Going into their last game of 2010 without QB Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers faced their most hated, most heated rival, the Baltimore Ravens.
As we all know, there is absolutely no love lost between these two teams. Having lived in Baltimore for nearly 15 years, I can tell you there is a lot of animosity between their fan bases, as well.
If the Steelers had cheerleaders, I would be willing to bet they and the Ravens cheerleaders would end games pulling each other’s hair and calling each other sluts.
The real problem is that the towns are very similar, or at least they were when the steel industry was alive and mills were pumping clouds of noxious gases into the atmosphere.
These days, much of the grime that once covered our little ‘Burgh has been cleaned. Baltimore still wears its layer of filth like the makeup a cheap Essex floozy puts on in her boyfriend’s Z28 on the way to her prom, usually while removing her underwear. (Essex is a suburb of Baltimore, and not a very well-thought-of one)
Both are historic steel towns. Both have a long tradition of hard working, middle class, blue collar families.
And both have football teams who play the game the way it should be played.
It is because of these similarities that the teams, and the fans, cannot and will not ever like each other.
The phrase “Familiarity breeds contempt” is on display every time the Rat-birds line up against our beloved Men of Steel.
In my opinion, this is the best rivalry in American sports today.
The Game
Every game between the Steelers and the Ravens is a brutal contest sure to come down to a couple of plays. The teams are extremely evenly matched. They both play excellent defense and they both run the ball well. If there is one slender advantage the Steelers have, it is in the play of the quarterback and the receivers. On the other hand, the Ravens clearly have an edge with special teams.
In this game, Rashard Mendenhall opened the scoring in the first with a 1-yard touchdown. He would add another score later in the game and finish the game with 79 rushing yards on 25 carries.
Ravens’ QB Joe “The Unibrow” Flacco would have a decent day, throwing for 256 yards with a TD and a pick. Steelers fans in Maryland have taken to calling Flacco, “Bert.” Like from “Bert and Ernie”. You have to love that.
Charlie Batch would struggle to get anything going for the Steelers against an aggressive Ravens’ D, throwing for a modest 141 yards and a late interception that effectively ended the game.
Business as usual
It is well documented that when these two teams play, the score is close. This game was no exception.
The largest lead either team saw was seven points, and that was only after the Steelers scored the first touchdown. From then on, the Ravens led by no more than three points. The Steelers briefly had a four-point lead in the fourth quarter.
As is normally the case between these two teams, the game was hard-hitting. You have to love that kind of football, even if you do not have the benefit of being a Citizen of The Nation.
The Play
The play that changed this game was a mistake by CB Bryant McFadden.
On first and ten from the Steelers’ 18-yard-line, the Steelers bring a blitz which is picked up by the Ravens. T.J. Houshmandzadeh runs a simple out-and-up route, but the key is a Flacco pump-fake during the out portion of the route. McFadden bites on the fake letting Houshmandzadeh blaze by him and catch the soft over-the-top pass by Flacco.
This play is only one of several defensive backfield breakdowns that would happen during the season, especially in the Super Bowl.
The Steelers would get the ball back with less than half a minute in the game and Ray Lewis iced the game by picking off Batch.
All things considered, the Steelers started the season very well. A 3-1 start when you do not have your franchise quarterback is nothing to be upset about. How many teams would be able to do the same thing? Not many. Heck, the Bengals had their franchise quarterback all year and barely won four games. It speaks volumns about the team’s character and the philosphy of Coach Mike Tomlin who is constantly saying that the standard is the standard, and just because a starter is not in the game doesn’t mean his replacement can play any less effectively.
Citizens of The Nation had nothing to hang their heads about. Our team lost a close game to a team who plays the Steelers hard and knows them very well. The bye week was up next, and a return to their winning ways was only two weeks away.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_EVCK0uPbY