The Baltimore Ravens went into Pittsburgh and beat the Steelers in a very physical wildcard match up. The 30 -17 score was not an indication of how close this game actually was. The Ravens defense was a major factor in the outcome of the game as they got to Ben Roethlisberger consistently and sacked him five times. The secondary also played well, limiting the Steelers to one passing touchdown and intercepting Roethlisberger two times.
Joe Flacco had another big time game in the playoffs for the Ravens. He completed 18 of his 29 pass attempts for 259 yards and two touchdowns. He is proving himself to be a very good big game quarterback. Justin Forsett was held to only 36 yards rushing and had a rare fumble that was followed by a Steelers touchdown. Forsett only fumbled the ball once in 235 carries during the season. Steve Smith Sr. turned in another 100 yard receiving game posting five receptions for 101 yards.
Turnovers were a major factor in this game. The Ravens were plus two in the turnover column thanks to two interceptions and a fumble recovery. The sole turnover for the Ravens was Forsett’s fumble. The Steelers were penalized eight times for 114 yards. Both of those were factors that allowed the Ravens to outscore the Steelers despite giving up 387 yards and gaining 295 yards.
Ben Roethlisberger had a big day statistically passing the ball. He threw for 334 yards and a touchdown. Antonio Brown continued to terrorize the Ravens secondary as he gained 117 yards on nine receptions. Not having LeVeon Bell in the lineup truly hurt the Steelers offense. He was not there to be a check down option out of the backfield and his blitz pickup ability was missed.
The Ravens defensive line consistently won at the line of scrimmage. Haloti Ngata, Brandon Williams and Courtney Upshaw each had one sack. Elvis Dumervil was his normal disruptive self. He had two sacks on the day. The defense did an excellent job of limiting the big plays which was something that defensive coordinator Dean Pees said was a focus during his press conferences leading up to the game.
Random Notes:
- Joe Flacco is now 10 -4 in the post season and seven of his playoff victories have come on the road which is the most in NFL post season history. In his last five post season games, Flacco has 13 touchdowns without an interception.
- John Harbaugh has ten post season wins since 2008. That is the most in the NFL, doubling the next closest teams Green Bay Packers, San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks all have five.
- Steve Smith Sr. had a 40 yard reception. That gives him 12 catches of 25 yards or more, breaking a tie with Vernon Davis and Hines Ward who both had 11.
- The Ravens gave up one sack against the Steelers. They are now 11 – 2 on the season in games that they gave up two or less sacks. Flacco was sacked four times in the game against the Steelers.
- The Ravens ran the ball 25 times and threw the ball 29 times. Offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak strives for balance on offense and definitely got it.
- Rookie tight end Crockett Gillmore had one reception but it was a huge one. He scored a 21 yard touchdown on the one target that he had against the Steelers.
Notable Quotes:
John Harbaugh: “I just gave Suggs the game ball. He made the greatest catch in history. I tossed him the game ball and guess what happened? He dropped it, but he caught the one that mattered!”
John Harbaugh: “We played a great football game in a great stadium against a team that we have tremendous respect for. Our DBs played tremendously well. Webby, Rashaan they played so well and our safeties also. Gary [Kubiak] called a great game. He did a great job of keeping them off balance. Joe Flacco was perfect in the 3rd quarter. He’s the best QB in football. We will take him any day of the week.”
Joe Flacco: “The big thing is we have a good team. We didn’t hurt ourselves tonight. We didn’t have a lot of possessions early on but we made the most of them and got some points. We had one little hiccup but for the most part we played a clean football game and kept at it. We are familiar with playing in New England but that doesn’t mean anything. These guys are a good football team and we will have to be on top of everything to go in there and come out with a victory.”
Terrell Suggs: “This is just the NFL. We know what the NFL wants to see. This is something for the sponsors. We will see if we can disrupt some plans. The history with these two teams. We are going to play Ravens vs Patriots. We all know the story lines. We’ll save that for next wk.”
Terrell Suggs on what makes the Steelers/Ravens rivalry different: “The Steelers rivalry is a bit more heated because we don’t like each other but there’s tremendous respect for each other. They normally play that music (Renegade) and something terrible happens for us. I didn’t hear it today and thought it was something new.”
Smith Sr: “It was cool to see them head to their cars early. That was the best part. Everyone is dialed in. With the playoffs, one minor missed assignment or opportunity means your season could be over. It motivates guys. You never win a game by osmosis. You win by being aggressive but you also have to make plays. You can’t shoot self in foot with penalties.”
The Ravens will next travel to Foxboro to face the New England Patriots in round two of the playoffs. The game will be on Saturday at 4:15pm EST. They have gone into New England and handed the Patriots a playoff loss twice before. The Patriots are the number one seed in the playoffs. Tom Brady is playing very well after a tough start to the season and Rob Gronkowski is once again the NFL’s most dangerous tight end. This will mark the fourth playoff game between the two teams in the last six years.
The Ravens have won two of the three previous games against the Patriots including in 2013 when they were the sixth seed and knocked offed the top seed 28 – 13 as they advanced to the Super Bowl. The other Ravens win was a 33 -14 win over the Patriots in 2010. Billy Cundiff missed a late field goal that would have tied the game as the Ravens lost to the Patriots in the 2012 AFC Championship game. Buckle up because these games are always adventure.
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