Tom E. Puskar, Associated Press Catching up with Ravens quarterback Anthony Wright Monday wasn't always an easy proposition. Wright takes a hit from Joey Porter, but not before picking up a first down. Click photo for larger image.

It was a long Monday night for Steelers pass rushers as Baltimore quarterback Anthony Wright continued to elude them.

Then Clark Haggans, returning after he missed three games following groin surgery, sacked Wright in the fourth quarter to force the Ravens to settle for another Matt Stover field goal, this one from 49 yards.

And then backup defensive end Brett Keisel dropped Wright for a 3-yard loss, a play that possibly saved the game.

It was third-and-3 with the ball at the 50 with 47 seconds remaining and no timeouts left for the Ravens. Keisel nailed Wright and, on fourth down, Wright threw short to Chester Taylor, who dropped the ball to end the drama with 20 seconds to go.

Those two sacks helped make up for a frustrating three quarters in which the Steelers could not get near Wright. Coach Bill Cowher explained that Baltimore kept more players than normal in to block on pass protection, including tight end Todd Heap.

"When they were doing that, Todd Heap was back there protecting, so that wasn't all that bad," Cowher said. "We get that. People aren't going to let us blitz them.

"They did a good job protecting the quarterback and, when you blitz, you're not always going to get a guy free."

Third-down woes

Cowher was not happy that Baltimore converted half of its 18 third downs into first downs. By comparison, the Steelers were 4 of 12 on third-down conversions. The Steelers have allowed teams to convert 43.4 percent of their third downs, the fourth-highest count against an NFL defense.

"Third down was probably the biggest disappointment," Cowher said. "Three times we had them in third-and-10 or more, and they converted them. I mean third-and-12 on the [13]! Come on, we've got to hold them to a field goal there."

Chester Taylor took a short pass from Wright on that play and ran it in for the Ravens' only touchdown, from 13 yards.

"That was probably the most disappointing play of the night," Cowher said. "If you hold them to a field goal there, there's a sense that they moved it, but we're off the field at 7-3."

Cowher, though, was buoyed by his defense's play in the fourth quarter.

"I talked about third downs, but they were one of five in the third quarter when we had to stop them. ... There were a lot of positives, but there were some inconsistencies. We need to put together 60 minutes in all three phases playing solid football. We didn't do that, but we did enough to win."

Logan remains out

Cowher won't issue his official injury list until today but did declare safety Mike Logan out for the second consecutive game with a hamstring injury.

"There is nothing coming out of the game of any serious nature as we speak," Cowher said.

Strange timeout

With the Ravens on the Steelers' 40 near the end of the first half, Baltimore had no timeouts left to stop the clock. So, the Steelers did it for them. Someone on their sideline called a timeout with eight seconds left, giving Baltimore more time to throw into the end zone, a pass that was intercepted by Ike Taylor.

"I wanted to make sure we had the right personnel on the field," Cowher explained yesterday of the timeout call.

Ward nears record

Wide receiver Hines Ward needs four receptions Sunday in Green Bay to surpass John Stallworth's team record of 537 career receptions.