Ravens, Steelers play to close finish
Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell loses his helmet after a collision on a run that nearly resulted in a fourth-quarter touchdown Thursday.
Steelers wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders is unable to make a catch for a game-tying, 2-point conversion as he is pressured by Ravens defensive back Chykie Brown Thursday.
BALTIMORE – Forget about going to a Hollywood blockbuster during the holiday weekend.
You want a drama? Just re-watch the game Thursday night between the Steelers and Ravens.
Baltimore got five field goals from Justin Tucker and a big stop on a two-point conversion try with just over one minute remaining to hold on and beat the Steelers, 22-20, Thanksgiving night.
The Steelers (5-7) spotted the Ravens (6-6) a 13-0 lead early in the third quarter before storming back to within two points after Ben Roethlisberger threw a 1-yard touchdown pass on fourth down to Jerricho Cotchery.
But Roethlisberger’s two-point conversion pass to Emmanuel Sanders, whose third-quarter touchdown catch had finally put the Steelers on the board, fell incomplete with backup Chykie Brown in coverage.
“The guy was definitely shielding the ball,” said Sanders, pointing out Brown never turned his head and appeared to faceguard him on the play. “There’s no excuse. If it hits my hands, I have to catch it.”
Roethlisberger also took some of the blame.
“We called the same exact play that we had scored the touchdown on, and I knew they had a corner down after the hit with Le’Veon (Bell),” said Roethlisberger, who threw for 257 yards and two touchdowns. “They brought in a different corner, so I took a chance with Emmanuel. I’m frustrated with myself. I’ve got to give him a better ball.”
The hit Roethlisberger referred to came two plays before his touchdown pass to Cotchery.
Bell, the Steelers’ rookie running back who had scored earlier in the fourth quarter to cut Baltimore’s lead to 19-14, took a second down handoff at the 1 from Roethlisberger and went around left tackle. As he lowered his shoulder and bowled into the end zone, Bell was hit by cornerback Jimmy Smith and linebacker Courtney Upshaw.
Bell’s helmet flew off and the rookie, who had 73 yards rushing on 16 carries and another 63 yards on seven receptions, suffered a concussion. Smith also had to be helped from the field following the play.
Despite an initial ruling of a touchdown, per NFL rules, when an offensive player loses his helmet, the play is immediately ruled dead. Following a review, it was ruled Bell had not crossed the goal line before his helmet came off.
“That’s the call that they made, I understand the rule, that when a runner’s helmet comes off, the play is over,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said. “The issue that I have is I was told on the field that the touchdown was confirmed, by multiple officials, and then they reviewed it. That was my issue from a mechanics stand point.”
Tomlin also was involved in some controversy.
Following Sanders’ touchdown in the third quarter, Baltimore’s Jacoby Jones broke free on the ensuing kickoff and was running up the sideline in front of the Pittsburgh bench. Tomlin was standing along the edge of the field, watching the play unfold on the stadium jumbotron. At the last second, he saw Jones coming up on him and jumped out of the way.
Jones cut to the inside ever so slightly to avoid contact with Tomlin, and Steelers cornerback Cortez Allen caught him from behind to save the touchdown. The Ravens settled for a field goal.
“I always watch the returns on the jumbotron,” said Tomlin, who can expect a fine from the league for illegally being on the field of play. “It provides a better perspective for me. I lost my placement as he broke free and saw at the last second how close I was to the field of play.”
Some of the Ravens weren’t buying Tomlin’s explanation.
“He was looking at the big screen the entire time,” said Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco, who threw for 251 yards and one touchdown. “He was looking at Jacoby the entire time. He knew where he was.”
The game also featured a botched field goal attempt in the first half by the Steelers.
With Baltimore leading 7-0 on a 7-yard Flacco touchdown pass to Torrey Smith, the Steelers lined up for a 50-yard field goal attempt by Shaun Suisham in the second quarter.
But there was miscommunication and Suisham started forward before longsnapper Greg Warren snapped the ball to holder Mat McBriar. With Suisham already two steps into his approach, McBriar had to hand the ball off to Suisham before he was tackled.
Suisham was tackled for a 12-yard loss, giving Baltimore the ball at its own 44 and setting up the first of Tucker’s field goals.
“It was just timing,” said Warren. “The timing was off. There are a lot of things that go into that. It just happened.”
What Tomlin and the Steelers know is that their road to the postseason has now gotten significantly more difficult.
“We’re going to keep on fighting for one of those playoff spots,” said guard Ramon Foster. “We can’t worry about this game. There’s really nothing negative to take out of it. We need to finish better, but we needed to start a lot better. We put ourselves in a big hole. We’ll just go back to work and go from there.”
In addition to Bell, the Steelers lost center Fernando Velasco and offensive tackle Mike Adams to ankle injuries, offensive tackle Kelvin Beachum to a knee injury and guard David DeCastro suffered a foot injury. … Defensive end Brett Keisel aggravated a previous foot injury in the first half and did not return. … The Steelers did not allow a sack for the second consecutive game. … Linebacker Jason Worilds had two sacks and a forced fumble for the Steelers. … Neither team had a turnover for the first time in a Steelers-Ravens game. … Steelers cornerback William Gay was fined $15,750 for hit hit last Sunday to Cleveland quarterback Jason Campbell. Gay’s hand got up into the facemask of Campbell on the play, which was unflagged. Campbell suffered a concussion on the play.