Ravens-Steelers Game Has Ravens Cough Away Victory

The Ravens-Steelers game was grand for fans of playoff chaos. Thanks to flags and mistakes, the Ravens-Steelers game gave Pittsburgh a big boost, and left Baltimore back on the bubble. Like all Pittsburgh-Baltimore showdowns, the hits were hard, and the stakes were high. But there were also a lot of early scores, and more blunders than usual for the visitors. In the end, the Ravens-Steelers game was a 23-20 Pittsburgh triumph, though they mostly had to stand back while Baltimore shot themselves.

The defending Super Bowl champions looked finished a week ago, but are now back in the thick of the race. Yet the first half was defined by missed Pittsburgh opportunities, as they were held to early field goals. However, they went up 20-10 at halftime, as this Ravens-Steelers game looked set to become a rare shootout.

The third quarter was a bonanza for the Ravens, who have the most third quarter points in football. They got 10 points to even things up, yet it should have been more. Two touchdowns were called back by flags, and Derrick Mason dropped a certain touchdown pass as well. Pittsburgh only had four offensive plays in the whole third quarter, but did not bend.

Baltimore kept piling up the flags, and got taken out of field goal range on a few drives. Finally, Ben Roethlisberger led a long field goal drive to put the Steelers up. Roethlisberger didn't light up the Ravens like he did against the Steelers, but did enough to win. Fittingly, Baltimore ended things by having a late interception called back with their 11'th penalty.

This Ravens-Steelers game wasn't defined by the defense this time, but by mistakes. As such, Baltimore blew a golden chance to get closer to the playoffs. Yet despite the loss, they still hold a tiebreaker over Pittsburgh, and hold one over Denver. If they beat the Raiders next week, they still may be in good shape to clinch a wild card.

Pittsburgh also needs some help, but their chances are better than they were two weeks ago. The Steelers have gone back and fourth between hot streaks and slumps all season, and got back into a hot streak at the best time. Thanks to their last slump, they still need help to get in, and also need to beat Miami on the road next week.

The Steelers still may not get in, but if they do, no one will want to play them if they're hot. They have won the Super Bowl as a sixth seed before, after all. Baltimore can still threaten if they sneak in, but not if they keep getting costly penalties.

The AFC wild card race could have gotten clearer if things went differently. But the Ravens-Steelers game only ensured a mad mess of chaos and tiebreakers for next week, and the rest of this week as well.

Sources

The Canadian Press- "Steelers hold on to beat Ravens 23-20 on Sunday, stay in playoff race"

The Schmuck Stops Here- "Ravens can only look in the mirror"

NFL Gridiron Gang- "Steelers Playoff Hopes Still Alive After 23-20 Win Over Ravens"