Steelers set to leave anthem controversy behind, face hated Ravens
BALTIMORE – The rivalry might not be quite as heated as it once was but, as the Steelers showed last season when they edged the Ravens on Christmas Day to wrap up the AFC North championship, that doesn’t mean the games are any less meaningful.
Antonio Brown’s stretch of the football over the goal line while having his facemask yanked around by safety Eric Weddle with nine seconds remaining gave the Steelers a 31-27 victory over the Ravens and ended a four-game losing streak to Baltimore.
The Steelers (2-1) will try to end another streak against the Ravens (2-1) Sunday in Baltimore, where they haven’t won since 2012.
And, yes, the Steelers will be on the sideline for the playing of the national anthem.
The Steelers raised the ire of some fans prior to their loss last week at Chicago when they decided to stay in a stadium tunnel rather than take part in what became a league-wide anthem protest after President Donald Trump called on NFL owners to fire players who chose to protest during the anthem, calling those players a derogatory name.
Only eight players had protested in Week 2, trying to call attention to what they perceived to be racial injustice.
Last week, that number rose to more than 200 players.
The Steelers had planned to remove themselves from the situation, but left tackle Alejandro Villanueva, a U.S. Army veteran, could be seen outside of the tunnel with his hand over his heart. His teammates were several feet behind him, also at attention, but that didn’t dull the anger of fans.
“I promise you one thing, this week we’ll all be standing out there for the national anthem, trust me,” center Maurkice Pouncey said. “We feel just as bad as everybody else does, because it’s a lot on our shoulders. Trust me, we really do.
“I think this week we’re going to show that. We know that we’re sorry for all our fans that are upset about the things that went down. I honestly think we’ll come together and all this will be totally out the window.”
While the Steelers would like to forget about what happened before the game, they’d also like to get the bitter taste of what happened once the ball was kicked off out of their mouths. Chicago rushed for 220 yards in the Bears’ 23-17 overtime victory. The final 73 yards came in overtime.
As badly as the Steelers played last week, Baltimore was worse in a 44-7 loss to Jacksonville in London.
The Ravens gained only 35 yards on their first nine possessions, failing to record a first down until less than two minutes remained in the first half.
“We were outplayed, outcoached and we were beat in every way you can get beat,” said Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh, whose team also was caught up in the anthem controversy when several players knelt before the game.
If they needed any help regaining their focus, a game against a bitter rival certainly helps.
“This game is crazy. It’s a special game,” said Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who made his professional debut against the Ravens in relief of injured Tommy Maddox in 2004. “I’m still here and (defensive end) Terrell Suggs is still over there.
“I think we’ve got enough guys here that have played this physical AFC North game. … I don’t think it will take long if the young guys don’t know now what it’s going to be about.”
At this point, the Steelers are the far healthier team. They expect to get defensive end Stephon Tuitt, offensive tackle Marcus Gilbert and outside linebacker T.J. Watt, all of whom sat out last week with injuries, back against Baltimore.
The Ravens already have 16 players on injured reserve, including All-Pro guard Marshall Yanda. Starting defensive end Brent Urban was the latest casualty, suffering a season-ending foot injury against Jacksonville.
But the guys on the other sideline will be wearing purple uniforms. And that’s good enough for the Steelers.
“It’s not like this is just any team,” said Tuitt. “This is the Ravens.”
Baltimore is 32nd in the league in total offense, 18th in total defense. The Steelers are second in defense, 21st in offense. … In his last seven games against Baltimore, Roethlisberger has thrown 13 touchdown passes and six interceptions. Flacco has 10 touchdown passes and four interceptions in his past eight home games against the Steelers. … Brown leads the NFL with 26 catches for 354 yards. The wide receivers on Baltimore’s roster have 13 catches for 132 yards.