Oh man. I was so disappointed in my team this Sunday that I just couldn't write about the game. And when my co-worker brought it up on Monday it brought all those bad feelings back again. But I've had 3 full days to recover and it's time to face the fact that we lost. We were so close! But those Ravens just kept control of the game and kept on making those 3rd down conversions (14 out of 21 to be exact).
The game started out exciting enough and the teams appeared evenly matched. Both the Steelers and the Ravens had several incomplete passes in the first half and the defensive teams were on fire. Unfortunately there weren't any taunting plays this time around, but Steelers safety Ryan Clark did get an unnecessary roughness call after he hit the Ravens tight end Ed Dickson. Turns out he also got hit with a $40K fine; much worse than a parking ticket.
I think one of the big turning points was when Ravens offensive linebacker Terrell Suggs intercepted the pass from Roethlisberger. Even though the Steelers took the lead after this play, they started making poor defensive plays and were getting sloppy. Regardless, some Steelers players stood out. First was linebacker James Harrison, who sacked QB Flacco 3 times. The man was on fire! Then kicker Shaun Suisham scored 4 field goals this game. He's become a frequent player on the field this season, scoring 15 field goals overall with a 75% completion rate. In our house we now call "Sushi Time" every time he steps up to kick.
Obviously I didn't want to Steelers to lose, but this game was super exciting. I was on the edge of my seat and actually yelled at the TV! And that's really what football is all about. You want to see a good, old fashioned rivalry and you want lots of back and forth on the scoring drives. I'm hosting a party when these two teams meet up in the playoffs.
