The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens met for the first time in the 2017 regular season when the two AFC North rivals locked horns at M&T Bank Stadium, and the grudge match had a lot of relevance regarding the divisional standings.
Both teams entered the game 2-1, coming off horrible losses in Week 3, with sole possession of first place on the line Sunday in Week 3. The Ravens and Steelers were both short-handed in this contest when game-time rolled around. The Ravens were without defensive tackle Brandon Williams and offensive lineman Marshal Yanda, and the Steelers were without James Harrison and Mike Mitchell on the defense.
Nonetheless, when the game got underway, it was the Steelers winning the opening coin toss, deferring to the second half, giving the Ravens the opening possession of the game. The Ravens saw some success on the opening drive, but only flipped the field before punting the ball to Pittsburgh.
The Steelers’ first drive started inside the 5-yard line, but the team was able to get the running game going, to the tune of 10 rushes for 58 yards, as they drove into the red-zone, but had to settle for a Chris Boswell field goal to give them an early 3-0 lead.
After a the Steelers defense forced back-to-back three-and-outs to start the second quarter, the offense was able to put more points on the board, but nothing more than a 49-yard Boswell field goal to give them a 6-0 lead. Penalties, again, were a bad theme for Pittsburgh throughout the first half, and plagued several drives.
Baltimore’s next drive resulted in their first turnover of the game when Cameron Heyward not only was credited with the forced fumble, but also the fumble recovery deep in Ravens’ territory.
.@CamHeyward knocks it loose AND scoops it up.
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 1, 2017
The man can do it all. pic.twitter.com/WgAzcUYIn6
The offense took over, and with a combination of James Conner and Le’Veon Bell the team put up their first touchdown of the game with Bell knifing into the endzone to give the Steelers a 13-0 lead in the second quarter.
.@L_Bell26 punches it in for 6️⃣.
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 1, 2017
PIT 13 | BAL 0 pic.twitter.com/aDZNmb9D1p
Pittsburgh’s defense continued their domination of the first half, and forced another three-and-out which gave the ball back to Ben Roethlisberger and company with 2:13 left in the first half.
The Pittsburgh drive was orchestrated by both a Le’Veon Bell third down reception, and two by Martavis Bryant to move the offense into the Baltimore red-zone. What transpired was a JuJu Smith-Schuster touchdown reception to extend the Pittsburgh lead. The offense stayed on the field to go for the two-point conversion but failed giving the Steelers a 19-0 lead heading into halftime.
Ben avoids the pressure and finds @TeamJuJu for the score.
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 1, 2017
PIT 19 | BAL 0 pic.twitter.com/9X68hAOJN5
The Steelers received the opening kick of the second half, and on third down Roethlisberger threw to Antonio Brown over the middle, and looked to be tackled before the first down. But when John Harbaugh challenged the call, the officials determined Brown wasn’t down, but it was somehow an interception.
Regardless, the Ravens took over in the red-zone, but had to settle for a Justin Tucker field goal to make the score 19-3.
After Chris Boswell missed a 44-yard field goal on Pittsburgh’s following possession, the Ravens got another huge run on the first play of the drive to move them into the red-zone. Two plays later Joe Flacco hit former Steeler Mike Wallace for the first Baltimore touchdown of the game. The Ravens went for two, and Terrance West looked as if he plunged into the endzone to make the score 19-11, but after review it was ruled he was down prior to getting into the endzone, and the score remained 19-9 with 6-minutes left in the third quarter.
After a series of punts for both teams, Baltimore made the next, and most costly mistake, when Joe Flacco was intercepted by Ryan Shazier with 11:13 left in the fourth quarter.
.@RyanShazier out here running routes like a WR.
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 1, 2017
PIT 19 | BAL 9 pic.twitter.com/T0jkcUGEQU
However, the Steelers were unable to convert even a first down off the turnover, and continued to allow Baltimore to hang around by punting the ball after another failed third down conversion.
With a chance to climb back into the game, Joe Flacco’s pass on fourth down was tipped into the air by a leaping Shazier, only to be intercepted by Mike Hilton to give Pittsburgh the ball at midfield with just over 5-minutes left in the game.
After the interception it was more of Le’Veon Bell’s dominance which ultimately iced the game away for the black-and-gold. Bell scored his second touchdown of the game with 2:26 left and capped off a tremendous day.
Have a day, @L_Bell26.
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 1, 2017
PIT 26 | BAL 9 pic.twitter.com/NdWq3cjlpw
When the dust settled, the final score was Steelers 26, Ravens 9.
The Steelers win moves their record to 3-1, and sole possession of first place in the AFC North. The team will host the Jacksonville Jaguars at Heinz Field in Week 6 with a chance to start “stacking wins”.