Ravens linebacker Bart Scott summarized his team’s mindset in one sentence after a 23-20 overtime loss to the Steelers early Tuesday morning.
“We now go back to work and get ready to play at home,” he said.
The road doesn’t get any easier for the Ravens (2-1), who host the Tennessee Titans (4-0) on Sunday afternoon at 1 at M&T Bank Stadium.
The Ravens squandered a 13-3 halftime lead against the Steelers (3-1). The Titans, however, are off to the best start in franchise history after defeating the Vikings, 30-17, this past Sunday.
But Ravens coach John Harbaugh believes his team can learn from its loss, considering it rallied to tie the game at 20 in the fourth quarter after the Steelers scored 17 straight points to open the second half.
“[It’s] a disappointing outcome, but the way we played, the way our guys competed and fought, that was positive,” he said. “That’s what we build on.”
The biggest positive for the Ravens against the Steelers was the play of Joe Flacco, who completed 16-of-31 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown in his first road game.
Flacco never lost his composure, even after Steelers linebacker James Harrison caused Flacco to fumble, which linebacker LaMarr Woodley recovered and ran seven yards for a touchdown with 3:54 left in the third quarter. Woodley’s touchdown, which gave the Steelers a 17-13 lead, occurred just 15 seconds after quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to receiver Santonio Holmes.
“I just have to take care of the ball,” Flacco said of the turnover. “If we take care of the ball there, it’s a different story, but it happens. Like I said, I have to take care of the ball and I’ll learn from this.”
Flacco rebounded from his miscue to lead his team on a nine-play, 76-yard drive to tie the game at 20 when fullback Le’Ron McClain scored on a two-yard run with 4:02 remaining.
Flacco’s favorite target was receiver Derrick Mason, who had 137 yards on eight catches, none bigger than his 35-yard reception that prolonged the game-tieing drive.
“[Flacco] did a great job,” Mason said. “He’s a young man who’s got a lot of poise. He made the throws that were necessary to put us in a position to score and tie the game. He can only grow from this.”
The Ravens, who lost for the sixth time in their past seven games in Pittsburgh, also dropped their fifth straight game on Monday Night Football. But Mason said they can’t dwell on the past since they have to play 13 games in as many weeks since Hurricane Ike caused the team to use its bye week earlier this month.
“We’ve got to put it behind us,” he said. “That’s all we can do. We can’t dwell on this. We have to get ready for a 4-0 Tennessee Titans team, and we have to put this behind us quickly.”
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