Mike Preston
The Baltimore Sun
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/
10:21 PM EST, January 15, 2011
(Baltimore Sun photo by Lloyd Fox / January 15, 2011)Ray Rice fumbles the ball while being tackled by Pittsburgh's Ryan Clark.
PITTSBURGH - The biggest difference between the Ravens and the Steelers in this series through the years is that Pittsburgh always has someone who steps up and makes a play and the Ravens usually choke.
There can be no other conclusion. It's either a missed block, a holding penalty, dropped passes, whatever …
In the end Saturday night, the players who were supposed to carry the Ravens crashed in the biggest game of the season.
Do we start with quarterback Joe Flacco or the rest of the skill players, including running back Ray Rice and wide receivers Anquan Boldin and T.J. Houshmandzadeh?
The Ravens have invested a lot of money and time into the offense in the past couple of years, but it was the big-money players who betrayed them.
Flacco had an interception and a fumble that led to 10 Pittsburgh points, and Rice had fumble that led to a Steelers touchdown.
Despite those turnovers, the Ravens still had an opportunity to come back. But on third-and-goal from the Pittsburgh 6-yard line, Boldin dropped a touchdown pass that bounced off his shoulder pads with 3:58 left in the game. It would have put the Ravens ahead 28-24; instead, they settled for a field goal to tie the score at 24.
Boldin said the pass might have been too low, but under the circumstances, it was perfect, the type of pass Flacco hasn't delivered all season. Then, with 1:03 left and the Ravens facing fourth-and-18 at their 44, Houshmandzadeh ran 2 yards past the first-down marker but dropped the ball when it was thrown to him.
It seemed to be a fitting conclusion for an offense that had dropped the ball and not found its rhythm for most of the season.
"I told you early in the week, Hines Ward and Ben Roethlisberger, they know how to win playoff games," Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs said. "We didn't put them away, so we had nobody but ourselves to blame. It [stinks]; you can't say the refs took one. We have to take a long look at ourselves. This isn't our season, and it comes to the hands of the Steelers."
Deserved disappointment
Ravens wide receiver Derrick Mason and several veterans said it was Super Bowl or bust, so this season is a disappointment.
The Ravens had more talent than most of the teams in the NFL, but they never put it all together.
Saturday's game played out that theme in microcosm. The Ravens put up numbers and had offense in the first half, but the defense was on the field too much in the second.
When you have a team facing third-and-19 from its 38 with about two minutes left in the game and you give up a 58-yard pass, you deserve to lose.
There are no excuses.
None.
"It's Ben," Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said. "You give this guy an opportunity to snap it, he is capable of producing plays. It's not always how you draw it up, but he has a no-blink mentality. He is a competitor and a winner. And those guys follow him."
Ward does it again
Roethlisberger owns the Ravens, but so does Ward.
The wide receiver's overall numbers are down this year, but he had three catches for 25 yards against the Ravens, one for an 8-yard touchdown and another for a key first down on Pittsburgh's game-winning drive.
"What a better way to win, and put Baltimore out of the tournament," Ward said. "They asked for us and kept asking for us. Sometimes, like my momma always said, 'Be careful what you ask for.' It seems like every time we get into the playoffs, they keep wanting to play us. At the end of the day, they have to worry about this loss the whole offseason."
Finally, imaginative offense
The Ravens ran a pick play on a 4-yard touchdown pass to tight end Todd Heap in the second quarter. A pick play? By the Baltimore Ravens? I've been trying to get Cam Cameron to run a pick play inside the red zone for three years.
It was the first time he's done it, and the Steelers were so shocked, they didn't know how to react. Maybe Cameron finally gets it now. Maybe the Ravens get it. I'm still stunned. The Ravens ran a pick play. Wow.
The Ravens also ran a throw-back screen where Flacco rolled to his right and threw a screen pass back to his left. The draw call to Rice, which resulted in a 14-yard touchdown, was also nice.
Last week, we got crossing routes. This week, we got pick plays. Incredible.
Maybe next season, the Ravens won't wait this long.
Timely timeout
Ravens coach John Harbaugh called a timeout with 1:22 left in the first half to give his tired defense a chance to catch some air. Harbaugh has been guilty of poor time management in his first three seasons, but he actually made a smart move.
And why shouldn't he have used one? He had two more left.
Pancaked
The IHOP Award goes to Ravens safety Ed Reed. On the Steelers' first offensive play, Ward drove him into the ground and into next week.
All Reed could do was readjust his helmet and turn the lights back on.
Advice from above
The best call of the game belonged to Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome.
Before Ravens defensive tackle Cory Redding returned a fumble for a touchdown in the first quarter, teammates Haloti Ngata and Ray Lewis ignored the ball. From the press box, Newsome yelled for Redding to pick it up.
There is supposed to be no cheering in the press box, but under the circumstances, we'll let Newsome slide.
Thanks for nothing
Lardarius Webb returned the opening kickoff 52 yards (38 after Pittsburgh's challenge that he was down by contact was upheld), but he was replaced on several others by Jalen Parmele, who has struggled this season.
The injury to David Reed's wrist has turned out to be more costly than expected. Webb had to be pulled because he was also playing cornerback and needed rest. Parmele did very little for the Ravens this season.
Elite? Not yet
Let's not hear any more about Flacco being an elite quarterback. He's made progress this season and has played well. But the elite title belongs to Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Roethlisberger.
They all have Super Bowl rings.
mike.preston@baltsun.com
Listen to Mike Preston on "The Bruce Cunningham Show" from noon to 2 p.m. Mondays and Fridays on 105.7 FM.
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