The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Baltimore Ravens in Maryland, 23-16, and posted down their fourth consecutive victory.
Four weeks ago the Baltimore Ravens recorded a huge road win against their biggest division rival. Mike Tomlin and his boys were looking devastated after that match. One month later, the Steelers got their revenge, and it seems that the loss they experienced back then ignited the machinery from Heinz Field.
“(This win) means a lot,” Ben Roethlisberger said after the game, “They got us the first time at home. We were able to come here and get this one.”
Big Ben was solid tonight with 28 completions from 47 attempts, for 270 yards in total, with 2 TDs. But at one point, the hearts of Steelers fans stopped for a moment, when he suffered a rough tackle from Za’Darius Smith, which forced him to lay down on the ground for some time. The shock was even greater when he had to leave the game, but that was just a temporary thing, as he got back in, one play after that.
“I am doing all right. I thought I was dead for a second,” told Roethlisberger. “Luckily it was just the wind. That is a big guy landing on you. I had to take a quick breather. I am all right. I feel like a typical Steelers-Ravens postgame, just glad we got the win.”
Dobbs Makes big Play
That one time he was out, Joshua Dobbs led the Steelers offense, and the 23-year-old from Alpharetta, Georgia showed that he needs to be more often on the field. At second-and-20, steady-Eddie as Mike Tomlin called Dobbs after the event, found Smith-Shuster for a 22-yards pass, moving the chains towards Baltimore’s end zone.
“Josh is uniquely mature as an individual, not as a football player,” said Tomlin. “He is steady-Eddie. That personality is helpful to him. We have a great deal of confidence in him.
It is always good to beat your division rival, but this match was very important for the guests who wanted to prove that even without Le’Veon Bell, they still have what it takes to win the Super Bowl. Plus, they needed this one to jump over the Bengals and sit at the top of the AFC North. They are now 5-2-1, and have a slight advantage over Cinncinati who was free this week.
Meanwhile, Joe Flaco and his Ravens couldn’t deal with the Steelers defense who stopped them several times while being near the end zone, and limiting their rushing game to only 61 yards. Flacco found himself sacked twice, and he couldn’t hide his frustration during and after the game.
“It’s frustrating because in these types of games, you don’t get that many plays and that many opportunities, and obviously scoring touchdowns is the name of the game.” Ravens first QB said in a postgame interview.
At the moment have 4-5 and they are not standing well in the playoff race.
Conner Still Unstoppable
It wouldn’t be fair to finish this article without mentioning Pittsburgh’s RB James Conner, who once again had a superb performance. For the fourth time in a row, Conner rushed 100+ yards. He had 24 carries for 107 yards, and one TD catch, along with seven passes caught for 78 yards. Le’Veon Bell’s strike may have createed another fantastic player for the Steelers. Conner has 10 touchdowns so far, and this is the first time since 1950 that one player of this franchise has that many TDs after 8 contests.
Ben Roethlisberger honored victims of a shooting in the Tree of Life synagogue, with a specially made cleats, on which was a modified Steelers logo with a Jewish Star of David. Besides was a message to all: “Stronger Than Hate”
Up next, the Ravens are free next week, and after that, they host Cincinnati Bengals in one of the most important games of the season for them. The Steelers are waiting for Carolina Panthers in Thursday Night Football.
Nikola Velickovic is a sports journalist who loves to write and read on all sports. Nikola contributes both news updates and functions as a sports breaking news writer at WagerBop.
Twitter:
Email: nikola@wagerbop.com
Leave a Reply