BALTIMORE -- One Ravens player stepped on the foot of quarterback Tommy Maddox and sent him hobbling to the sideline. Another stomped on the face of receiver Plaxico Burress, then ripped the helmet off his head, and they sent Burress to the showers.
 |
 |
|
Linebacker Jason Gildon slams Ravens quarterback Jeff Blake down on the turf yesterday in the Steelers' 31-18 victory. (Peter Diana, Post-Gazette photos) |
Baltimore had its way yesterday with the Steelers, for two plays anyway. The rest of the game went the way Ravens Coach Brian Billick described it:
"On offense, those 11 kicked the [stuffing] out of us. On defense, those 11 kicked the [stuffing] out of us, and on special teams, whoever's out there, they also kicked the [stuffing] out of us."
And to think Thanksgiving is still one month away.
The Steelers dined on the Ravens yesterday, 31-18, easily overcoming a second-half nap after they had run out to a 28-3 halftime lead.
It was their sixth consecutive victory here, and their fourth in five games this season after they took off with a nose down, losing their first two. Yesterday, they finished a first-half sweep of the AFC North Division, exerting their authority by humbling a team that had been tied with them at the top at 3-3.
"This is the best we could have been right now," cornerback Dewayne Washington said. "The confidence is up on the team, the morale is up. It's going to be tough to beat us."
Baltimore couldn't come close.
Maddox, so hot he could dress up for Halloween as a glow stick, threw touchdown passes to Burress of 20 and 9 yards after Amos Zereoue ran 35 yards (of his 53 total) for a touchdown as the Steelers scored on their first three possessions for a 21-0 lead.
Matt Stover kicked a 28-yard field goal for Baltimore's only first-half points, and Zereoue responded with his second touchdown run, from 1 yard.
The Ravens scored twice in the second half but they never came within two touchdowns. Baltimore tight end John Jones, who played at Pitt and then IUP, scored his first NFL touchdown on an 18-yard pass from Jeff Blake, who started for injured quarterback Chris Redman. Blake also scored on a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Todd Peterson scored the Steelers' only second-half points with a 34-yard field goal.
"This is a good team," Ravens tackle Jonathan Ogden said of the visitors. "They're pretty good right now, 28-3 at halftime, that's a [butt]-kicking in my opinion."
The statistics did not show it because the Ravens piled up 360 yards to the Steelers' 283, but Baltimore lost two fumbles and Blake was intercepted three times. Maddox threw one interception, in the second quarter as the Steelers approached a fourth score in four series.
Maddox completed his first 11 passes for 125 yards, picking apart the Ravens as if they were some half-baked Arena Football League defense. Nothing could cool him off until cornerback James Trapp stepped in front of one of his passes in the second quarter and 310-pound defensive tackle Kelly Gregg stepped on his left foot in the third quarter.
Those two plays eliminated two of the Steelers' best offensive players. A scrum ensued when Trapp did not like how rookie Antwaan Randle El twirled him out of bounds while making a tackle on his interception. Burress, off to one of his best games with five catches for 55 yards and two touchdowns, was ejected by the officials after Trapp stomped on his face and ripped off his helmet.
Burress, bewildered by the victim-is-wrong approach, nevertheless apologized to his coaches and teammates.
"It's tough to maintain your cool when someone jumps in the air and steps on your face," Burress said. "Then someone comes over and pulls your helmet off while the chinstrap is on. It's not easy for a helmet to come off with a chinstrap on."
Said safety Lee Flowers, "If teams want to play us like that, so be it. We have some guys in this locker room who will go toe-to-toe. We're not going to back down from no fight."
That was near the end of the second quarter. On the Steelers' first play of the third quarter, Maddox dropped back, completed a pass to Terance Mathis and Gregg inadvertently stepped on his foot. Maddox limped off the field in pain and Kordell Stewart entered the game, playing for the first time since Sept. 29.
 | |
Ravens running back Jamal Lewis draws a crowd yesterday against the Steelers. Lewis managed only 34 yards on 13 carries. | |
"That is when you are thankful that you have Kordell Stewart sitting there," Coach Bill Cowher said.
Dewayne Washington intercepted a Blake pass -- one of 50 he threw and one of three the Steelers intercepted -- and returned it 28 yards to set up Peterson's field goal.
Later, Maddox, his left ankle taped up, returned to finish the final 12:51 of the fourth quarter, finishing up another good game's work with a 104.9 passer rating. He completed 18 of 24 for 172 yards two touchdowns and one interception. He was sacked once.
"He was very crisp," Cowher said. "We opened it up and we knew that they would try and take the running game away. We wanted to try and keep them off balance early, and he made some good throws."
The Steelers played without halfback Jerome Bettis and center Jeff Hartings, both injured. The Ravens played without Redman, linebacker Ray Lewis and defensive end Michael McCrary.
The Steelers piled up some early yards on Baltimore's depleted defense -- ranked 30th in the NFL -- and then went to sleep. After running up 236 yards in the first half, their offense managed only 47 yards in the second. The Ravens gained 230 of their 360 yards in the second half.
Maybe it was the shock of having a 25-point halftime lead.
"This is my fifth year here," Washington said, "and we've never been up on teams like that early. For us, defensively, we have to really know how to react to that. That's why you see some lulls there with us on defense. With our offense starting out the way they are doing each game, it makes it a little easier on us."
It was a whole lot easier yesterday.
Ed Bouchette can be reached at ebouchette@post-gazette.com or 412-263-3878.
Surging Steelers rout Ravens in battle for AFC North supremacy, 31-18 
E-mail this story 
