The Baltimore Ravens have secured an enormously important division victory in the Sunday Night Game at the Pittsburgh Steelers. John Harbaugh’s team won 26-14 on both sides of the ball and dominated the second half with their defense.
Despite the prospect of two games behind the Bengals and Ravens for next week, the Steelers missed the start completely. Joe Flacco (28/42, 363 YDS, 2 TD) started the game with 6/6 for 73 yards and two touchdowns and also the ground game was unstoppable for Pittsburgh – Alex Collins broke through again and again for 5.5 yards per run. So, while the Steelers were desperately looking for answers, the Ravens jumped to a quick 14-0 lead and had the chance to set Pittsburgh’s 2-yard line at 21-3.
But then Collins fumbled just before the end zone and the whole dramaturgy took a drastic change of direction. Suddenly Heinz Field woke up and the body language of the Steelers changed vehemently. Another mad play from Tight End Vance McDonald, who after a catch put three opponents out of the way, then brought the mood in Pittsburgh to boil over. With the momentum on his side, Ben Roehtlisberger (27/47, 274 YDS, TD, INT) found Antonio Brown shortly before the end of the half-time, who put the result on par with an impressive catch.
In the second run, however, nothing of the entire euphoria was to be seen anymore. Pittsburgh’s Offense got nothing more on the line and handed the game back into the hands of the Ravens. They didn’t move spectacularly, but behind an excellent game plan by Marty Mornhinweg they moved down the field incredibly efficiently, took a lot of time off the clock and scored four consecutive drives via Field Goal through the eternally reliable Justin Tucker.
Ben Roethisberger ended a very unhappy evening with an ugly interception. The Steelers are now two games behind the strong looking Bengals and Ravens and have given up a hugely important division duel. Next week will see a duel with the Atlanta Falcons, in which neither can afford a defeat. For Baltimore, on the other hand, another division game is on the programme for the Cleveland Browns.
Carr had one of the best games of his career. He prevented some Big Plays and was always present. Carr played impressively especially in Man Coverage and was one of the main reasons why Roethlisberger had a hard time going through the reads and creating plays for his receivers.
Big Ben started neatly and found JuJu Smith shoemaker and Vance McDonald for big room gains. That, however, was it by and large. Roethlisberger looked dismayed just in the second half and threw in a pure pass open for only 41 yards. The interception was bad, but at that point it only confirmed the end of the game. Roethlisberger lost control of the ball twice at Pump Fakes, rounding off the weak evening.