Steelers drop the ball in Baltimore
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw two interceptions and no touchdown passes in a loss Sunday at Baltimore. The Ravens have five wins, two against the Steelers.
Steelers strong safety Robert Golden tackles Ravens running back Terrance West during the first half in Baltimore Sunday.
Steelers wide receiver Markus Wheaton reacts after failing to catch a pass in the closing minutes Sunday in Baltimore.
BALTIMORE – The Baltimore Ravens aren’t going to be playing any postseason games this season.
After Sunday, the Steelers might not be, either.
The Ravens put the Steelers’ playoff plans in serious jeopardy, forcing a pair of Ben Roethlisberger interceptions and getting an efficient day from new quarterback Ryan Mallett in a 20-17 victory against Pittsburgh at M&T Bank Stadium.
The loss dropped the Steelers’ record to 9-6 and, more importantly, coupled with the New York Jets’ upset of New England in overtime, left Pittsburgh outside of the playoff picture.
To make the playoffs, the Steelers need a win next week at Cleveland and a loss by the Jets at Buffalo, or for Denver to lose its final two games.
“All we can do is tune everybody out and focus on beating the Cleveland Browns,” said Steelers defensive end Cameron Heyward. “It sucks knowing that we need another team to do our bidding for us. It’s tough to look at another team and say, ‘please do the job for us.’ We never want to go into a situation like that. I just hope we get another chance. That disturbs me to know that as a leader of this team, I didn’t get the job done.”
Heyward was far from being alone in that area.
“It can’t get any worse this year than it is right now,” said Steelers linebacker James Harrison. “They came out, they out-executed us, they outplayed us. That’s really it. You’ve got to give credit where credit is due. We didn’t do the things necessary to win.”
Baltimore (5-10) entered the game having allowed 28 touchdown passes with just four interceptions. Roethlisberger threw two interceptions, and he had another that went for a 101-yard touchdown called back because Baltimore linebacker Courtney Upshaw lined up offsides.
It was one of the few mistakes the Ravens made in a game they treated as their own playoff contest.
“That’s pretty awesome,” said Baltimore Pro Bowl guard Marshal Yanda of possibly knocking the Steelers out of the playoffs. “But it was about us trying to play good football. The fun thing was that it was against the Steelers. We always want to beat them. We’re having a tough year, but it’s great to beat the Steelers.”
Baltimore did so twice this year, sweeping the season series for the third time in their 20-year history and possibly finding a solid option if starting quarterback Joe Flacco, who suffered a torn knee ligament last month, isn’t ready to start the 2016 season.
Mallett, signed two weeks ago, completed 28 of 41 passes for 274 yards and a touchdown, protecting the football and keeping the chains moving as the Ravens played keep-away from Pittsburgh’s offense. The Ravens held the ball for 34:20 and ran 73 plays compared to 57 for the Steelers.
“We couldn’t get the stops that we needed at the critical moments of the game and it ended up costing us,” said Steelers linebacker Arthur Moats.
Baltimore, however, did. And none of those stops were more important than on Pittsburgh’s opening possession.
The Steelers came out running and DeAngelo Williams, who had 17 carries for 100 yards and a pair of touchdowns, gained 9, 7 and 34 yards on Pittsburgh’s first three plays. But Roethlisberger’s first pass – a short flip to tight end Jesse James on third-and-4 from the Baltimore 28-yard line – went for only three yards and the Steelers tried to run Williams again on fourth-and-1.
Upshaw and Darryl Smith stopped Williams for no gain and Baltimore went on a 15-play, seven-minute touchdown drive that set the tone for the rest of the game.
“I’m glad we went for it,” said Roethlisberger, who completed 24 of 34 passes for 215 yards – more than 100 yards less than his per-game average.
“I thought it was a good call, and we were moving the ball. Unfortunately, one of our linemen tripped and we weren’t able to make the play.”
Mallett threw an 8-yard TD pass to Chris Matthews to give the Ravens a lead they would never relinquish.
The Steelers trailed 13-3 at the half and cut the deficit to 13-10 on their opening possession of the second half, thanks to a pair of pass-interference penalties that accounted for 53 yards of a 79-yard drive. Williams finished the drive with a 1-yard TD run but Roethlisberger’s second interception set up Baltimore’s eventual game-winning score.
Roethlisberger attempted to throw a back-shoulder pass down the sideline to Antonio Brown, but threw the pass too far downfield and cornerback Jimmy Smith jumped in front of Brown at the Baltimore 42. That set up a 3-yard Javorius Allen TD run that made it 20-10 with 10:40 remaining.
The Steelers quickly drove the length of the field to the Baltimore 1 before a Roethlisberger pass tipped off the hands of Brown into the waiting arms of Smith, who returned it 101 yards. But Upshaw was penalized for lining up offsides. Two plays later, Williams scored from the 2 to make it 20-17.
Pittsburgh forced a punt and got the ball back with 2:55 remaining. After picking up one first down, Roethlisberger was sacked and then threw incompletions on third and fourth downs.
“They took care of the ball and we didn’t,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. “We didn’t handle business in the stadium and we’re left to look around at other stadiums. Such is life this time of year when you don’t do what you’re supposed to do.”
Steelers fullback Roosevelt Nix left the game in the third quarter with a right foot injury. … Safety Mike Mitchell aggravated a shoulder injury. … The Steelers are 7-1 when they win the turnover battle, 2-5 when they do not. … The Steelers’ offense was 2-for-8 on third downs. Baltimore was 9-for-18. … Pittsburgh’s best starting field position was its own 23.