The Baltimore Ravens had beaten the rival Pittsburgh Steelers in the last three matchups at Heinz Field. The Steelers had been able to muster up just one win, including bad losses to the Titans at home and the Vikings in London. Pittsburgh seemed overmatched on paper and destined to continue their struggles.
Apparently, Pittsburgh never got the memo.
After an Emmanuel Sanders return touchdown was called back—his foot was ruled out of bounds—Big Ben showed his clutch factor yet again to set up a Shaun Suisham field goal as time expired.
after defeating the Ravens.
Suisham kicked four field goals en route to the Steelers second win of the season. But it was his fourth and final game-winning kick that sealed the dramatic afternoon matchup between bitter rivals—and might have just been enough to erase the previous four defeats.
After an inauspicious start to the 2013 campaign, the Pittsburgh Steelers win against their AFC North rivals might just be the momentum swing Steeler Nation needed. The suddenly (2-4) Steelers are starting to find their mid-season form since gaining a healthy Le’Veon Bell and Heath Miller.
For Baltimore, Ray Rice’s struggles continued, as he was virtually a non-factor against the struggling Steelers defense. Rice was held to just 45 yards on 15 carries, and backup Bernard Pierce left the contest early with an injury.
Big-money quarterback Joe Flacco was instrumental in leading a comeback drive late in the fourth. The drive in question ate nearly 9 minutes off the play clock before Flacco found a wide-open Dallas Clark in the back of the end zone with 1:59 remaining. He finished with 215 yards on the day, with just the late TD to Clark in the fourth quarter.
Ultimately, Big Ben and his clutch play in the fourth set up Suisham for the aforementioned field goal. Roethlisberger threw for just 160 yards on the day, but was the benefit of big runs by rookie tailback Le’Veon Bell. Bell became the first Steeler to go over 100 yards for the season and wound up with 93 rushing yards in this one.
After the defeat on Sunday, the defending Super Bowl Champions have dropped three of their last four contests. With the bye week approaching on Sunday, the (3-4) Ravens will look to re-tool their game plan in aspirations of defending their Super Bowl title.
For Pittsburgh, the streaking Steelers are headed to the West Coast for a date with Terrelle Pryor and the (2-3) Oakland Raiders.
