Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Baltimore Ravens: What We Learned From Week 13 Showdown

Sunday night’s game between the Pittsburgh Steelers (9-3) and Baltimore Ravens (8-4) didn’t fail to impress even the most diehard NFL fans.

The nation-wide broadcast of “Round 2” between these two AFC North heavyweights had all the makings of a Las Vegas prizefight, with a broken nose and brutal hits to add to the already contentious rivalry.

The game itself turned out exactly to be what most had predicted—low scoring, hard-fought and a three-point victory to the winner—in this case the Steelers, who now own sole possession of first place in the AFC North.

However, beyond all the stats and highlight reels lies something that will go a long way in determining who will represent the AFC in Dallas this year.

Pure determination and the will to win allowed Pittsburgh to avoid a season sweep at the hands of the Ravens.

On the Steelers' first possession, QB Ben Roethlisberger suffered a broken nose when Ravens DE Haloti Ngata inadvertently swiped his hand through Roethlisberger’s facemask. 

Amazingly, Roethlisberger didn’t miss a snap, and would finish the game as he usually does against Baltimore—by locating RB Isaac Redman on a nine-yard touchdown pass with just over two minutes to play in the game.

What would turn out to be the game-winning drive was set up by Steelers safety Troy Polamalu, who stripped Ravens QB Joe Flacco of the football on an all-out blitz. 

Polamalu hit Flacco’s arm from behind, and Steelers LB Lamarr Woodley, who returned the ball to the Baltimore nine-yard line, set up Pittsburgh’s only touchdown of the contest.

For every Baltimore fan, the scene was all too familiar—Polamalu forcing yet another fumble from the unsuspecting Flacco.

Not all the blame rests with Flacco, however.  It’s up to offensive coordinator Cam Cameron to recognize that Pittsburgh will likely blitz on third down, and Polamalu will be part of that scheme when he’s standing at the line of scrimmage.

In the first meeting between Baltimore and Pittsburgh back in October, Polamalu was effectively neutralized by Ravens TE Todd Heap on multiple occasions.  However, the Ravens didn’t have this same luxury Sunday night, when Heap had to leave the game early with a hamstring pull.

Heap was only one of the many casualties suffered by both teams Sunday night.

After the Pittsburgh touchdown late in the fourth quarter that put the Steelers up 13-10, Flacco and the Ravens had a chance to drive down the field for a possible game-winning score.  Baltimore converted on several third downs, but their drive would stall that the Pittsburgh 31.

On 4th-and-2, head coach John Harbaugh had a difficult decision to make—try for a long field goal into the swirling wind, or take his chances on fourth down and continue the drive?

Baltimore elected to go for it, but Flacco one-hopped the football to a wide-open Ed Dickson.

Sunday night was the third time this season Baltimore allowed an opponent to steal a fourth quarter lead with only minutes left, so it’s not surprising to see many fans questioning whether or not the team has the ability to finish off opponents in close games.

The answer to this is yes, they do.

The loss to Pittsburgh is nothing to be ashamed of, since they are a legitimate Super Bowl contender—possibly the best team in the AFC.

With the exception of the Cincinnati Bengals, all of Baltimore’s losses have come by way of current division leaders—teams that hold nine and ten wins so far this year.

The AFC playoff race is starting to take shape and we finally can see whom the real contenders are.  We all saw two of those contenders battle on Sunday night—the Ravens and Steelers.

You have to admire how both Baltimore and Pittsburgh fought on Sunday, and conventional thinking will lead you to believe these two top-notch football teams will see each other in the playoffs.

What would be better than to see both AFC North powerhouses in the Championship game?  Off the top of my head, I can’t think of a better scenario than to see the two best teams in football battle it out for the right to earn a trip to the Super Bowl.