another crunch game between these two rivals.
Ravens outside linebacker Terrell Suggs emphasized the importance of the game. “Everything surrounds this game. Both teams are in the hunt and are trying to accomplish things. That is why these games are so meaningful.”
“He is a freak,” said Ben Roethlisberger of Suggs. “He is one of the best I have played against. I have a lot of respect for him.” Roethlisberger’s record against the Ravens was 13-10 including a week 4 win in Baltimore.
The (10-2) Steelers vs (7-5) Ravens; December 10, 2017
When the Steelers took to the field, they paid tribute to the absence of their All-Pro linebacker Ryan Shazier who had been injured in their previous game.
The Steelers defense rose to the occasion and struck first. On the Ravens first drive, Sean Davis intercepted Joe Flacco’s pass attempt to Jeremy Maclin. The Steelers seized the opportunity and Ben Roethlisberger finished the 59-yard drive with his touchdown pass to Le’Veon Bell of 20 yards.
The teams then exchanged possessions as the game went into the second quarter. Pittsburgh began a drive on their own 10. Using passes to Vance McDonald and Antonio Brown while complemented by Bell and James Conner on the ground, the drive finished with Bell’s 1-yard touchdown run.
The Ravens replied with a 78-yard drive that Joe Flacco finished with a touchdown pass to Chris Moore of 30 yards.
The pendulum then swung back to the Steelers. Chris Boswell’s 52-yard field goal gave them a 17-7 advantage.
Baltimore’s Alex Collins made an impact on the Ravens next series. Catching a pass of 37 yards to move the chains, he finished the drive with an 18-yard touchdown completion.
With just six seconds left in the half, Boswell kicked a 43-yard field goal to give Pittsburgh a 20-14 lead they took into the locker room.
The scoring continued in the third quarter. After the Ravens kicked a 47-yard field goal, the Steelers went three and out. Baltimore took over on their 40 and seven plays later Javorius Allen burst through the middle with a 1-yard touchdown run that saw Baltimore lead for the first time at 24-20.
After forcing the Steelers to go three and out again, the Ravens extended their lead when Patrick Ricard caught a 6-yard touchdown pass.
As the game went into the final period, Roethlisberger found Jesse James with three passes of 18, 6 and 10 yards to move the chains before Boswell kicked a 24-yard field goal.
On the Steelers next drive, Antonio Brown was the favored receiver. His catch of 57 yards moved the team into the red zone where Roosevelt Nix pulled in a 1-yard touchdown pass. A twice failed two-point conversion attempt meant the Steelers were within two points of their opponents.
The Ravens replied on their next series with a 9-yard touchdown from Allen and less than seven minutes on the clock.
Roethlisberger fought back using four different receivers on a drive of 65 yards that finished with Le’Veon Bell’s 11-yard touchdown and the Steelers were back within two points.
After the Steelers forced the Ravens to punt, they had 2:25 to chase a win. When Roethlisberger was sacked on first down, a victory looked in doubt. Roethlisberger picked himself up and completed passes to James of 6, 16 and 6 yards. He followed with a beautiful throw down the sideline to Brown for 34 yards. This set Boswell up for the game winning 46-yard field goal.
The game finished appropriately when rookie T.J. Watt sacked Flacco who fumbled the ball out of bounds.
The Pittsburgh Steelers 39 vs the Baltimore Ravens 38
T.J. Watt reflected on the absence of Ryan Shazier saying, “This is a product of Shay. He’s what makes this defense go. We had to do it without him. It was tough, but I was proud of the way we brought it together and never gave up.”
Ben Roethlisberger set two new franchise record. The most passing attempts with 66 and completions with 44. Roethlisberger’s 506 yards was his second most in a game after his 522 against the Colts in 2014.
Antonio Brown caught 11 passes for 213 yards.
The Steelers would finish the season 13-3 and win their 23rd division title to claim second seed in the AFC. A disappointing home loss to the Jaguars in the divisional game saw their season end unexpectedly early.
