Steelers Bloody, Battered; Ravens Beaten

     In front of a record-setting television audience, the Baltimore Ravens fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night. After a strong start on defense, Baltimore's offensive unit was ultimately unable to produce, particularly when it mattered most. Baltimore dropped to 8-4 on the season while the Steelers, now 9-3, took control of the AFC North.
     On the Steelers' very first drive, Baltimore's veteran defensive tackle Haloti Ngata and linebacker Terrell Suggs sacked Ben Roethlisberger. Ngata delivered an arm to the Pittsburgh quarterback's face, breaking his nose, which bled profusely as Roethlisberger left the field for medical examination. It appeared that in addition to a broken foot, the nose injury would pose an insurmountable obstacle to Roethlisberger and the Steelers, who were already racked with injuries. The Ravens took an early 7-0 lead, after 61 and 14 yard completions to wide receiver Anquan Boldin.
     The Steelers, however, recovered more quickly than anticipated, and the second half marked a shift in both momentum and quality of play for the two teams. Pittsburgh added two field goals, and Baltimore's Billy Cundiff answered with one to make it a 10-6 game. Although Roethlisberger was roughed up several times throughout the game, and was sacked again by Terrell Suggs, he was calm and collected, and maintained a pocket presence that Joe Flacco would have done well to emulate. Flacco, however, caved under the pressure from the NFL's top-rated defense. He let Pittsburgh linebackers James Farrior and James Harrison, and strong safety Troy Polamalu get to his head, and to his throwing arm.

     Late in the fourth quarter, Flacco was sacked and stripped by Polamalu, allowing LaMarr Woodley to carry the ball to the Ravens' own 19-yard line. With nearly three minutes left, running back Isaac Redman danced by Baltimore safety Dawan Landry and into the Ravens' endzone, giving the Steelers a 13-10 advantage. The Ravens' fate, once again, lay in the hands of Flacco, who had engineered a textbook two-minute comeback in Baltimore's October meeting with the Steelers at Heinz Field. This time, Flacco could muster up no such magic, and when Harbaugh opted to go for it on fourth down (prevailing winds proved too daunting to attempt a field goal), Flacco muffed a pass to tight end Ed Dickson, and the Ravens lost possession on Pittsburgh's 31 yard line, effectively ending the game with half a minute remaining.
     In Baltimore's loss, receiver Derrick Mason's six receptions for 80 yards went largely unappreciated, and the Ravens failed to capitalize off of strong performances from both him and Boldin. The Ravens also failed to utilize their running game, perhaps due to concerns regarding Pittsburgh's notorious rush defense. On defense, the Ravens contained the Steelers for much of the game, but with little help from the offense, and with crucial lapses in both the linebacking corps and the secondary, the notorious D's efforts were not enough to secure the Ravens' spot atop the AFC North.
     Going into next week's must-win Monday Night showdown with the Houston Texans, the Ravens, who maintain a two game lead in the wild card race, still have a great chance of going to the playoffs. The Steelers, who improved their away record to 6-1, made a strong statement to the league. In his song, "Black and Yellow," Wiz Khalifa may have been onto something-- teams are scared of the Steelers, and progressing into the playoffs, they are not to be taken lightly.

(photos: Larry French/Getty Images, www.bleacherreport.com, www.baltimoreravens.com)