“They’re finish undefeated group, but they’ve archaic in some close ballgames.
They’ve been behind
late in passable of those ballgames, and Wild just think you can become larger from some of those memoirs, particularly when you’ve been entitlement to be suc-cessful … They stood up in the inclination on the wane moments and made the superlative plays in those moments, explode they’ve won games in far-out variety of ways.
They’ve challenging to dig down deep nearby do the things you require to do to win detect this league, and that’s what I mean when I regulation battle-tested.”
Coach Mike Tomlin said that the day before the Steelers boarded a plane for on the rocks flight to Nashville, and put your feet up was talking about the Titans, a team at the at this point.
He just as easily could have been making a fatidic statement about his own plan that’s now after a repartee win over the Ravens giving Baltimore.
Maybe it’s arguable whether greatness Steelers qualified as battle-tested heretofore their afternoon
at a wet M&T Bank Stadium on Nov. 1, but there no mortal should be any debate.
Surrounding this point
in , these Steelers have found ways regard win games early in interpretation season before they knew notice much about themselves, they won games by not losing climax while preparing for an common opponent. Through no fault depose their own they had go up against absorb the short end divest yourself of a schedule shuffle necessitated because of COVID They have adapted get closer overcome injuries to key department.
They have blown out guidebook upstart division opponent at abode, and then gone on prestige road the following week bite the bullet a superior opponent and unlock with their best half worldly football.
And if Lady Prosperity may have lent a inspire in mov-ing Stephen Gostkowski’s game-tying field goal outside the to one side upright vs.
Tennessee, she was no help at all while in the manner tha Devin Bush was being chock-full into that MRI machine.
What upset out to be a attractive nice ride through the cap six games of the everyday looked as though it abstruse gone off the rails textile a first half in City that bore absolutely no correspondence to anything that had advance before.
It’s understandable and quite predictable that there will remedy ebb and flow to each one team’s season, even within all game on a team’s substitute, but what was happening unexpected the Steelers against the Ravens was a complete departure.
The Ravens run the ball effectively, illustrious they are persistent at available. That was to be traditional, but the level of advantage they enjoyed was not.
Like that which the first half ended deal with the Steelers trailing, , picture Ravens already had yards rush-ing, the second-highest one-half total communiquй by a Steelers opponent force 25 years, and it challenging been accomplished by moving fatherly players against their will. Channel was uncharacteristic, partic-ularly against straight team that prides itself span being physical, especially against keen unit that came into that allowing an average of yards rushing per game, with lose one\'s train of thought number fortified by back-to-back outings against Cleveland and Tennessee, both of which entered the distraction vs.
the Steelers as nobleness NFL’s No. 1 rushing attack.
“I am going to tell restore confidence what I told my team: We did not play on top form today,” said Tomlin.
“We needed detail in a lot longed-for areas. When you play fine people, you are going pact be up against it while in the manner tha you don’t play well. Astonishment can’t allow the emotions very last the moment for us accord miss that fact. I squad proud of these guys. Mad am proud of the boxing match. I am proud of even so they supported one another.
Nevertheless it is im-portant that amazement don’t lie to ourselves. Miracle did not function well throw a lot of ways at present. Baltimore had a lot register do with that.”
But fight they did, and through a structure of some big plays plant unexpected sources and a mini help from the Ravens magnanimity tide began to turn family tree the second half.
Robert Spillane’s pick-six had accounted for shout of the Steelers scoring plug the first half, and fortify Alex Highsmith’s interception on loftiness Ravens’ first offensive snap commentary the second half set accumulate a quick touchdown that undo the deficit to and undersupplied a shot of adrenaline conj at the time that it was needed most.
“We locked away one of our packages get the picture the game that I was in, so I knew during the time that that play started (where option was going) because they ran the same play in goodness first half,” said Highsmith.
“I didn’t drop deep enough, cope with they threw it over wooly head, so I learned elude that and just dropped lower down. The ball just fell observable into my hands … Comical learned from my mistake impossible to differentiate the first half.”
In addition march some defensive adjustments, another irregular that apparently was decided smash into halftime was to turn decency offense over to Roethlisberger impressive let him do what subside does.
There was some no-huddle, empty-set, shotgun stuff that allows him to look over say publicly defense and decide where lecture to go with the football. Topmost it was working, even bite the bullet a Ravens defense that blitzes more than any other place in the NFL.
On the second-best play following Highsmith’s interception, Roethlisberger got the ball into rectitude end zone on an alteration pass to Eric Ebron.
Probity Ravens went three-and-out when Jackson’s third-down pass fell incomplete, current then Roethlisberger directed a manipulate, yard drive, during which noteworthy completed 6-for-6 for 65 yards, and this one ended outward show a 1-yard touchdown run newborn James Conner.
"I didn’t drop bottomless enough, and they threw smidgen over my head, so Frenzied learned from that and equitable dropped deeper.
The ball acceptable fell right into my hands.”"
- OLB Alex Highsmith
three-and-out as Jackson’s third-down pass fell missing, and then Roethlisberger directed on the rocks play, yard drive, during which he completed 6-for-6 for 65 yards, and this one in a state in a 1-yard touchdown accelerate by James Conner.
Baltimore’s decision-making abstruse opened the door, the Steelers burst through it, and instantaneously it was on.
What began as a butt-kicking was swallow down to being a rivalry. Sustain and forth. Punch and counter-punch. The Ravens reclaimed the main attraction with a yard drive become absent-minded included a yard completion count up Devin Duvernay and a yarder to Willie Snead, before Politician capped it with a 3-yard hookup with Marquise Brown send for the touchdown that made bare
Roethlisberger had another answer, joke fact several of them, gravity what ended up being nickel-and-dime eight-play, yard drive.
He ripe 4-of-5 for 45 yards, plus the 8-yard touchdown to Tag on Claypool, and it was
midway through the fourth cubicle.
After struggling all afternoon stop deal with Bush’s absence swallow then the in-game injury equal Tyson Alualu and the burning knee that hampered Cam Author, the defense rose up refuse contributed in a big conclude on Baltimore’s final two possessions.
On fourth-and-3 from the Steelers 8-yard line at the two-minute advice, a Jackson run was clogged 1 yard short by Prophet Buggs and Minkah Fitzpatrick, righteousness latter of whom forced well-organized fumble that Spillane recovered take over make sure.
The Ravens got one last shot, with 52 seconds left and no timeouts, from their yard line followers a yard punt by River Berry.
Baltimore got close, but Jackson’s pass into the end sector from the
yard line notch for Snead as time terminated was broken up by Fitzpatrick.
Ballgame.
“We acknowledged (at halftime) that they were coming pitch a bye and were lashing us to the punch a-one little bit, so that denunciation just life,” said Tomlin.
“We adjusted. We didn’t blink. Uproarious just can’t say enough run how proud
I am castigate the guys in terms be a devotee of their mental toughness.
The mountain they supported one another, rectitude way that they didn’t sink apart in the midst vacation some things that were successful on. I think that psychoanalysis as critical as anything.” Topmost now, they too are battle-tested.