Ben Roethlisberger and the Order of the North: Steelers Win

Yamon Figures negates a great kickoff by bringing it back to the 40. However, someone forgot to give Baltimore’s offense the memo that the game started at 4:15. They go 3 and out, giving the Steelers the opportunity to strike first.

The Steelers look to set the tone early with a pass play, but no one is open and Ben is able to scramble for 9 yards. However, the Steelers get set back by a delay of game, turning a 2nd and short into 2nd and 6. Parker gets the penalty yardage back, setting up 3rd and 1. Ben hits Hines for a big completion to move the sticks, then goes back to Hines for 4 more yards. Nate drops a pass on 2nd down, and the Steelers get a Colonoscopy, setting up 3rd and long. Ben hits Heath on the sidelines, but Heath can’t make it to the sticks, bringing in the Lob Wedge. The LW doesn’t do anything to lose the nickname, barely squeezing out a 28-yard punt.

The Ravens won the field-position game on the exchange, setting up shop at their 43. The Ravens decided that LeRon McClain was going to be their horse this game, and he got a lion’s share of the calls. McClain started the drive with a 4-yard carry. After a false start, McClain got most of it back with a solid run. On 3rd down, Flacco ran an option and no one took the QB, giving up a first down. McClain got 3 yards on 2 carries and the Ravens strangely decided to run it again on 3rd and 7. Aaron Smith and Ryan Clark stuff him, forcing a punt.

The Steelers get pinned at the 7, but a penalty on the kick puts them back to the 4. The Mewelde Moore show takes over, running for 5 and 5 to get away from the goal posts, then gets 0 and 4 to set up 3rd and 6. Holmes drops a pass that hits him right in the numbers on 3rd down, bringing on the Lob Wedge. The Ravens return LW’s 46-yard punt past midfield, giving them another good starting point.

After an incompletion, Flacco’s pass gets tipped and Ryan Clark comes down with the pick, finally giving us some breathing room.

Parker manages 2 on first down, then Ben can’t hook up with Nate on a deep pass, setting up a long 3rd down. Nasty Nate comes through in the clutch, reeling one in and turning it up the sidelines for a big gain. After an incompletion, Ben calls a timeout to set things up. The Ravens defense is jumpy and goes offsides, giving us some free yards. Parker only gets a yard on 2nd and 5, then Ben gets sacked by the guy who shot Joey Porter. Punt. Lob Wedge comes up with a touchdown-saving tackle along the sidelines as the quarter expires.

Second Quarter

The Steelers dominated time of possession in the first quarter with 9 1/2 minutes, but no points to show.

With the ball on the Steelers side of the 50 again, Flacco takes a shot deep, but comes up empty. After a short run, Flacco completes his first pass of the game to Todd Heap-of-sh*t to get the ball into the red zone. However, the defense stands strong, giving up only 6 yards to the run, then getting pressure via Woodley on 3rd down to force an incompletion. Field goal.

0-3

After a touchback, the Steelers come out in a power-I and go play-action to Sean McHugh for 7 yards. Parker got 2 more, then Russell came in for the short-yardage play. On first look, it seemed like Russell got stuffed, but the refs gave him a generous spot. Baltimore challenged the spot, but it was upheld, keeping the drive alive. After Parker got 4, Ben scrambled for 7 more and another first down. Ben hits Hines on a crossing route that he turns upfield for 21 yards to get inside the Baltimore 40. Parker gets 2 more carries, but a holding penalty on Stapleton sets us back. On 2nd and long, Ben hits Nate for 9, then goes to the bank and finds the money man Heath Miller for 17 yards and a huge first down to get into field goal range. Arians forgets that the Steelers are the worst screening team in the league and calls a screen pass on 1st down that hits Parker in the back. The drive fizzles out and Reed comes in for a field goal.

3-3

The Ravens come out determined to give the Steelers a heavy diet of LeRon McClain. McClain gets 20 yards on 3 carries, then Flacco hits Mason to pick up another first down. McClain picked up 3 more, then Flacco threw an incomplete pass, setting up 3rd and 7. Flacco finds Clayton for 17 yards to keep the drive alive. After an incomplete pass, Flacco finds his fullback who turns it upfield for 12 yards to get inside the 25 as the clock hits two minutes.

McClain gets 2 on first down, then Flacco finds Mason for another first down to get down to the 11. Once again, when the Steelers defense needed a stand, they came up with one. Three incompletions from Flacco brought on Matt Stover again.

3-6

The Steelers get the ball back with 45 seconds and 2 timeouts, but after an incompletion on first down, they decide to run out the clock.

Halftime

Jim Nantz really wanted the Ravens to win this game. That became more and more obvious throughout the game. Time of possession was pretty much even in the 2nd quarter, when the Steelers and Ravens both put together nearly 70-yard drives to put field goals on the board.

The first half was really no surprise. We knew the defenses were good and that points would be scarce. The Ravens were playing conservative with their rookie quarterback, who wasn’t having his best game of the season. Flacco was 6-for-15 and Ben was 9-for-16 at halftime.

Third Quarter

If the Steelers could have come out and tied the game up, it would have been huge. After an incompletion, Nate picks up 6 on an end-around. On 3rd and 4, instead of going for the conversion, Ben goes deep for Nate. Shaking off some serious pass-interference, Nate still can’t come up with the ball. Lob Wedge busts out a 49-yard punt to flip the field.

McClain picks up 11 yards on 2 carries to get things started, but Aaron Smith comes up with a huge sack of Joe Flacco sets the Ravens back.

Big play by Aaron. Harrison had him around the ankles too.

McGahee picks up 5 on 2nd and long, then Flacco comes up empty, forcing a punt.

Parker busts a good run, but a Colonoscopy brings the play back. Parker gets stuffed on 1st down, but Ben goes back to him on a short pass. On 3rd down, Ed Reed comes free and sacks Ben, forcing another punt. Gah. You knew their defense was good, but this was starting to get frustrating.

The defense was playing huge all game, and they came up with another big 3-and-out, forcing another Ravens punt. The Ravens punter, who you may remember killed us in the first game, blasts a 56-yarder that gets downed at the 1.

With their backs to the wall, the Steelers opt to pass. Ben hits Holmes on a quick slant, but the ball gets knocked out as Santonio turns upfield and Ed Reed jumps on the ball. Max Starks makes a game-saving tackle on Ed Reed in the open field to save a touchdown.

The defense comes back on the field with Baltimore chomping at the bit on the 16. There was no room for error here. And this was the stand that might define our defense for the season. Giving up a touchdown here was not an option. Aaron Smith and Larry Foote stopped McClain on first down, then Foote and Farrior teamed up for a stop on 2nd down to set up 3rd and 4. Timmons applies the heat on Flacco, forcing a bad pass for McGahee…and the defense comes through yet again.

3-9

The game was still within a score, but we really needed to get one back after that turnover. Ben goes deep for Nate but comes up empty yet again. Parker gets a few, then Ben hits Holmes who holds on to the ball for the first down. Parker picks up 7 on first down to finally get us in good shape down-and-distance wise, but Parker gets stopped in the backfield, setting us back. Ben and Holmes can’t connect on 3rd down, killing the drive.

After a short run, the Ravens take a false start penalty, setting back their drive. McClain picks up 6, but Farrior comes up HUGE on 3rd down defending McGahee in space, forcing a punt.

Santonio, trying to make a play on the punt return, muffs the catch. As the ball bounces away from him and past a bunch of purple shirts, you can see the division slipping away. But out of nowhere, Keyaron Fox scoops up the ball…

…and rumbles down the sidelines for 18 yards, all the way to the Baltimore 33.

The Steelers catch a break, and you get that feeling that if we’re going to score a touchdown, it has to come now. Ben starts things off by scrambling for 6 yards, then Moore picks up 3 as the quarter ends.

Fourth Quarter

Down by 6 with the division on the line and a 3rd and 1, Bruce Arians makes one of the worst play calls in the history of football. 3rd and 1. RUN THE BALL. Arians calls a play-action roll-out. Ben gets caught on the rollout and tries to get rid of the ball. It gets called a fumble, but either way, Baltimore came up with it. Gag.

Once again, there was a pervasive feeling that the defense was going to have to win the game for us. After McClain and McGahee combined for 3 yards a piece, Flacco threw another incompletion, forcing a punt.

Parker comes out and carves his best run of the game for 10 yards to get things rolling. Ben hits Hines on a similar crossing pattern to the one in the first half, which Hines turns upfield for 30 yards. Huge gain to swing field position in our favor and get the ball into field goal range. Parker goes for 3 and then gets stuffed, setting up a big 3rd down. Ben takes an ill-advised time out, and your gut sinks a little. As always, Hines is the go-to guy. And he comes through again in the clutch with another big catch on 3rd down. With 1st down on the 15, this seems like the time to take a shot for the end zone. But the offense does nothing on 3 plays, bringing in Reed again.

6-9

Patrick Bailey lays a huge lick on Figures on the kick return, giving the Ravens one of their worst starting points of the game. The Ravens came out looking to take it to the Steelers, with Flacco hitting Clayton over the middle for 20, then McClain busting a 10-yard run to get them into Steelers territory. Everyone knew at the very, very worst we had to hold them to a field goal. After McGahee gets held to 3, Flacco goes for the nail in the coffin, but overthrows Mason who was blanketed by Polamalu. Flacco goes back to Mason on 3rd down to move the chains, getting the Ravens inside the 30. CBS flashed a graphic that McClain was nearing 90 yards rushing, and you got that sinking feeling that he might get to 100. But it was as if someone had turned a switch on the defense. Hampton and Taylor stop McClain on 1st down, then the Unblockable One Aaron Smith pounds him on 2nd down, setting up 3rd and long.

Lawrence Timmons comes flying around the outside and hits Flacco from behind, knocking the ball free. Kirschke tries to pick it up but kicks it away from himself, back towards midfield. The Ravens eventually pick it up, but not before they are out of field goal range.

After another good punt, the Steelers take over at their own 8. With 92 yards and 3:36 to go, the feat seemed almost impossible against the Ravens defense. However, if there’s one thing we know, it’s that Hines Ward will always make big plays in big games. Ben and Hines hook up twice for 13 yards each on quick in-routes, getting the Steelers out to the 34. After two incompletions, the Steelers were looking at 3rd and 10 against the #2 defense in the league. Everyone holds their breath as Ben fires one for Nate on a come-back route. Ed Reed falls down and Nate reels it in and turns upfield, getting to the 50 before Reed brings him down. Ben goes right back to Nate on the right sideline for 9 yards as the clock hits two minutes.

After what might have been the longest 2-minute warning ever, Ben hands off to Mewelde for a few yards and, more importantly, a new set of downs. Ben and Nate hook up on a deep pattern to get the ball down to the 14. Ben calls a timeout to settle things down. On 1st down, Ben hits Hines on a quick-in…

…which Hines turns upfield, spinning between defenders to get all the way down to the 4.

Ben hurries to the line, and for some unknown reason, spikes the ball. Why do that when it takes away a down? I don’t know. On 2nd down, Ben tries to hit Spaeth with a quick pass, but the throw is too fast for Spaeth to get his hands up on and it falls to the turf. On 3rd down, Ben makes a play that makes Poe jealous. Ben rolls to his left, looking for Hines or Mewelde, both are blanketed and the Ravens are bearing down on him. Ben rolls back to the right and fires one for Holmes streaking across the goalline…

Was he in?
The initial signal from the officials said he was down short of the goal line.
Booth review…..
…………..
Overturned.
TOUCHDOWN.
13-9

The Steelers take their first lead of the game with 43 seconds to play.

But the game wasn’t over. Baltimore still had timeouts to spare and time to move the ball. Reed takes a stupid penalty after the extra point, forcing the kickoff back 15 yards. Patrick Bailey runs the Ravens returner out of bounds at the 47.

With the Ravens in striking distance, it was cause to be worried. We have seen our defense come up short in years past. But this year is different. Time and again this defense has proven why they are the best in the league. This game was no different.

After an incompletion, Flacco hits McGahee out of the backfield for a big gain. The Ravens stop the clock with 25 seconds to play. With the ball on the 40, you know they’re well within Flacco’s range. Ike puts the brakes on a short pass to McGahee. With 17 seconds to play, Flacco gives it a heave for Mason in the end zone, but Big Play Willie Gay is in the way, pulling down the interception and sealing the game and the division title.

Players of the Game:
Offensive Game Ball: Ben Roethlisberger
Defensive Game Ball: Aaron Smith

Honorable Mentions:
Hines Ward
James Farrior
Lawrence Timmons
William Gay
Max Starks
Nate Washington
Keyaron Fox

Mr. Yuck Sticker of the Game
Passing on 3rd and 1.

Final Thoughts:

• Nate Washington drops passes in the first half all the time, but he comes up big at the end of games.
• Max Starks saved the game with that tackle of Ed Reed.
• Somehow, the offense blows for 55 minutes, and then is awesome in the last 5. This is the second week in a row.
• 4th comeback victory in the 4th quarter this season.
• Trust the defense.
• Hell of a drive by Ben. Epic.
• We’re the first team to win back-to-back AFC North titles.
• Tomlin as 2 division titles in his first two seasons. First Steelers coach ever to do that. Wow.
• Lob Wedge did okay today.
• Parker is right. Using a fullback would help the running game.
• Darnell Stapleton > Kendall Simmons
• Can’t blame the sacks on the O-line. When they bring more guys than you can block, it’s a lose-lose situation. Good job by the line to hold Baltimore to 3 sacks.
• Gotta love Ben ripping on the media by saying “You know I hold on to the ball too long.”
• WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

2008 AFC North Division Champions: