Steelers get a kick out of beating Ravens
PITTSBURGH – Jeff Reed kicked a 46-yard field goal in overtime and the Pittsburgh Steelers overcame a 10-point deficit, numerous injuries and a late Baltimore comeback to outlast the Ravens 23-20 on Monday night.
Reed's third field goal ended a back-and-forth game in which the Steelers (3-1) were down by 10 late in the third quarter, rallied but couldn't hold a seven-point lead, then found a way to win despite being without their top three running backs.
Pittsburgh came back to win despite losing two players to season-ending injuries, running back and first-round draft pick Rashard Mendenhall (fractured shoulder) and right guard Kendall Simmons (right Achilles). Both will be placed on injured reserve.
The Ravens (2-1), losing for the seventh time in their last eight games in Pittsburgh and falling out of the AFC North lead, won the overtime coin toss but were backed up by two penalties and a sack and Sam Koch had to punt out of the end zone.
Then, on third and 8, Ben Roethlisberger found fourth-string running back Mewelde Moore on a 24-yard swing pass for a first down at the Ravens' 31. On third and 14, Moore made a 7-yard catch to the 28 to give Reed the extra yardage he needed to make it.
"That was important. A 46-yarder there isn't a given, and a 53-yarder isn't easy," Reed said. "I get too much credit. My foot won it, but that's what I'm supposed to do in that situation.
"Coach (Mike) Tomlin told me when I came here I'd be his minute man, that I had to be ready on a minute's notice. Everything he said held true."
The Steelers turned the 10-point deficit into a 17-13 lead in a 15-second span in the third quarter, only to have rookie quarterback Joe Flacco of the Ravens hit Derrick Mason for 35 yards ahead of Le'Ron McClain's 2-yard scoring run that tied it at 20 with 4:02 remaining.
"We're resilient," Steelers receiver Hines Ward said. "There was no finger-pointing when we fell behind. We stayed together.
"I can't say enough about that group of running backs."
Pittsburgh won its 14th consecutive Monday night home game, a streak that dates to a 1991 loss to the New York Giants at Three Rivers Stadium.