National Football League

Ravens win in Steelers' last game without Big Ben

Published Oct. 4, 2010 6:29 a.m. ET

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Joe Flacco knew the Steelers were missing Ben Roethlisberger. His top two backups, too. Not that it mattered much to him.

Flacco, in his third NFL season, was missing something on his resume: A win in Pittsburgh.

His previous three starts there were a dissatisfying collection of near misses and not-quite-good enough efforts, and the Ravens quarterback was determined to make sure it didn't continue. Given a rare second chance in the same game to direct a winning drive in the fourth quarter, Flacco didn't fail. And neither did the Ravens.

Flacco threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh with 32 seconds remaining and Baltimore pulled out a 17-14 victory Sunday over previously unbeaten Pittsburgh in the Steelers' final game without the suspended Roethlisberger.

Baltimore (3-1) had dropped four in a row at Heinz Field, including the AFC championship game two seasons ago, and nine of 10 overall.

''We found a way to beat them at their place,'' Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. ''So that's what makes it special.''

It was a rare bright moment for Flacco in Pittsburgh. He began his college career at Pitt but, stuck behind three-year starter Tyler Palko, transferred to Delaware. After being drafted by Baltimore, he went 0-3 in his first three starts in Pittsburgh. He had three touchdown passes and six interceptions in his last four starts against the Steelers.

''There's not too many better ways to win a game, especially in Pittsburgh,'' Flacco said.

Especially when it looked like he might not get it done. Again.

Flacco drove Baltimore from its 33 to the Pittsburgh 2 with less than 3 minutes remaining, only to throw incompletions on the final two plays to end the drive.

The Steelers (3-1) needed only a single first down to go 4-0 without Roethlisberger, and it was obvious many in the crowd of 64,729 felt it was over. It wasn't. They were forced to punt, and a 10-yard holding penalty on Keyaron Fox helped give Baltimore a first down with 1:08 left.

Flacco, playing with a calm confidence, went 4 for 4 on the drive, hitting Houshmandzadeh for 28 yards on the final two passes. The former Bengals receiver, cut by Seattle during the preseason, had as many catches in a 6-second span as he did in the Ravens' first three games.

''You don't want to give teams second opportunities,'' said cornerback Bryant McFadden, who bit on Flacco's pump fake on the game-winner.

Safety Ryan Clark said defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau warned the Steelers all week that Flacco was dangerous in such situations.

''He said if you give him time, if you give him opportunities to hit guys, he's going to hit them,'' Clark said. ''He's not one of those quarterbacks who's going to miss.''

It was the sixth time in two seasons the Steelers lost when leading in the fourth quarter. Now, instead of owning a two-game lead over Baltimore in the AFC North with Roethlisberger ready to go for the rest of the season, the Steelers are tied with the Ravens.

No wonder tight end Todd Heap called it ''a huge win.''

The Steelers, down 10-7 in the third, twice failed to convert Ravens turnovers inside their own 35 into points when Jeff Reed missed field goal attempts of 49 and 45 yards. But they came back to take a 14-10 lead with 7:14 left on Rashard Mendenhall's second touchdown run.

Mendenhall put the Steelers ahead 7-0 in the first quarter on a 1-yard run, but Baltimore answered with Willis McGahee's 9-yard touchdown. Neither team's running game did much else but score - the Steelers were limited to 84 yards rushing and the Ravens had 70.

With fill-in quarterback Charlie Batch going 12 of 21 for 141 yards with an interception, the Steelers were held to 210 yards by the NFL's top defense. Batch wound up making two starts, and playing most of a third game, after Roethlisberger was suspended and backups Byron Leftwich and Dennis Dixon were hurt.

No doubt the Steelers would happily have taken a 3-1 record when Roethlisberger was suspended for off-field misbehavior. But with an unimaginable 4-0 within their reach, the time off they'll have until they play Cleveland on Oct. 17 probably won't be as enjoyable.

Even with Roethlisberger under center.

''We didn't let adversity sink us,'' wide receiver Hines Ward said. ''We easily could have been 4-0. Yeah, we're 3-1, but we could easily be 4-0, and it hurts a little bit.''

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