Late touchdown pass to Brown gives Steelers win over Ravens, AFC North title
Just when it looked like the Steelers' playoff push would be delayed until the new year, they came up with a Christmas celebration to remember at Heinz Field.
With the AFC North championship at stake, Antonio Brown caught a 4-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger with 9 seconds remaining, extending the ball over the goal line for a touchdown that gave the Steelers a division-clinching 31-27 win over the Baltimore Ravens.
The Steelers came back twice in the fourth quarter, first erasing a 10-point deficit, then rallying one more time after the Ravens scored a go-ahead touchdown with 1 minute, 18 seconds remaining.
“It was a great win, especially the way we did it,” said Brown, who had nine of his 10 catches in the second half. “To show we respond well to adversity, to show we're a team that sticks together, doesn't blink. We never gave up.
“That's the type of team you want to be a part of.”
The win was the Steelers' sixth in a row and ended a four-game losing streak to the Ravens. It enabled the Steelers, with a 10-5 record, to clinch the No. 3 seed in the AFC and get a game at Heinz Field in two weeks.
The Ravens (8-7), who would have controlled the division with a win, were eliminated from playoff contention.
Had the Steelers lost, they would have needed a win next week against Cleveland plus a Cincinnati win over Baltimore, to claim the division title.
“You're not counting on the Bengals to beat the Ravens, especially when it has our implications on it,” guard David DeCastro said, laughing at the thought of the Bengals helping the Steelers. “You knew it was coming down to this.”
What it came down to was Roethlisberger driving the Steelers 75 yards in 10 plays after Kyle Juszczyk's 10-yard touchdown run with 1:18 left gave the Ravens a 27-24 lead.
Roethlisberger was 8 of 10 on the final drive, the only incompletions coming when he spiked the ball twice in the waning moments. He completed passes to five receivers. One was to Eli Rogers, whose leaping 19-yard reception gave the Steelers a first down at the Ravens 20.
Tight end Jesse James, who had one catch until the drive, had three catches for 28 yards. His 9-yard reception put the ball on the Ravens' 4, and Roethlisberger stopped the clock with 14 seconds left.
Out of timeouts, the Steelers could have kicked a tying field goal, but Roethlisberger attempted a risky pass to Brown across the middle. The All-Pro receiver caught the ball at the 1 and was met by several Ravens defenders.
Had Brown not gotten into the end zone, time would have run out on the Steelers' comeback.
“I don't even want to talk about that,” guard Ramon Foster said. “We won. AB was a pro and got it in. He lowered his shoulder pads and reached across. Thank God for the rule (about the football) just crossing the plane (of the goal line).”
The ending was eerily reminiscent of the game that preceded the Steelers' winning streak, when the Dallas Cowboys scored in the final seconds to snatch away a victory.
“We've been in the situation before when we gave teams too much time,” Foster said. “Today, they gave us too much time.”
Roethlisberger threw two interceptions in the third quarter that led to 10 points and a 20-10 deficit. But he rallied the Steelers to touchdowns on successive drives. Le'Veon Bell, who rushed for 122 yards on 20 carries, scored on a 7-yard run with 11:41 left and a 7-yard pass with 7:16 remaining.
The Ravens, however, converted four third downs on a 14-play drive that took nearly six minutes off the clock, with Juszczyk bulling his way in for the go-ahead score.
“I wish they would have come in and let us score 35 points and they don't score any,” center Maurkice Pouncey said about the Ravens. “But it's never like that with Baltimore. I don't think our fans would want that, either.”
Instead, the Steelers gave themselves and the crowd of 66,276 an extra special Christmas gift.
“It's pretty special the way we won it,” Roethlisberger said, “especially after feeling the way I felt at a certain point in that game and feeling you let guys down and you blew it.”
Joe Rutter is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at jrutter@tribweb.com or via Twitter @tribjoerutter.
