Subscribe Now

Text size:

Steelers 20, Ravens 19

A kick in the gut

Late field goal foils Ravens' valiant effort

By Jamison Hensley | sun reporter

November 1, 2005

PITTSBURGH // In a season filled with embarrassing losses and unexpected slipups, the Ravens can now add bitter disappointment.

Despite their best showing of the year, the Ravens still fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 20-19, last night before 64,178 at Heinz Field and a national television audience.

Jeff Reed's 37-yard field goal that split the uprights with 1:36 left in the fourth quarter dashed the Ravens' chances of an unlikely win over their division rival.

The game-winner came less than two minutes after Matt Stover had kicked a 47-yard field goal to give the Ravens their first lead of the game.

The loss was the Ravens' seventh straight on the road and dropped them to 2-5, their worst start since 1999. The Ravens are tied for last place in the AFC North, 3 1/2 games behind the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Steelers (5-2) improved to 11-0 in Monday night home games under coach Bill Cowher, but they needed to sweat this one out after walking onto the field as 11 1/2 -point favorites.

"There are no moral victories in the NFL," said Ravens coach Brian Billick. "You win or you lose, and we lost. But I've never been prouder to be part of a group of men than these guys. That's what this game was about tonight."

With five starters out - including former Defensive Players of the Year Ray Lewis and Ed Reed - the Ravens hung around with a resilient defense, a resurgent passing game and uncharacteristic mistakes by Pittsburgh.

The Ravens' biggest break seemed to have come with 5:48 left in the game and the Steelers leading 17-16. Rookie Greg Warren inexplicably snapped the ball early on a punt, and it deflected off the legs of Sean Morey.

"It's a first," Cowher said. "But we were holding them to field goals rather than touchdowns and got a chance to win it in the end."

Punter Chris Gardocki picked up the ball and threw incompletion, giving the Ravens possession at the Pittsburgh 45-yard line.

On second down, just before getting hit, Ravens quarterback Anthony Wright threw a high pass that was pulled in by receiver Derrick Mason. The 15-yard catch moved the Ravens to the Steelers' 30. But as the Ravens had done all game, they stalled and had to settle for a field goal instead of a touchdown.

The Ravens drove inside the Pittsburgh 30 six times and came away with just one touchdown. The lowest-scoring team in the NFL, the Ravens were held to one or no touchdowns for the sixth time this season.

"We got up ahead and that wasn't enough," left guard Edwin Mulitalo said of the stalled drives. "So, of course, that falls on us."

After Stover's fourth and final field goal, the Steelers got a series of big plays: a 14-yard pass to Antwaan Randle El, a 23-yard pass to Quincy Morgan and an 11-yard run by Jerome Bettis. That led to the game-winner, which Reed nailed despite facing the often-treacherous open end of the stadium.

The Ravens' final chance to win ended when Wright's fourth-and-six pass from his 47-yard line fell through Chester Taylor's hands and the Steelers ran out the clock.

Some of the players credited their effort from the excitement of playing on Monday night, and others pointed to a pre-game pep talk from owner Steve Bisciotti.

"I think that got us all pumped up," linebacker Bart Scott said. "He wanted to win as much as anybody in the locker room. We were missing some pretty big guys, but I think we did a darned good job against them."

The Ravens have lost nine of their past 13 games dating back to last season, but this was the closest they have come to upsetting a winning team.

"I've been talking about the character of these guys for quite awhile and I think you saw it tonight," Billick said. "It is something we can and will build on."

E-mail

Single page

Reprint

Get home delivery of The Sun and save over 50% off the newsstand price

A kick in the gut

Late field goal foils Ravens' valiant effort

Going deep

Online resources

Going deep Archived Sun football coverage
	> John Unitas > John Mackey > Lenny Moore > Jim Parker > Raymond Berry > Gino Marchetti > More archived coverage > Going deep: Other sports

A kick in the gut

Late field goal foils Ravens' valiant effort

Related links

Steelers 20, Ravens 19 Photos

Ravens-Steelers game summary

Steelers celebrate Photo

Winning field goal Photo

Related topic galleries: Brian Billick, Pittsburgh Steelers, Ray Lewis, Sean Morey, Dale Carter, National Football League, Edwin Mulitalo

Popular stories: Sports

Poll: Harbaugh's first five games

Baltimore Colts

Going deep

Online resources