Top 12 Greatest Wins in Steelers' History (Non-Super Bowl) - #6: Steelers 23, Ravens 14 (2008)

Me and my Steelers girl melted into a pile of goo on the floor. The higher the stakes, the more there is to lose. If the Steelers lost that game to the ravens, and allowed them to go to Tampa, I’m not sure I’d ever recover. Luckily that did not happen. The ravens monster was finally vanquished in 2008 that day.

After Troy’s touchdown, the 500+ people watching where I was went completely berzerk. I remember grabbing onto one guy, yelling “We’re going to the Super Bowl!” and repeatedly smashing him into a Golden Tee machine.

Not sure why…or who the guy was…but I bought him a beer later. No, I wasn’t drinking during the game. Afterwards, yes.

It would have absolutely killed me to lose a game that would send our rivals to the Superbowl instead of us

I was at home on the couch, and when that pick happened I just remember jumping up and screaming: “AWW!! HE GOT IT!!!” Really really loudly. So loudly my neighbour came over asking what the fuck was going on

Although not old enough to have seen many of the other games on the list, this is definitely one of my most fondly remembered games

and man, what a great game it was. I remember watching it at my girl’s home, and I was literally going nuts. Terrible towel waving, pacing through the room, screaming at the TV, pumping and biting my fist depending on who had the ball, you name it, I did it. Fortunately her family are die-hard steeler fans as well and knew me well enough by then to know how much of a steeler nut I am. I remember being literally, physically exhausted after the game. My girl and I went back to my dorm to celebrate with others, and I was functioning on adrenaline only. It was a lasting memory.

Troy’s pick was absolutely amazing. But I remember at the time being even more impressed by his leaping stop against Flacco on fourth and one. I literally looked at I don’t even know anymore and screamed “Did you see that?” well, of course they did. And then the interception… This game sealed Troy’s legacy with the franchise, if any sealing was even needed.

Outside of the two SB wins. Great competition and some physical football capped off with Troy making Flacco look like a rookie. Oh man it was great.

I recall setting up a text message and sending it out to all the Ravens fans I knew. And I think this was my FB pic for awhile:

Limas sweeds drop in the end zone and FWP drop in open field..

The fourth disc is the regular season game between the Steelers and Ravens that clinched the North for the Steelers and kept them in contention for home field throughout the playoffs. Of course they would go on to lose to Tennessee a week later but, as fate would have it, the ratbirds went to Tennesse and wiped those towel stomping chumps off the map setting the stage for home field advantage for the Steelers.

To me, those two Ravens games are almost interchangeable in historical significance. I suppose the nod must go to the playoff game since it was, well, a playoff game! The AFCCG no less. Regardless, I cannot imagine a 3 game set quite like the epic 3 games between the Steelers and Ravens in 2008 ever happening again. As you may recall, that first game between the two that season was a heart pounding smashmouth game for the ages, too.

and when it was 16-14 late in the 4th quarter, I knew that it was exactly the way the Ravens wanted it. The Steelers had chances to put this game away early and three drops kept it close. I was especially angry about the Santonio reversal. That’s why it’s hard to compare eras. The Holmes catch would not only have been legal ten years ago, it would have been a touchdown. Thirty years ago, it might not have been a touchdown, but there wasn’t instant replay and thus, no reversal. First and goal at the one. But I digress.

For some reason, I decided to watch this game alone in my apartment. My girlfriend wanted to come over. My friends invited me out to the South Hills to watch it. My uncle had a little gathering that I could have gone to. But I just wanted to watch it by myself. There is just something super-stressful about the AFC championship game. I think it’s even more stressful than the Super Bowl because you know there will be no games after the Super Bowl. Even if they lose, you don’t have to sit and watch two other teams play in a game that you thought your team should be in. I just hate when one my my teams loses in the round before the championship. That’s the most heartbreaking.

Anyway, when Troy picked that pass off and took it the distance, it was a great relief. And the best part was the sounds of people screaming all around me. There was a group of girls outside my apartment window just screaming their butts off as cars drove past. And I could hear my neighbors going nuts all around me. I’ve been watching sports for thirty years and I don’t remember ever hearing anything quite like it. When Ryan Clark smashed Mcgahee and caused that fumble, I knew the game was ours.

Just a tremendousnight and Troy Polamalu seems to be Mr. AFC Championship game. Seriously, go back and watch this game and the one in ’05 against Denver. The man was all over the place.

Great stuff, Maryrose. Can’t wait to see the rest of the list.

I too was cheering (from the couch in Cali) but with trepidation. All those home AFCCG losses. I was feeling a bit queasy when the BrownRavens pulled to 16-14.

When 43 took the Flacco pass and headed for the house I just stood and screamed “Goooooo!” for all I was worth. That INT will go down in Steeler lore as one of the greatest playoff “plays” after the Immaculate Reception. We will see that highlight again at Polamalu’s induction into the HOF.

I remember sitting at home watching the game with my family. When all we coudl score was FGs, I was getting worried. When Troy leap-frogged the O-line to sack Bert, I mean Flacco, it blew me away and was more impressive than the 2 INTs where he scooped them off the ground. Amazing. Then when the Ravens were marching and he made the Pick-6, I screamed and jumped out of my chair making my family jump with the volume and the suddenness of my reaction. Right before the play, I remember saying that we needed to pick him off and we needed another score…I had no idea we would get both on the same play. All three games that season were amazing and physical.

Sometimes I watch Troy’s INT on youtube just to hear the crowd’s reaction. They erupt when he picks it off and maintain that volume during his return…and as he crosses the goal line the crowd has a secondary eruption. Man I wish I was there.

I had created this “Choke” image of Joe Flacco prior to the 2008 AFC Championship Game, and was oh-so-happy I could post it when the game was over.

I wish I was there instead of the season opener. When Ryan Clark just destoryed Willis McGahee, hit him so hard he gave himself a concussion, that was the point that you knew that the game was over and it didn’t matter if we were going to play the Cards of that other team in Pennsylvania we were going to win because everyone was going all out to get one for the other thumb

Sigh…

since i’m 34 years old, i have only been closely following the steelers since about 1988. in that time, there have been so many games that i have loved, but only one that i can think of measures up to this afc championship game. i mean, for all the reasons stated above: the opponent, the unlikelihood of beating a team for the third time in one year, the stakes, the brutally physical nature of that game (hines was knocked out of the game, limas sweed later delivered a killer block, ben took some huge hits), the fact that no one in pittsburgh would have been able to handle two weeks of talk about ray lewis, and for so many more reasons, this was an incredible game. for me, it ranks as my #2 all time steeler game. thanks for the memory today, mary rose.

I honestly cant believe it didnt.

I cried.

I got absolutely wasted. Here is the subsequent series of events, as best as I can remember it. When we finally won, I stood up, bear hugged a friend of mine and then slipped and completely fell on my ass (had a major bruise). I then called for a cab twice, from the same company in less than five minutes. I then put on my friend’s shoes (drunkenly mistaking them for my own), got in the cab and went home. I then had the brilliant idea of Skyping my parents so they could not only hear but see me in my incredibly drunken state. I woke up the next morning and couldn’t remember how I’d got home or really anything after the Troy interception. Bits and pieces have been coming back to me over the years though. Good times.