The meeting room for Ravens receivers at their Owings Mills complex was an anguished mass of emotion last week, stopping just short of a bubbling cauldron.
There will be peace, harmony and light in that room this week, though.
At a time when the Ravens needed it most, they found the offense of coordinator Cam Cameron's dreams at Heinz Field Sunday. Quarterback Joe Flacco, delivering perhaps the performance of his young career, needed -- and used -- all his passing-game weapons to beat the Steelers, 17-14.
The audible sigh of relief could be heard all the way back in Baltimore.
"That's what we all were brought here for, to make plays," wideout Anquan Boldin said about the reformulated receiving corps that raised postseason expectations for the Ravens. "We've all made some plays, tons of plays, in our career at different places. So, to bring us together, I think we were built for situations like this."
The situation Sunday was dire. With 68 seconds left in the game and trailing by four points, the Ravens had the ball on the Pittsburgh 40 after a punt from the Steelers end zone. It was more than enough time.
Flacco needed two passes to Boldin to reach the Pittsburgh 28, and two more to T.J. Houshmandzadeh to get to the end zone. Houdshmandzadeh's 18-yard touchdown catch on a double move against cornerback Bryant McFadden produced the Ravens' first win in Pittsburgh since 2006.
On a day when Boldin still led the team in receptions (seven for 68 yards), veteran holdover Derrick Mason (six for 80 yards) and Houshmandzadeh (three for 49) got a chance to share the passing wealth.
Houshmandzadeh, signed as a free agent before the opener, complained last week to a reporter about his role. Mason has also felt under-used in the system. Sunday's distribution of passes not only satisfied everyone, it showed the way to the future.
"It's been a rough [last] two games for me, to be honest with you," Houshmandzadeh said, "because I would say last week and this week I hadn't played as much or didn't get as many opportunities as I thought I would. I would be lying to you if I said things weren't going through my head, but you just got to hang in there. We're going to evolve, whether we have to run or throw to win; we have to do what's best for the team."
As the only holdover from last season, Mason said it was normal reflex for receivers to want to be more involved in the passing game. He can understand Houshmandzadeh's frustration.
"As a competitor, you just want to go out there and affect the game in a positive way," Mason said. "And when you don't get an opportunity to ÃÆÃâÃâÃ⦠you get frustrated. You get kind of upset at yourself: What do I need to do as a player to get myself in a position to make plays?
"That's normal for a guy that truly loves playing the game, a guy that loves making plays. If he didn't love making plays, or if I or [Anquan] didn't love making plays, we wouldn't care. We'd just be out there running routes to be running. But all three of us want to be a factor in the game and when we're not, yeah, we're [bleeped] off. That's how you want to be."
The Ravens are going through a transitional period with Flacco and the offense. Pittsburgh's coverage dictated where Flacco went with the ball, as defense usually does.
When the Steelers slid their coverage toward Boldin in the first half, Mason pulled down five catches for 70 yards. When they had to defend Mason better, Boldin got more involved. And at the end, it was Houshmandzadeh who got the attention. His three catches all came in the final seven minutes.
Cameron is the lightning rod around which all this competitiveness swirls. As he becomes more familiar with the new personalities, he says he can understand the potential for frustration.
"Do I like it? Not necessarily all the time, but I can deal with it," he said. "You go out and get everybody to buy into [the idea] you do your job and the quarterback will do his. Guys are complaining. I'm not going to push them the ball because they're complaining. I just can't do that. That's not smart. I've got to put together a game plan with our staff that tries to get everybody involved and then Joe's got to go through his reads, based on what the defense dictates.
"There's an ebb and flow to it and every week can be different. We've got to get to the point we can enjoy winning irrespective of certain things. And I think we will. I think we'll continue to grow. It's a long season, and we're going to need all those guys."
ken.murray@baltsun.com
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