For three quarters, the Ravens’ defense stifled Ben Roethlisberger and held one of the NFL’s best offenses in check. The Steelers couldn’t get anything going offensively for much of Sunday afternoon, with the Ravens controlling both the ball and the clock for most of the game.
Two Baltimore linebackers (first Zachary Orr, then C.J. Mosley) capitalized on poor throws from Roethlisberger, picking him off deep in his own territory twice during the third quarter. Orr’s pick led to a touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to Steve Smith; Mosley’s led to a field goal.
At that point, Baltimore led 20-10. Then the Steelers went to work, scoring 21 points in the final 13:26 to wrap up a division title.
The game-changing play, strangely, may have been an incomplete pass to rookie Demarcus Ayers — who had not played a single snap all season heading into this game. Roethlisberger targeted him on a deep pass down the right sideline, and fellow rookie Tavon Young interfered with Ayers. It wasn’t long before Le’Veon Bellwas in the end zone and the Ravens’ lead was cut to three.
Baltimore went three-and-out on its ensuing drive and the Steelers, even after being pinned deep near their own end zone, waltzed right back down the field to take the lead. It all happened so quickly. Six plays, 90 yards, just south of three minutes:
23-yard run by Bell
Incomplete pass
13-yard run by Bell
21-yard pass to Antonio Brown
26-yard pass to Antonio Brown
7-yard touchdown pass to Bell
And that was pretty much that … or so it seemed. Joe Flacco led the Ravens right back down the field with a 14-play, 75-yard drive that ended with fullback Kyle Juszczyk — of all people — running over a couple Steelers and bulldozing his way into the end zone.
All of a sudden, Baltimore had the lead right back.
Unfortunately, the Ravens left Roethlisberger with too much time. Ben navigated the Steelers 75 yards in 69 seconds, firing strikes to Jesse James, Ayers, Eli Rogers, Cobi Hamilton, James again, and finally, Antonio Brown to finish off a thrilling comeback victory.
Brown made an incredible effort on the game-winner, fighting his way across the goal line and stretching his arm out with the clock winding down and the Steelers out of timeouts.
They say that big-time players make big-time plays, and for the Steelers, that definitely held true on Sunday. Big Ben finished 24 of 33 for 279 yards and three scores, overcoming his two interceptions to lead the Steelers to a win. Brown was held in check through three quarters, but he ultimately finished with 10 grabs for 96 yards and the game-winning score.
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