— Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward recently spoke of his respect for Ed Reed and even introduced the Ravens free safety for the NFL Network show "The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players."
But there was Ward driving Reed to the turf on the Steelers' first offensive play of the game, a move that earned him an unnecessary roughness call.
After Pittsburgh's 31-24 win against the Ravens in Saturday's AFC divisional playoff game at Heinz Field, Ward said he was just trying to play physical football.
"I got a roughness call, and I had four guys beating me up. I love it," he said. "That's what it is all about. Ed Reed and I have our battles. No disrespect to Ed. He probably thinks it's a little personal. But it's playoffs. Loser goes home. So why sit there and save it? I am going to go out there and fight, scratch, and claw to win a ballgame."
Ward isn't exactly an angel when it comes to hits bordering on the edge of legality. He crushed Reed and former Ravens linebacker Bart Scott during a regular-season game Nov. 5, 2007, and Scott threatened to "kill" Ward for those hits.
Reed was unavailable for comment after the game, but Ward reiterated that he's not concerned that Reed might have been angered by Ward's physical play.
"If Ed takes it personal, so be it," Ward said. "It's the playoffs. Like I said, the loser goes home. So I am going out there and fighting my tail off to help my guys get open or open up a huge run. Some guys don't particularly like the way I go after guys, so the first personal foul call was just funny because I had four guys beating me up under the pile. And I come out with the personal foul. It wasn't even offsetting. I just chuckled about it."
Redding's heady play
The first thing that every football player supposedly learns, from the moment he straps up his chin strap for the first time as a kid, is that you never stop playing until you hear the whistle.
But for a full six seconds Saturday, it seemed as if 21 players did exactly that in the first quarter after outside linebacker Terrell Suggs had crashed into Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger from behind as he was trying to pump fake, and the ball flopped to the turf.
Defensive end Cory Redding, however, seemed to be the one man on the field who was aware of the fact that the whistle had never blown. Redding, who has played some of his best football of the year over the last month, scooped up the football and rumbled in the direction of the end zone. By the time he got going, Reed and cornerback Josh Wilson had also realized what was going on, and Reed gave Redding a healthy shove — and an escort — to the end zone.
Redding was too upset after the game to talk about the play, but even Suggs conceded he thought it was an incomplete pass.
"I thought it was over," Suggs said. "I didn't even know it was [a fumble]. I just wanted to get him down. He's a load. He's a handful, and I was just trying to get him down and the ball came out. We capitalized on it and scored, but I guess it doesn't matter now, does it?"
Rice accepts blame for fumble
Ray Rice's fumble-free run through the season finally came to an end — at an inopportune time.
The Ravens running back was stripped of the football on the offense's third play of the second half by Pittsburgh Steelers free safety Ryan Clark. Pittsburgh needed just two plays to convert that turnover into a touchdown. .
That fumble was Rice's first in his last 405 touches, which had been the longest active streak in the NFL, according to CBS' telecast. Rice took the blame for the fumble after the loss.
"You've got to be conscious of the situation," said Rice, who finished with just 12 carries for 32 yards — the second-lowest yardage total of the season. "I didn't even feel it. I'm not sure who hit it out or whatever, but that's totally my fault. I can take that. I'm not a fumbler, but in a situation like that, I've just got to be more careful. I was just trying to make a play."
Rice, Birk, Carr undeterred by illness, injuries
As anticipated, illness and injuries did not prevent Rice, cornerback Chris Carr and center Matt Birk from starting Saturday.
Rice had been sick Friday and had even vomited. Carr had sat out Thursday's practice because of a thigh injury but returned Friday on a limited basis and was listed as questionable. Birk had missed Wednesday's and Thursday's sessions with a left knee injury, but like Carr, he returned Friday on a limited basis and was questionable.
Inside linebacker Tavares Gooden (dislocated left shoulder) played after sitting out the previous two contests.
End zone
Todd Heap's 4-yard catch in the end zone with 5:43 left in the second quarter was only the second touchdown of the tight end's career in the playoffs and his first since a loss to the Tennessee Titans in a Wildcard game on Jan. 3, 2004. … Shaun Suisham's wayward 43-yard field-goal attempt with 21 seconds left before halftime was only the Steelers kicker's second miss since he was signed Nov. 16. He had made 14 of 15 field-goal attempts in the regular season. … The Ravens deactivated defensive tackles Lamar Divens and rookie Arthur Jones; tight ends Davon Drew and Dennis Pitta a rookie; rookie wide receiver/kick returner David Reed (torn ligament in left wrist); safety Tom Zbikowski (bulging disk in back); linebacker Jason Phillips; and offensive lineman Bryan Mattison. Zbikowski missed his fifth consecutive game, while Reed sat out his fourth straight contest. … The Steelers scratched offensive tackles Tony Hills and Chris Scott, defensive end Aaron Smith (triceps), outside linebacker Jason Worilds, cornerback Crezdon Butler, rookie running back Jonathan Dwyer and defensive tackle Steve McLendon. Charlie Batch was the third (emergency) quarterback. … Linebackers Ray Lewis, Brendon Ayanbadejo and Suggs, Reed, wide receiver Derrick Mason and quarterback Joe Flacco represented the Ravens for the coin toss.