The Monday Night Football game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens was a roller coaster ride to say the least. The Steelers offense looked dismal in the first half and it appeared as though the Ravens were going to win their third straight, as they headed in to the locker-room at halftime, leading 13-3. But, the Steelers made adjustments and looked like a new offense in the second half, as they battled back and beat the Ravens 23-20 in overtime.
The concern coming in to the game was the Steelers’ offensive line who gave up nine sacks the week before against the Philadelphia Eagles. After allowing an early sack on Roethlisberger, the offensive line played pretty solid the rest of the night, only allowing three total sacks. It was Baltimore Ravens quarterback, Joe Flacco, who needed protection the most. Flacco was sacked five times and fumbled twice; one fumble was picked up by LaMarr Woodley and returned for a touchdown.
The Steelers offense struggled mightily in the first half as they could just not move the football for the second week in a row. Trailing by ten at halftime, the fans at Heinz Field began booing faltering Steelers, which is unheard-of about Steelers fans. The offense desperately needed a spark, they got that spark from Santonio Holmes. On Pittsburgh’s second drive of the 3rd quarter, Ben Roethlisberger threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Holmes. From that point foreword it appeared that momentum was on Pittsburgh’s side, and the offense played well the rest of the night. The game was won off the foot of Jeff Reed, who kicked a 45-yard field goal in overtime.
With the victory the Steelers are now 3-1 and have possession of first place in the AFC North Division. The win did not come without some costs. Halfback Rashard Mendenhall suffered a fractured shoulder, he is out for the remainder of the season. Guard Kendall Simmons also suffered a season-ending injury with an injury to his Achilles.
Keywords: Monday Night Football, Ravens, Steelers, Week 4
