Steelers fall in overtime to Ravens
PITTSBURGH – The Steelers and Ravens have played plenty of close games over the years. Few stick out in terms of the number of blown opportunities like the one the teams played Thursday night at Heinz Field.
Neither team gained much of an advantage until the Steelers missed a pair of field goals late in the game and the Ravens made two, with Justin Tucker booting a 52-yard attempt in overtime to lift the Ravens to a 23-20 victory over Pittsburgh to avoid an 0-4 start to the season.
The placekickers were the difference in the game.
While Tucker made his attempts, the Steelers’ Josh Scobee missed a pair of field-goal attempts in the closing minutes of regulation – from 49 and 41 yards – with his team leading 20-17 and that led to Baltimore (1-3) extending the game.
“This is not what I envisioned when I got traded here,” said Scobee, whom the Steelers sent a sixth-round draft pick to Jacksonville to acquire when both Shaun Suisham and Garrett Hartley were lost to preseason injuries.
“This wasn’t what I wanted to happen. I expect better from myself and I expect to contribute and not be one of the reasons we lost a game. It’s tough. Fortunately, I’ve been through tough things and it makes you better in the long run.”
Whether Scobee, a 12-year-veteran, is around very long after Thursday night’s performance remains to be seen. His two misses were his first in the regular season on field goals, but he also was shaky in the preseason and missed an extra point.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, who saw his team fall to 2-2, didn’t exactly give Scobee a vote of confidence in overtime when he passed on what would have been a 50-yard attempt, instead opting to convert a fourth-and-1 from the Baltimore 32-yard line.
Tomlin also wasn’t giving Scobee any votes of confidence after the game, either, when asked if the team might try out placekickers.
“We have to turn stones over,” Tomlin said. “We have to find ways to win games. That’s an element of it. It was an element of the outcome.”
Despite the misses, the Steelers had plenty of chances to win.
Baltimore converted just one of four fourth-down attempts, including failing to convert a first down on a fake field goal in the third quarter while trailing 20-14.
The Steelers failed to capitalize each time the Ravens faltered, leaving the door open for a comeback.
“We left a lot of chances out there,” said Steelers guard David DeCastro. “It wasn’t just one. We had plenty of chances to put it away and we didn’t do it.”
The Steelers came up with a fourth-down stop following Scobee’s first miss, sacking Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco at the Ravens’ 29 just before the two-minute warning.
Three runs by Le’Veon Bell, who had 129 yards rushing and a touchdown on 22 carries, failed to produce a first down that would have finished off the Ravens and Scobee missed his second attempt with just over one minute remaining. The Ravens quickly got into field-goal range for a 42-yard Tucker kick that tied the score at 20-20 with three seconds remaining.
The Steelers (2-2) got the ball first in overtime and Dri Archer returned the kickoff to the 31-yard line. Bell broke off a 22-yard gain to the Baltimore 47. On fourth-and-2 from the Baltimore 39, Mike Vick was stopped for no gain on a quarterback keeper, turning the ball over on downs to the Ravens.
Flacco, who turned the ball over twice, fumbling once and throwing an interception, couldn’t lead the Ravens to a first down from there, with Mike Mitchell breaking up a third-down pass to get the Steelers’ defense off the field.
Wide receiver Antonio Brown, who saw his five-catch, 50-yard streak end at a NFL-record 35 games, returned a punt 29 yards to the Pittsburgh 41 to give the Steelers great field position. Brown then caught a 17-yard pass on first down but Vick overthrew him on fourth-and-1 at the 33 to turn the ball over on downs.
“I understand the reason not to (kick) there,” said Scobee. “It was longer than the other ones were. No hard feelings on my part. It just stinks that I couldn’t convert the other ones.”
That turned the ball back over to the Ravens and Justin Forsett, who had 150 yards 27 carries, broke off a 12-yard run and converted a third-and-1 at the Baltimore 42 to help move his team into range for Tucker’s game-winning field goal, which came with 5:13 remaining in overtime.
“(The) offense did plenty,” said Steelers linebacker James Harrison. “Hell, we gave up too many points. They ran the ball up and down the field. Forsett, he had a day. We didn’t get the job done, period.”
Vick, making his first start in place of injured quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, didn’t make any big mistakes but didn’t make a lot of big plays, either. He passed for 124 yards, including an 8-yard TD pass to Darrius Heyward-Bey in the third quarter.
“We had our chances to win the game,” said Vick. “I had plays that I couldn’t made, but didn’t, and it’s disappointing.”
Steelers cornerback Ross Cockrell had an interception and fumble recovery. … Flacco completed 20 of 33 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown but was sacked five times. … Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith left the game in the fourth quarter with a back contusion and did not return. … Brown finished with five receptions for 42 yards. … Linebacker Lawrence Timmons had 11 tackles and defensive end Stephon Tuitt had 10. … The Steelers are 1-6 without Roethlisberger against Baltimore since he became the starting quarterback in 2004.