This one hurts.
The Ravens had the Pittsburgh Steelers right where they wanted them on Sunday.
They led by three points with 3:36 remaining and all the Ravens had to do was play defense like they had all game and they’d be tied for first place in the AFC North.
But Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had other plans.
He completed 7-of-10 passes for 89 yards to drive his team 92 yards in 12 plays, capped by a four-yard touchdown pass to receiver Santonio Holmes for the decisive score in a 13-9 victory over the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium.
The Steelers’ rally stunned the record-crowd of 71,502 and gave Pittsburgh (11-3) their second straight AFC North Division title and a first-round bye in the playoffs. It also ended the Ravens’ three-game winning streak and relegates them to playing for one of two wild card entries into the postseason.
“It’s just disappointing,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “We wanted to get them stopped. We wanted them to kick a field goal. We wanted to do a lot of things that we didn’t get done. That’s what football games are – they’re tough. “
And for the Ravens (9-5), it’s about to get tougher. Baltimore still owns the final wild card spot, but it has the same record as the Miami Dolphins and the New England Patriots, who defeated the 49ers and the Oakland Raiders on Sunday. The Ravens have a short week to bounce back as they travel to Dallas to face the Cowboys on Saturday night at 8:30 in the final regular season game at historic Texas Stadium.
“It’s easy to say you should do this, you should do that,” Harbaugh said. Our guys are out there fighting to get it done. We came up short. They got it done, and that’s where it stands right now. [The Steelers are] the division champs. Now it’s our task to get to the playoffs.”
Quarterback play proved to be the game’s deciding factor. Joe Flacco has exceeded all expectations this season, but Roethlisberger proved experience matters.
He completed 22-of-40 passes for 246 yards and a touchdown, and Flacco was just 11-of-28 passing for 115 yards and two interception to lead an offense that mustered just three field goals and 12 first downs.
For Roethlisberger, it marked the second straight week he engineered a fourth-quarter comeback, giving him five this season and 17 during his five-year career.
“This was your typical Ravens-Steelers football game,” Roethlisberger said. “I’ve got cuts and bruises, as do other guys in locker room, as I’m sure the Ravens do. It was hard-fought, it was physical, low-scoring, just like everyone thought it was going to be.”
Sunday’s loss also brought back memories of the Ravens’ 13-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 5, when they led for much of the game, only to allow the Titans to drive 80 yards and score the winning touchdown with 1:56 remaining.
“They made plays, bottom line,” Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis said on the Steelers’ last drive. “Either you make plays or you don’t make plays. All game long, they didn’t make plays, and on one drive, they did.”
Flacco tried to rally his team, but cornerback William Gay’s interception in the end zone with eight seconds remaining sealed the win.
“It was a tough game,” Flacco said. “That’s what games are going to be in December in the NFL. Believe me, we learn something from every game. We’re going to go back and look at the film and take something from this game, also.”
