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WR Plaxico Burress
put the game out of
reach with a 32-yard
TD reception
|
Pittsburgh’s 27-10 victory over Baltimore should come as no surprise to anyone who
watched these teams this season. The Steelers (14-3) may have split the season series with
the Ravens (11-7), but they dominated the defending champions in all three matchups and
clearly are the better team this season.
QB Kordell Stewart was solid (12-for-22 for 154 yards and one touchdown), and RB Amos
Zereoue gave a heroic performance in relief of Jerome Bettis as he rushed 24 times for 63
yards and two touchdowns.
But the difference in this game was the fact that the Steelers’ defense thoroughly
outplayed the much-vaunted Ravens defense. How awesome was the Steelers’ defense? It
held the Ravens to seven first downs and 175 total yards, including just 22 rushing yards.
Plus, the Ravens were only 1-of-12 on third downs.
The final time of possession was also very revealing as the Steelers held the ball for
40:45 and the Ravens had it for just 19:15. It was a one-sided game from the start, and
the Steelers have to be a heavy favorite heading into next Sunday’s AFC championship
when they host the upstart New England Patriots.
Here’s a look at random thoughts and comments accumulated throughout a dominant
divisional playoff performance by the Steelers:
First quarter
Bad news for the Steelers before the game even begins. RB Jerome Bettis, who has been
out with groin and hip injuries but is rested and cleared to play for this game, is ruled
out after a painkilling injection hits a nerve and numbs the leg. Bettis had had a great
week of practice and even warmed up on the field before the game. The game plan had to
have been set up for him. We’ll see if the Steelers can overcome this. Amos Zereoue
and Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala will have to step up once again.
It seems to me that this is another embarrassment for the NFL, following on the heels
of the officials’ terrible call that stole a victory away from the Raiders last
night. I mean, anyone who follows the game knows what a tremendous price these athletes
pay. And if that means getting a shot or taking medication to kill the pain, they’ll
do what’s necessary. I just can’t remember a star player, like Bettis, getting
ruled out of a game so suddenly right before a game due to a poorly administered shot. The
ugly underbelly of the NFL is exposed in high-profile fashion. Commissioner Paul Tagliabue
has not had a good weekend.
The Steelers’ offense has a tough task ahead of it, considering that the
Ravens’ defense has gone 54 straight postseason possessions without allowing a
touchdown. That’s five games, folks. Impressive.
It looks like a great winter day in Pittsburgh — 31 degrees and sunny. Almost like
a different world from last night’s memorable snow bowl in Foxboro.
Two things to remember for the Ravens: The Steelers led the league in sacks this year
with 55, and QB Elvis Grbac is the only quarterback in the playoffs with more
interceptions than touchdowns. I’ve got to think both of those stats will come into
play.
Yep — on Baltimore’s first possession, Grbac floats a pass on 3rd-and-6
just as he’s hit by LB Joey Porter, and the woefully underthrown pass is intercepted
by CB Chad Scott. Grbac was looking downfield to WR Travis Taylor, who made some big plays
last week vs. Miami. But what a poor decision! Steelers’ ball at the Ravens’ 43.
Eerily reminiscent of the Miami game for Baltimore when KR Jermaine Lewis fumbled the
opening kickoff and gave the Dolphins the ball in Baltimore territory.
Zereoue runs the ball the way he’s going to have to run it against this Ravens
defense and gains 10 for a first down. Great play-call as Stewart scrambles for another
first down on a QB draw. The crowd is into it, and the Steelers are fired up.
Stewart hits his first pass to WR Bobby Shaw, but the most impressive part of the play
is the block by WR Hines Ward. He shows why he’s considered the best blocking wide
receiver in the game. Love to see that.
You get the sense that Pittsburgh needs to take advantage of this turnover. I
can’t imagine it will get that many chances like this against the Ravens.
The Steelers settle for a 21-yard field goal by PK Kris Brown to take a 3-0 lead. This
has to be a disappointment for Pittsburgh after being set up 1st-and-goal and
getting stuffed on three straight running plays. This is the Ravens’ defense at its
best. It may allow some yards out in the field of play, but in the shadow of its own goal
posts, it tightens up tremendously.
Questionable play-calling by the Steelers. I would’ve at least tried one option
run wide with Stewart.
How about the helmet heaters on the Steelers’ sideline? Is this a great country or
what? I’m sorry, but I just don’t see those being available in Belgium or
Turkey.
Interesting stat shown by CBS: Between the Steelers and the Pitt Panthers, just 52
percent of all field-goal attempts at Heinz Field this season were successful. Obviously a
tough place to kick. Will that play a role in the outcome of this one? It sure did the
last time these teams played here as Brown missed four field goals in a 13-10 loss to the
Ravens in early November.
"Blitzburgh" strikes again! LB Mike Jones comes through to sack Grbac for a
big loss on third down, and the Ravens must punt again.
A stupid illegal-hands-to-the-face penalty on the Ravens makes them kick again, and the
Steelers pick up some positive yards, taking over at their own 49. Great decision by head
coach Bill Cowher to accept that penalty.
Good job of Stewart to find huge WR Plaxico Burress for a first down. Burress had a
monster game in the teams’ second meeting of the season and is tough to handle. CB
Chris McAlister will have his hands full.
Stewart shows how confident he has become as a passer as he sends a bullet pass to Ward
for a first down. Ward takes a big shot from S Corey Harris but holds on. You’ve got
to love what a tough, hard-nosed player Ward is. (CBS announcer Dick Enberg proves that he
should seriously think about retiring after this season as he identifies the
Steelers’ receiver as backup TE Jerame Tuman.)
Another dumb penalty on the Ravens for a facemask, and it sets the Steelers up at the
Ravens’ five-yard line. Zereoue is looking great and powers into the endzone after
getting hit by LB Ray Lewis at the one. Zereoue is a compact, explosive runner who goes
north-south. He’s looking great, and it makes you think he may be the back of the
near future for the Steelers. Brown boots the PAT, and it’s 10-0.
Just wondering: Will Ravens head coach Brian Billick turn to backup QB Randall
Cunningham at some point this afternoon?
This should be no surprise to anyone. The Steelers dominated the Ravens in both
previous meetings this season, piling up more yards and more hits. The only reason they
didn’t win both was Brown’s bad kicking day.
Grbac misfires on third down and looks terrible doing it.
Stewart makes a poor decision and badly underthrows a pass into the flat. McAlister
makes a great diving catch and returns the interception to the Pittsburgh seven.
That’s exactly what the Ravens needed! Their offense isn’t good enough to make
long drives. A nice, short field will do the trick.
After a false-start penalty on first down, the Ravens get stuffed on a run up the
middle. Grbac then makes another bad throw as he’s intercepted in the endzone
by Steelers S Brent Alexander. It looks as though Grbac was trying to get the ball to TE
Shannon Sharpe, but he wasn’t even close to the well-covered Sharpe. Billick does not
look happy on the sideline. Is he starting to think about pulling Grbac?
Second quarter
Zereoue continues to run the ball well, and he’s helped by FB Dan Kreider, who
obliterates Ray Lewis with a monster block. You don’t see that happen very often.
That just shows you that the Ravens are getting thoroughly outplayed thus far.
What a great fake by Stewart as he walks away from center, acting as if he’s
trying to shout out an audible. The ball is directly snapped to Ward, who hands off to WR
Troy Edwards on an end-around. Edwards makes a big gain and, when Stewart gets his
facemask pulled by LB Peter Boulware, the Steelers move 15 yards past the end of the run.
Another bad penalty from the defending champs. They are making tons of mistakes, mental
and physical.
A very special play by Stewart as he drops back to pass, gets rushed by Boulware, looks
like Fran Tarkenton as he runs around up to 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage and
dodges a tackle attempt by DT Tony Siragusa. Stewart then bursts upfield and ends up
gaining four yards out of the play! Amazing! He could’ve been dropped for a 15- or
20-yard loss and instead turned it into a four-yard gain. I can think of one other
quarterback who could do that — the Eagles’ Donovan McNabb. How much fun would
it be to see Stewart vs. McNabb in the Super Bowl?
A very revealing graphic shows that the Steelers have 77 rushing yards and 55 passing
yards while Baltimore has 10 rushing yards and ZERO passing yards. Totally one-sided.
Big play by Ravens DT Larry Webster as he sacks Stewart. Brown then misses wide left on
a 35-yard field-goal attempt. That’s the same end of the field where he missed four
kicks against the Ravens in November. The mind games continue for Brown, who was just
30-of-44 on FG attempts this season.
Great play by Steelers S Lee Flowers as he knocks away a pass from Grbac, who continues
to look ineffective. It sure seems like the Ravens are there to be had. They’re
begging to be beaten. We’ll see if they can snap out of it in time.
Ward makes an amazing fingertips catch and sets up the Steelers 1st-and-goal.
The Ravens are absolutely back on their heels.
Zereoue continues to make up for Bettis’ absence in a big way as he vaults over
the pile — a la the late Walter Payton — for his second touchdown of the game.
Brown’s PAT makes it 17-0 with 5:43 left in the half. This has been an absolutely
dominant performance by the Steelers in all aspects of the game.
No surprise when tempers flare on the ensuing kickoff. The Ravens are obviously
frustrated. We’ll see what Billick’s got in his bag of magic tricks to turn the
tide of this one.
News flash: The Ravens finally complete a pass as Grbac hits RB Terry Allen out of the
backfield, but Allen fumbles when LB Earl Holmes strips the ball away and LB Jason Gildon
recovers at the Ravens’ 34. Unbelievable! Things are going the Steelers’ way,
that’s for sure.
Future Hall of Famer Rod Woodson checks in with a big hit on Ward to prevent a long
pass completion. Woodson has been so good for so long, he’s amazing — the Jerry
Rice of defensive backs.
Brown hits on a 46-yard field goal at the open end of the stadium to make it 20-0. A
huge kick for him personally, and for the Steelers as they pile on more points to their
lead.
Grbac finally looks good in the pocket as he hits Travis Taylor for a first down.
It’s the Ravens’ FIRST first down of the half, and it comes with 3:03 left in
the half! That makes it 13-1 in first downs in the Steelers’ favor.
Grbac finds Sharpe for a first down on a key 4th-and-1, then makes a
brilliant throw over the middle to Sharpe to set up the Ravens 1st-and-goal at
the Pittsburgh eight-yard line with 1:24 left.
WR Brandon Stokley appears to catch a TD pass from Grbac, but the officials on the
field rule him out of bounds. Replays show it was the correct call. The play is reviewed,
but Stokley clearly did not get his left foot down inbounds. Two officials were on the
spot to make the call.
Rookie TE Todd Heap can’t hold on to the ball near the goal line, and the Ravens
settle for a 26-yard field goal to cut the lead to 20-3 with 51 seconds left. Although it
wasn’t a touchdown, that’s a big score for the Ravens since they at least get a
little momentum going into the second half. And Grbac finally showed that he can move the
team through the air. We’ll see if the Ravens can keep things going in the right
direction.
Third quarter
The Steelers look a little sluggish on their opening possession, and P Josh Miller
comes on to kick for the first time in the game.
Both teams come up empty on a pair of ensuing drives, and Miller punts deep to Jermaine
Lewis. Lewis takes the kick and busts through for an 88-yard TD return. He was untouched.
Stover’s PAT makes it 20-10, and the game is on!
Interesting that Cowher was talking all week about how the Steelers have to account for
Lewis and try to stop him. He was most concerned about the Pro Bowler, and Lewis proved
why he is so dangerous. This is classic Ravens football, relying on their defense and
special teams to stay in the game.
Good move by Miller on his ensuing punt as he angles it out of bounds. Better late than
never, right?
Baltimore drops to 0-for-8 on third downs as Grbac misfires on 3rd-and-10.
You’re not going to win many games when you can’t convert on third down.
The Steelers need something positive to happen offensively. Stewart has slowed down
considerably, and the Ravens are slowly taking control of this game. Ugly play in the
third quarter, but the Ravens like it that way.
Fuamatu-Ma’afala makes a big third-down run, and Stewart hurries the Steelers to
the line to try to catch the Ravens off guard. Baltimore wisely calls a timeout.
A nice shovel pass from Stewart to Zereoue (he’s having an excellent game) for
another first down, and the Steelers appear to be getting their legs back under them.
Stewart then picks up a first down as the quarter ends.
Get this: the Steelers have held the ball for 32:27, and the Ravens have only had the
ball for 12:33. That’s got to be a difference-maker in the final period, right? Can
the Ravens’ defense continue to stay on the field and not get tired? We’ll see.
Fourth quarter
Zereoue starts the final period with a big first-down carry as he takes a big hit from
Woodson.
Stewart takes advantage of a tired Ravens secondary, hitting an open Burress in a seam
in the zone for a 32-yard touchdown. Great call. Woodson couldn’t come over in time
to defend the pass, and Burress loped into the endzone. Brown’s PAT makes it 27-10
— the Steelers have regained control.
Talk about impressive! Just when the game was getting interesting, the Steelers mounted
a 12-play, 83-yard drive for a touchdown. Their third TD against the vaunted Ravens
defense.
Gildon gets called for a touchy roughing-the-passer penalty on Grbac. The ref says he
hit Grbac with a forearm to the head, but it was really to his chest. Either way, it was
unnecessary of Gildon to do that, and it costs his team 15 yards.
Gildon makes up for the penalty by dropping Grbac for a big loss on a sack. Gildon is a
force blitzing from the outside. He led the Steelers with 12 sacks this year and earned a
second straight trip to the Pro Bowl.
Troy Edwards proves he deserves to keep returning kicks despite his butterfingers.
He’s fumbled twice in this game (neither was lost), but he’s also had some
excellent returns, including this punt return for 33 yards after a booming 52-yard punt by
Kyle Richardson.
Is this a telling stat or what? The Ravens’ best wideout, Qadry Ismail, has been
held without a catch thus far. How can that happen? I thought the Steelers’ secondary
was the weakest part of their defense. Not today.
Zereoue fumbles but recovers it. That’s got to be the Steelers’ fifth or
sixth fumble of the game, and they’ve recovered them all. That’s got to be a
concern for next week.
Hey! Ismail finally makes his first catch of the game, for a measly eight yards. The
Ravens are in a hurry-up offense and moving the ball against a passive Steelers defense.
Grbac gets intercepted for a third time, but this one’s not his fault. His pass
hits Travis Taylor right in the hands, but it deflects off Taylor and right to Brent
Alexander, who makes his second pick of the game. Great runback by Alexander too as he
takes it out to the 30-yard line. It is clearly not the Ravens’ day.
Could someone put out an all-points bulletin for Ravens RB Terry Allen? Yeah, he’s
about 6 feet tall, 210 pounds. Veteran runner. Not as quick as he once was, but still
effective. Coming off two straight 100-yard rushing games. Hmm. I think I remember Allen
carrying the ball. Had a big fumble earlier too, right? … Oh, there he is on the
sideline. Let’s check the stat sheet: four carries, 11 yards. Ouch!
Question: Will Grbac return as Ravens quarterback next season? I can’t imagine
they’re happy with his performance this season. Who knows, maybe with a healthy RB
Jamal Lewis he would’ve been more effective.
CBS color man Dan Dierdorf makes the ridiculous comment, "It was a good run,"
in reference to the defending champion Ravens being knocked out of the playoffs. Good run?
For goodness’ sakes! They won ONE title! This is just their second playoff
appearance! To me, a good run is the Buffalo Bills going to four straight Super Bowls or
the Packers finally bowing out whenever Brett Favre retires. I guess Dierdorf’s
comment just shows you how fleeting success is in the NFL nowadays. There are no more
dynasties.
Dierdorf bounces back to pose the great question: "Who would’ve thought
before the season that the quarterbacks battling in the AFC title game would be Kordell
Stewart and Tom Brady?" I would’ve put those odds at one billion to one before
the season. Whaddaya think? Too low? |
