Baltimore will most certainly live up to its Charm City billing for at least the next week or so after the Ravens stunned the Steelers, 23-20, on Sunday night -- a win that gives them their first series sweep of their AFC North rivals in the John Harbaugh-Joe Flacco era and the franchise's first since 2006.
As is usually the case in the NFL’s best rivalry, the second half was a rollercoaster ride, one that saw the Ravens blow a 10-point lead before taking it back thanks to Flacco’s late-game heroics and a little redemption for rookie wide receiver Torrey Smith. Here are my quick-hit thoughts after the thrilling win.
1. Joe Flacco did it again. Twice. In the 2010 regular season, Flacco led the Ravens to a comeback win at Heinz Field. This time around, he did it against Ben Roethlisberger and with an even greater degree of difficulty. He led the Ravens 92 yards in a little over two minutes, and he wasn’t fazed by a pair of drops from Smith and Anquan Boldin. The whiff by Smith looked like a back-breaker, with the former Terp dropping his fourth pass of the night -- a beautiful 37-yard rainbow -- in the end zone. But Flacco came back to Smith with eight seconds left and the rookie didn’t let that one slip out of his grasp. Ballgame.
4. The Ravens have their flaws. There’s no doubt about that. But they showed championship-caliber resolve in this victory. They saw Ray Rice’s long touchdown run at the start of the game get called back. They left points on the board when Billy Cundiff missed an early field goal. They squandered another double-digit lead to the Steelers. But they never quit -- even though some of their fans might have.
5. Terrell Suggs didn’t bring the sizzle on the pass rush. None of his teammates did, either, which is why the Ravens saw their second-half lead go poof. You can’t ask your secondary to hold up when an elite quarterback like Ben Roethlisberger has all day to find fleet-footed receivers like Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown. Sorry to sound like John Harbaugh here, but I’m going to tip my hat to Pittsburgh’s offensive line, which was excellent in pass protection. I’m a big fan of Chuck Pagano, and I choose to look at the big picture when it comes to his defense. It has been pretty damn good through eight games.
7. James Harrison had three sacks and forced a fumble in his return to the field. What a mean man.
8. Ed Dickson has outshined fellow second-year tight end Dennis Pitta so far in their young careers, but Pitta was instrumental in Sunday’s victory. Pitta had five catches for 46 yards, and his first four catches all moved the chains on third down. By the way, Dickson added two catches for eight yards.
9. Cary Williams played a heck of a game, and Lardarius Webb played pretty well, too, given how much time Roethlisberger had in the pocket. The Ravens kept Wallace in check for most of the game, through Brown had 109 receiving yards. Jimmy Smith will start eventually, but he is going to have to earn it given how reliable those two cornerbacks have been in the first half of the season.
