On the Steelers: Steelers take division lead
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Steelers running back Isaac Redman scores the winning touchdown against the Ravens late in the fourth quarter Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.
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BALTIMORE -- Big games call for big plays from big players, and none came bigger for the Steelers Sunday night than the one delivered by Troy Polamalu.
With their chances of victory and a division title slipping through the Steelers' hands, Polamalu blitzed and sacked Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco and forced a fumble that led to the winning touchdown.
The offense made it count when Ben Roethlisberger completed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Redman with 2:59 that delivered a 13-10 victory.
"They're over there sick right now," wide receiver Hines Ward said of the Ravens, who would have been in the driver's seat had they won.
The victory lifted the Steelers to 9-3 and a one-game lead over the Ravens in the AFC North Division. The Steelers also cling to a tiebreaker with the best record within the division.
"Does it surprise you?" Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel said of Polamalu's
game-turner. "It doesn't surprise us, either. We see that all the time."
With the Ravens holding a 4-point lead and the ball at their 43 with less than four minutes to go, Polamalu blitzed off his right side and hit Flacco, slashing his right arm and causing a fumble.
Linebacker LaMarr Woodley returned the fumble 19 yards to the 9.
The Steelers were blitzing to stop the run, but Flacco dropped back to pass and no one even tried to block Polamalu, who came from Flacco's blind side.
"A lot of guys would just go in there and sack the quarterback," coach Mike Tomlin said. "He sees the game differently."
After two pass incompletions, Roethlisberger dumped a short pass over the middle to Redman at the 7. Redman powered through two tackles and bounced into the end zone for a 13-10 Steelers lead with 2:51 left.
"I compliment that guy," Tomlin said of Redman, who was stopped on several short-yardage plays, including one from the 2 in which he lost 2 yards. "He kept plugging and made a significant play."
Baltimore wasn't done yet. The Ravens drove to the Steelers' 31 on the next series. They had fourth-and-2 from there and, instead of trying a 49-yard field goal into the wind, went for the first down. Flacco's pass bounced incomplete.
First Published December 6, 2010 12:20 am
