Ravens Defeat the Steelers 26-6

Sep 11, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens tight end Owen Daniels (81) catches a touchdown in the first quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

Baltimore was coming off a loss to the Bengals where they failed to produce any offense until late in the game. The Ravens could not afford to go 0-2 considering that those would be suffered against divisional opponents. With all the drama surrounding Ray Rice, the majority of experts believed that Baltimore could not overcome the negativity and would be defeated two games in a row. However, this contest never seemed to leave the Ravens’ control.

The Steelers took the opening possession down the field after Courtney Upshaw was flagged for roughing the passer. With the Steelers primed to get points, Daryl Smith ended that after he hit the young Justin Brown after the catch and forced a fumble that DeAngelo Tyson recovered. Steve Smith Sr.  began the drive with a catch on the first play and Flacco drove the ball down the field, capping the drive with a 2 yard touchdown pass to Owen Daniels. Daniels was struggling to make it through training camp but came on strong today.

After a Steelers’ three and out, Smith Sr. continued to make plays as he made defenders miss routinely. The Ravens’ second drive let to a 30 yard Justin Tucker field goal. The Steelers’ offense finally showed some spark as Antonio Brown and Heath Miller made multiple receptions on the following drive. However, the drive stalled after 11 plays for 73 yards, ending with a 25 yard field goal by Shaun Suisham. The Ravens’ and Steelers’ next possessions result in no points as the score is 10-3 heading into halftime.

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A holding call and bad play calling led to a horrendous possession to open the second half and gave the Steelers great field position at the Pittsburgh 48 yard line. Just as Le’Veon Bell was helping the Steelers drive down the field, Elvis Dumervil recorded his first sack of the season and the team’s first sack as well. Pittsburgh would not leave empty-handed as Suisham converted a 43 yard kick to make the score 10-6. The Steelers looked ready to take the game back.

Flacco would not let up on the attack as he led a 12 play drive down the field. Flacco completed passes to 4 different receivers as Daniels caught his second touchdown and his third catch of that possession. The defense needed to preserve the lead and they succeeded by forcing a three and out on the Steelers’ next possession. Baltimore responded by sustaining another long drive of 10 plays that led to another Tucker field goal; this one 23 yards. The Ravens were now leading 20-6 and looking to pull away from their division rival.

On the Steelers’ first play of the drive, Mosley lays the wood on Heath Miller and pops the ball loose, recovering the fumble and putting the nail in the coffin. Tucker would convert on two more field goals the rest of the way as Ben Roethlisberger could not create anything on offense. Dumervil got another sack and the Steelers’ offense finished a horrible game with an interception, courtesy of Haloti Ngata. The final score was 26-6 in favor of the Ravens.  This was a statement game by Baltimore, who visits the Cleveland Browns next Sunday. Steve Smith Sr. has 189 yards and a touchdown over his first two games and will be the player to watch in Week 3 for Baltimore.