In the process of passing the torch to the Steelers yesterday, the defending Super Bowl champions left with smoldering embers and dashed dreams of making it two in a row.
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Rookie linebacker Kendrell Bell puts the heat on Ravens quarterback Elvis Grbac, who throws three interceptions -- one on the third play of the game -- yesterday at Heinz Field. (Matt Freed, Post-Gazette) |
The Steelers turned Baltimore's swagger into a swish as they crushed the Ravens, 27-10, to move into the AFC championship game Sunday at Heinz Field against the New England Patriots.
"They can swagger themselves back to Baltimore," wide receiver Hines Ward said. "We won the game, and it's great to put the defending champions out of the playoffs. We're moving on. We're moving on to the next championship round."
The Steelers received news moments before they took the field that Jerome Bettis would not play because of a painkilling shot gone awry. They reacted much the way they had when they played without Bettis the previous five games. They ran through the Ravens' defense the way Edgar Allen Poe wrote prose -- prolifically and with authority. And their defense limited Baltimore to 22 yards rushing.
If this is how the Ravens mark their territory, they need to find new soil.
"All that [urinating] in the stadium in Miami, that stuff's not flying here," linebacker Joey Porter said. "It's not going to happen."
Porter and the rest of the Steelers' defense swarmed on the punchless Ravens, holding them to 150 yards, recovering a fumble, intercepting three passes and sacking quarterback Elvis Grbac three times. Of Baltimore's 51 offensive snaps, 29 netted them a yard or less.
Baltimore's only touchdown came in the third quarter when Jermaine Lewis returned a punt 88 yards -- the longest in NFL playoff history -- to cut the Steelers' lead to 20-10 and set off absolutely no panic buttons on the home team sideline.
The Steelers had their way with the defending champions. Even without Bettis, they held the ball more than twice as long as the Ravens -- 40 minutes, 45 seconds to 19:15. Amos Zereoue started at halfback and scored two 1-yard touchdowns, breaking the tackle of last year's Super Bowl MVP, linebacker Ray Lewis, on one of them. Kris Brown missed a 35-yard field goal try but made two others from 21 and 46 yards. And Plaxico Burress put a tidy end to the Ravens early in the fourth quarter when he caught a pass from Kordell Stewart, stiff-armed safety Rod Woodson and danced into the end zone for a 32-yard touchdown.
It was a command performance before 63,976, who loudly serenaded the Ravens "Goodbye" in the final two minutes. The Steelers led 20-0 until Matt Stover kicked a 26-yard field goal with 51 seconds left in the first half.
"We started off the first half real fast," Ward said, "and they didn't have a way to contain us."
Stewart did not come close to the 333 yards passing he put up against the Ravens Dec. 16, but he was efficient and often scrambled his way out of pressure. He completed 12 of 22 passes for 154 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He also ran 10 times for 30 yards as the Steelers piled up 154 rushing against a tough run defense. Zereoue had 63 yards on 24 carries.
By comparison, Grbac needed 15 more passes to reach 153 yards. The Steelers rattled Baltimore's quarterback early and often, starting when Porter smacked into him on his first pass of the day, the third play of the game. The ball fluttered into the air, cornerback Chad Scott came down with it, and the score quickly became 3-0 when Brown kicked a 21-yard field goal.
Grbac threw two more interceptions, both by safety Brent Alexander in the end zone.
Alexander's first pickoff came shortly after Stewart's only interception -- a poorly thrown pass that cornerback Chris McAlister snared with a diving catch and returned to the Steelers' 7. The Ravens, trailing, 10-0, had a chance to jump right back into it. Instead, on second down at the 11, Alexander intercepted a Grbac pass in the end zone.
"It was huge," Alexander said of his play, "because it was 10-0 and they thought right then they could get right back into the game. And that took that extra wind out of them. The momentum started to swing and we just pulled it right back to our side."
The pendulum never swung again.
Troy Edwards, who dazzled everyone with his punt returns (4 for 65 yards) and his 23-yard run with a handoff, put the ball on the Baltimore 43 with a 27-yard return midway through the second quarter. Zereoue ended that series by diving for a touchdown for a 17-0 lead.
Coach Bill Cowher showed unwavering faith in the inconsistent Brown when he let him try a 46-yard field goal -- after he sent a 35-yarder wide to the right -- and he made it for a 20-0 lead with 3:46 left in the half.
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Amos Zereoue goes airborne for his second touchdown. (Peter Diana, Post-Gazette) | |
Lewis' 88-yard punt return gave the Ravens some hope before the Steelers put together an 83-yard drive that ended early in the fourth quarter with Burress' touchdown.
The Ravens' had a broken coverage on the play, which left Woodson screaming at McAlister for not communicating the defensive call to him. Baltimore's trash talking had turned internal.
"I think everybody just got sick and tired of them doing all the talking," said Burress, who led the Steelers with five receptions for 84 yards. "There's nothing else to say."
Terry Allen, Baltimore's 33-year-old running back, had 100-yard games rushing against Minnesota in the final regular-season game and Miami in the playoffs last week. Yesterday, he had 11 yards on four carries.
"I didn't think they would be able to run the football against us," Cowher said. "They can talk about the last few weeks, but we're not Miami, we're not Minnesota."
The vanquished Ravens acknowledged as much.
"They're a very good team," Pro Bowl tackle Jonathan Ogden said. "I don't see New England beating them. They've got a good offense, a good defense and they're playing with a lot of confidence now."
Said Ray Lewis, "They played a hell of a ballgame."
That's nothing, Flower said.
"You guys haven't seen anything yet."
Steelers saunter into championship game with dominating performance vs. Ravens 
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