With the playoffs just about on the line and the chance to knock out the defending Super Bowl champions, the Baltimore Ravens choked in a big game again. This time they fell 23-20.
It started and ended poorly for Baltimore, but in between the Ravens did indeed look like a payoff contender. Pittsburgh got out to a quick lead and it was evident that it was going to be a long day. The Ravens couldn’t stop committing penalties and making mistakes throughout the first half. It wasn’t just limited to the players though.
One of the most mind-boggling parts of the game was John Harbaugh’s non-utilization of timeouts. At the end of the first half, with 1:57 left on the clock, the Ravens had the Steelers backed up to the two yard line and had just sniffed out a running play by Rashard Mendenhall. Harbaugh chose not to call a timeout and then Terrell Suggs jumped offsides. Ben Roethlisberger, noticing the free play, because of the offsides, threw a bomb to Mike Wallace getting Pittsburgh out of the shadow of the own goal posts. I believe if Harbaugh uses one of his two timeouts remaining at this point in the game, Baltimore doesn’t jump offsides and Pittsburgh doesn’t score a touchdown. Of course this changes the whole game because Pittsburgh doesn’t score a touchdown to make the score 20-10 at the half.
Then the second half started and the Ravens looked absolutely unbeatable. In that quarter, Baltimore held the ball for 23 plays to the Steelers four. However, things went downhill with a Kelley Washington penalty. Willis McGahee broke a 30-yard run, but Washington was called for holding so the Ravens had to settle for a game-tying field goal, instead of a go-ahead touchdown.
The Ravens then held the ball into the fourth quarter. On the first play of the quarter, Joe Flacco lofted a perfect ball to a wide open Derrick Mason. Mason dropped the ball in the end zone and that was it for the Ravens. The dumb penalties started shortly after that, beginning with Oniel Cousins. Cousins put a cheap shot on Lamarr Woodley for a 15 yard penalty. After that penalty, the Steelers let loose their pass rush and Flacco didn’t get rid of the ball.
Roethlisberger took control in the fourth quarter for Pittsburgh and led them to victory. There was one last gasp for Baltimore in the fourth quarter on a Tom Zbikowski interception. However, Frank Walker committed an illegal contact penalty that effectively ended the Ravens bid for a win.
The story of this game was missed opportunities and bad penalties. I refuse to blame the referees for this one. Baltimore beat themselves and looked ugly doing it. It’s not all bad news though. Chris Carr played well in the place of Lardarius Webb. Walker, although he committed a crucial penalty, played alright as nickel back. Also, the Ravens still control their own playoff destiny. Enough teams with similar records lost on Sunday so the Ravens have to win Sunday and they will be in the playoffs.
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