53°Broken Clouds
8:15 PM ET, January 3,2015
Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PA
Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PA
Top Performers
Passing: B. Roethlisberger (PIT) - 334 YDS, 1 TD, 2 INTRushing: J. Forsett (BAL) - 16 CAR, 36 YDS
Receiving: A. Brown (PIT) - 9 REC, 117 YDS
Associated Press
Ravens Muscle Past Steelers
Winning in Pittsburgh in January hardly seemed too much to ask.
Road Warriors
With
their victory over the Steelers, the Ravens have tied the Packers for
most road wins in playoff history -- in 75 fewer years as a franchise.| Wins | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Ravens | 10 | 19 |
| Packers | 10 | 94 |
| Cowboys | 9 | 55 |
| -- Elias Sports Bureau | ||
Rarely flustered in the face of a pass rush that barely laid a hand on him, Flacco tossed two second-half touchdowns as the Ravens pulled away from the Steelers 30-17 in the AFC wild-card game.
"That's playoff football," Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said. "That's Joe Flacco. The best quarterback in football. I'll take him every day of the week and twice on Sunday or Saturday night."
Once was more than enough.
Flacco hit Torrey Smith for an 11-yard score in the third quarter and found Crockett Gillmore with a 21-yard pass in the fourth one play after Terrell Suggs picked off Ben Roethlisberger. The Ravens won a playoff game in Pittsburgh for the first time in franchise history, avenging postseason losses in 2008 and 2010 by quieting the NFL's second-ranked offense.
Baltimore (11-6) sacked Roethlisberger five times and kept All-Pro wide receiver Antonio Brown largely in check. Roethlisberger passed for 334 yards, but the Steelers (11-6) settled for field goals while the Ravens kept scoring touchdowns.
"I didn't play well enough," Roethlisberger said. "I didn't play well enough to win and guys look at me as the leader and the quarterback to make plays and do what it takes to win the football game, and I don't believe I did that today."
Flacco had no such problems. Baltimore heads to top-seeded New England next Saturday, a place where it upset Tom Brady and company two years ago on the way to the franchise's second Super Bowl title.
The Ravens turned it over just once, scored on six of nine possessions and had an answer every time it seemed the Steelers were ready to grab momentum.
"The big thing is we have a good team and we didn't hurt ourselves tonight," Flacco said. "We didn't have a lot of possessions early. We made the most of them by getting some kind of points.
"We played a clean football game and kept at it."
The Ravens won their third wild-card game as the sixth seed. It provided another twist in a season that began with Rice's suspension and eventual release following a domestic dispute with his fiancee (now his wife). When the chaos died down, the Ravens emerged galvanized.
Flacco did what he always seems to do when the calendar flips to January. His seven road playoff wins are the most by a quarterback since the 1970 merger. He completed 18 of 29 passes for 259 yards and the two scores. The Ravens gained a measure of revenge after the archrival Steelers knocked them out of the postseason in 2008 and 2010 at Heinz Field.
Yet Flacco has come of age in the interim. And while Pittsburgh's bounce-back season included its first AFC North title in four years, the Steelers' revamped roster could do little when it mattered.
Pittsburgh played without All-Pro running back Le'Veon Bell, out with a hyperextended right knee. Fill-ins Ben Tate, Josh Harris and Dri Archer managed just 43 yards on 15 carries as the Steelers' four-game winning streak came to an abrupt and decisive end.
Pittsburgh fell to 9-1 when facing a team for the third time in the same season, and it was not close. Baltimore's 13-point victory was the fourth-biggest win by a road team in Steelers postseason history.
Flacco escaped pressure from James Harrison to find Smith in the back of the end zone to make it 20-9 in the third quarter. Pittsburgh drew within 20-15 on a 6-yard pass from Roethlisberger to Martavis Bryant with 11:01 to go. But there would be no 2.0-version of the Steelers' rally from 14 points down to Baltimore in the divisional round four years ago.
Justin Tucker drilled a 52-yard field goal to push the lead to 23-15 and Suggs made a juggling interception from his knees on Pittsburgh's ensuing possession. The Ravens did not hesitate to put the Steelers away. Flacco rolled right and flipped to Gillmore. The tight end outraced two defenders to the end zone.
In the end it was Ravens coach John Harbaugh enjoying a rare celebratory moment in a place that has long been a stumbling block. No more. With his brother Jim -- the newly minted head coach at Michigan -- watching in a Wolverines winter jacket, the elder sibling sprinted off the turf and on to the divisional round for the sixth time since 2008.
Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press
Photo Wire
Newly acquired Pittsburgh Steelers running back Josh Harris arrives for an NFL wildcard playoff football game...
(AP Photo/Gene Puskar)
(AP Photo/Gene Puskar)
Team Stat Comparison
BAL
|
PIT
| |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Downs | 19 | 22 |
Passing 1st downs
| 11 | 15 |
Rushing 1st downs
| 5 | 5 |
1st downs from penalties
| 3 | 2 |
3rd down efficiency
| 4-11 | 5-16 |
4th down efficiency
| 1-1 | 2-3 |
| Total Plays | 55 | 72 |
| Total Yards | 295 | 387 |
| Yards per play | 5.4 | 5.4 |
| Total Drives | 11 | 10 |
| Passing | 246 | 319 |
Comp-Att
| 18-29 | 33-48 |
Yards per pass
| 8.2 | 6.0 |
Interceptions thrown
| 0 | 2 |
Sacks-Yards Lost
| 1-13 | 5-37 |
| Rushing | 49 | 68 |
Rushing Attempts
| 25 | 19 |
Yards per rush
| 2.0 | 3.6 |
| Red Zone (Made-Att) | 2-3 | 1-3 |
| Penalties | 2-14 | 8-114 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 3 |
Fumbles lost
| 1 | 1 |
Interceptions thrown
| 0 | 2 |
| Defensive / Special Teams TDs | 0 | 0 |
| Possession | 24:43 | 35:17 |
Passing Leaders
| BAL | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | SACKS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flacco | 18/29 | 259 | 8.9 | 2 | 0 | 1-13 | |
| PIT | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | SACKS | |
| Roethlisberger | 31/45 | 334 | 7.4 | 1 | 2 | 5-37 | |
| Gradkowski | 2/3 | 22 | 7.3 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | |
Scoring Summary
| FIRST QUARTER | BAL | PIT | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | FG | 1:29 | Shaun Suisham 45 Yd Field Goal
Drive info: 9 plays, 33 yds, 5:36
| 0 | 3 |
| SECOND QUARTER | BAL | PIT | |||
 | TD | 12:28 | Bernard Pierce 5 Yd Run (Justin Tucker Kick)
Drive info: 8 plays, 80 yds, 4:01
| 7 | 3 |
| FG | 5:40 | Shaun Suisham 22 Yd Field Goal
Drive info: 12 plays, 82 yds, 6:48
| 7 | 6 |
| FG | 2:41 | Justin Tucker 28 Yd Field Goal
Drive info: 10 plays, 70 yds, 2:59
| 10 | 6 |
| FG | 0:37 | Shaun Suisham 47 Yd Field Goal
Drive info: 9 plays, 53 yds, 2:04
| 10 | 9 |
| THIRD QUARTER | BAL | PIT | |||
| FG | 10:06 | Justin Tucker 45 Yd Field Goal
Drive info: 9 plays, 57 yds, 4:54
| 13 | 9 |
| TD | 4:13 | Torrey Smith 11 Yd pass from Joe Flacco (Justin Tucker Kick)
Drive info: 6 plays, 69 yds, 3:25
| 20 | 9 |
| FOURTH QUARTER | BAL | PIT | |||
| TD | 11:01 | Martavis Bryant 6 Yd pass from Ben Roethlisberger (Two-Point Pass Conversion Failed)
Drive info: 2 plays, 45 yds, 0:50
| 20 | 15 |
| FG | 8:47 | Justin Tucker 52 Yd Field Goal
Drive info: 7 plays, 29 yds, 2:14
| 23 | 15 |
| TD | 7:56 | Crockett Gillmore 21 Yd pass from Joe Flacco (Justin Tucker Kick)
Drive info: 1 plays, 21 yds, 0:07
| 30 | 15 |
| SF | 1:56 | Punt blocked by S. Thomas out of bounds in end zone for a Safety
Drive info: 3 plays, 2 yds, 1:01
| 30 | 17 |
Research Notes
The
Steelers posted an AFC-Best 10.1 Passing Efficiency (EPA per game) in
the regular season. Pittsburgh was held to -3.7 expected points
Saturday, their worst in a playoff game since 2006.
|
Flacco
threw both of his touchdowns when outside the pocket Saturday. Flacco
had 1 passing TD outside the pocket during the regular season.
Flacco was held to 1-of-7 when passing under duress, but his lone
completion was a touchdown to Torrey Smith
to give the Ravens a 20-9 lead in the 3rd quarter.
Flacco drew a defensive pass interference on a deep pass in the 3rd
quarter to help set up a field goal. Among quarterbacks, Flacco drew the
most defensive pass interference penalties during the regular season.
[+] |
Since 2012, Joe Flacco
has the highest differential in Total QBR between the playoffs and
regular season among quarterbacks with at least two playoff starts.
[+] |
The Ravens now have 10 road wins in the playoffs, tied with the Packers for most in NFL history.
|
The
Ravens are the first team under the current playoff format (since 1990)
to win 3 Wild Card games as a No. 6 seed. They are a perfect 3-0 in
those games
|
Entering
Saturday's game, the Ravens were 0-3 all-time in playoff games against
the Steelers, largely due to a huge advantage for Pittsburgh in
turnovers.
The Steelers had averaged 11 points per game off Ravens turnovers in
their first 3 meetings, but it was the Ravens who won the turnover
battle on Saturday, after losing that battle in each of the first 3
postseason meetings.
[+] |
John Harbaugh said in his postgame press conference that he thinks Joe Flacco had a perfect quarterback rating in the third quarter. The numbers agree with him: Flacco posted a 98.5 Total QBR in the third.
|
With Le'Veon Bell
out injured, Steelers running backs were limited to 46 yards on 16
rushes Saturday. Pittsburgh's backs managed 25 yards after contact,
their 2nd-fewest in a game this season. Steelers running backs had the
5th-most rushing yards after contact during the regular season.
Bell's ability after the catch was also missed. Bell led all running
backs with 854 receiving yards this season with 811 yards after the
catch.
Roethlisberger's interception targeting a running back came off of a Ben Tate
drop, and the Ravens scored on the next play. Roethlisberger had not
thrown an interception targeting Bell since Week 1 this season.
[+] |
Roethlisberger
was sacked 5 times, all when the Ravens sent 4 pass rushers. The 5
sacks are tied for the most Roethlisberger took against a standard pass
rush in a game this season.
Joe Flacco
excelled against the Steelers' standard pass rush. In his 3 games
against Pittsburgh this season, Flacco completed 72.7% of his passes for
4 touchdowns and no interceptions when the Steelers rushed 4 or fewer.
[+] |
The Ravens have played 13 playoff games since John Harbaugh and Joe Flacco arrived in 2008, 4 more than any other team in the NFL.
[+] |
In
Bell's career, the Steelers offense has added 6.4 expected points per
game to the team's scoring margin when Bell was active. The Steelers
offense cost the team 11.8 expected points per game in the 1st 3 weeks
of 2013 (while Bell was out with a Lisfranc injury).
[+] |
Le'Veon Bell
had 854 receiving yards this year, most in the league by a running back
and one of only three above 500 this year. Bell's 854 receiving yards
are the most by a running back in a season since Oakland's Charlie
Garner in 2002 (941).
[+] |
Since the Steelers benched (and then cut) LeGarrette Blount in Week 11, Le'Veon Bell has accounted for 95% of the team's rush yards, by far the most of any running back on a playoff team in that span.
[+] |
No comments:
Post a Comment