For the third time in Mike Tomlin’s tenure, the Steelers won a December game against Baltimore to put them in position for the division title. Antonio Brown’s catch has spurned a slew of memes across the internet including “The Inch that Saved Christmas” and “The Immaculate Extension” (which might be a little much).
This was probably my favorite analogy though:
Antonio Brown stretching for that touchdown like Michael Jordan did for that hoop in Space Jam #Steelers
— Matt Brennan (@MBren21) December 26, 2016
The other two times this happened, the dagger was delivered in Baltimore. In 2008, the Steelers and Ravens played a hard-fought game with the Ravens holding a 6-3 lead at halftime and extending it to 9-3 in the third quarter. Jeff Reed made a 30-yard field goal to draw the score within 9-6 with 10 minutes to play. The Ravens drove into Steelers territory but a Lawrence Timmons sack on 3rd down knocked them out of field goal range and forced a punt with 3:42 left.
Ben Roethlisberger got the ball with 3:36 left and engineered a 92-yard drive against one of the best defenses in the league. Ben completed 4 passes to Nate Washington on the drive. On 3rd and goal from the 4 with 50 seconds left, Ben rolled to his left, eluded some rushers, fired back across his body, and hit a diving Santonio Holmes at the goal-line for the only touchdown of the game.
In 2010, the Steelers found themselves in a similar situation in early December. Joe Flacco connected on a long pass to Anquan Boldin in the first quarter then hit Boldin again for the game’s first touchdown. The teams would exchange field goals in the third quarter with the Ravens holding a 10-3 lead going into the fourth quarter. The Steelers started the quarter with first and goal from the 2 but couldn’t get it in the end zone and settled for a field goal to draw within 10-6. The Ravens would only pick up one more first down on their next 3 drives, on a Bryant McFadden penalty. Two plays later, Troy Polamalu flew in and strip-sacked Joe Flacco. LaMarr Woodley fell on the fumble and the Steelers were set up with first and goal from the 9.
The first two plays didn’t go anywhere and on third down, Ben hit RB Isaac Redman who was lined up in a stack behind Mike Wallace. Wallace and Redman ran a double slant pattern, and Redman somehow twisted, turned, and spun his way through the teeth of the best defense in the league to find his way into the end zone. The Steelers took a 13-10 lead and held on to win.
Then this past weekend, with the AFC North title on the line once again, the Steelers trailed once again entering the fourth quarter. A Justin Tucker field goal at the beginning of the quarter made it a 20-10 Ravens lead. The Steelers stormed back with two Le’Veon Bell touchdowns to take a 24-20 lead. After the Ravens drove back down the field and took the lead on a Kyle Juszczyk touchdown run, Ben got the ball back with 1:18 to go. Working the ball to 5 different receivers, including Demarcus Ayers who got his first NFL catch. Ben hit second-year tight end Jesse James to convert a third down at the edge of field goal range and get the ball down inside the 10. With 14 seconds left, Ben then found Antonio Brown on an in-breaking route at the goal line and the rest is history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egBuLB8UKJY
Three different seasons. Three different players. All making plays inside the 10 yard line in the waning seconds of a game to give the Steelers a victory over Baltimore to secure their spot atop the division. The 2008 Division Title propelled the Steelers on to Super Bowl XLIII. The 2010 Division Title also preempted their appearance in Super Bowl XLV. Of course, the Steelers were the #2 seed in the playoffs in both of those seasons and will enter the 2016 postseason as the #3 seed and have to win three games just to reach Super Bowl LI. Time will tell if the 2016 Steelers can win the AFC title like the 2010 and 2008 predecessors. But for now, we will always remember Antonio Brown’s incredible effort up there with Santonio Holmes and Isaac Redman.
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