Dom’s Saturday History Special, Week 1: Steelers vs. Ravens
September 29, 2008
Monday Night Miracle
Steelers 23 – Ravens 20 OT
This is the game that I point to where the “2008 Magic” officially began. After getting the crap kicked out of them by Philadelphia in a game where the Offense had only 181 total yards the week before, the Steelers matched up against their 2-0 division rivals in a game that would determine 1st place in the A.F.C. North after the first quarter of the season.
The game started off okay enough with a Jeff Reed 49 yard Field Goal. But after that the Steelers offense stalled and the Ravens put up 13 unanswered points with Rookie Joe “Borat Sagdiyev” Flacco playing steady efficient football. It got so bad that at Halftime Steeler fans at Heinz Field were booing the team as it entered the locker room. I could remember watching the first half from The Bookstore where I still work at that night on the T.V.’s thinking that the Offense may never recover from the beatdown they received in the City of Brotherly Love. Yet, like many times in 2008, the Steelers were down, but not out. Despite my optimism however, the clouds still had to get a bit darker before I could truly see the character this team indeed had.
As the 3rd quarter wore on the injuries to key players started to pile up. Willlie Parker (who didn’t play that night), Rashard Mendenhall, and Carey Davis were all hurt which put newly acquired Free Agent and 4th string RB and former San Diego Padres minor league player Mewelde Moore in the game. In addition, Kendall Simmons tore his Achilles and was subsequently lost for the season, and never played a down for the Steelers again. By the time I got back to my apartment I was in as salty mood as ever and couldn’t fathom the thought of something else going wrong or somebody else getting shelved by an injury.
The Ravens had the Steelers reeling and the thought was that they could coast the rest of the game and take the lead. Sounded simple enough? Then a personal foul penalty on Jarret Johnson lit the fuse of one of the most exciting turnarounds in Monday Night Football History. Later in the drive Big Ben hit Sansmokio Holmes with a 38 yard TD on a patented Sansmokio Slant that got them back into the game and left them down 13-10. James Harrison then proved why he would be named D.P.O.Y. in 2008 on the first play after the kickoff. Deebo blitzed Flacco, got one of his 16 sacks that season, and forced one of what would be his league leading 7 forced fumbles in 2008. 2nd year man LaMarr Woodley scooped up the ball and took it from 7 yards out for the score! The Steelers were up 17-13 late in the 3rd quarter! It was madness in the most deliciously absurd way possible. Then in the 4th quarter the Steelers had a chance to ice the game after Hines caught a long pass but slipped inside the red zone before he could score. Yet they were limited to a Field Goal and the score was 20-13 in favor of the Steelers late in the game.
Joe Flacco then led a long TD drive to tie the game at 20 after a Le’Ron McClain 2 yard run ended with him bowling over Lawrence Timmons in the end zone. With the game headed to OT, I will never forget thinking that the Steelers could really use a big play. And sure enough that’s what they got. After forcing the Ravens 3 and Out, Mewelde Moore had a 24 yard catch and run on 3rd Down near mid field that helped the Steelers get into Field Goal range for Jeff Reed who at that time was money in the bank. Skippy responded with a 46 yard Field Goal to win a game 23-20 in O.T. that the team had no business winning at all.
What I will always think of when I look back at where the 2008 season became a magic carpet ride for Steeler Nation, I will always point to this game. This is where the late game heroics started. This is where the fluky plays bounced the Steelers way. And this is where with the game on the line, this special group of guys fought against the odds and made plays when they needed to to win.