Pittsburgh stands toe to toe with Baltimore and wins 13-9

Pittsburgh reigns supreme in the AFC North

I don't know what I was smoking earlier in the week when I thought the score would be a little higher. Clearly you had 2 divisional rivals and the NFL's two heavy weight defenses playing for bragging rights.

And once again the Steelers defense as a whole reigns supreme. Again they may not be the Steel Curtain but they are a tight knit bunch. They are flat out consistent also. They prove it again on Sunday holding the Ravens to 202 total yards.

The Ravens were able to run for over 100 yards on the day but it did not really factor into the outcome of the game. In fact Pittsburgh won the battle of time possession. Which coming into the game I thought would be important if indeed it was a low scoring punch in the stomach kind of game.

Frankly the one area that could have ended up costing us the victory was giving Baltimore good field position with some poor kick coverage. Which in the case of punting, compounded the dilemma of some very pathetic punts. I suppose I should acknowledge that the fumbles could have ruined the day also. Although snatching up a couple of (Ravens QB)Joe Flacco passes for INT's somewhat negated the fumbles.

All in all this was a gladiator fight so you probably can't learn to much from the numbers. Ben for his part was having a tough day but had a big second half. He ended the day with 246 passing yards on a 22 for 40 afternoon. He threw the come from behind game winning TD to Santonio Holmes. For Holmes it was a sensational catch. Which by the way I still think in that case the body being in the end zone is what matters. It is similar to a guy stepping in the pi line with his foot while holding the ball in his outside arm that never makes it into the end zone. Any way I also think the ball was above the goal line. Then again I wanted the Steelers to win. Honestly though I do believe that. The same as I know Gary Russell was given an extremely generous spot in the first quarter where he was no where near getting the first down.

Willie Parker had a 47 yard day from 14 carries as Mewelde Moore barely got 16 yards out of 7 carries. Now while it was Baltimore I am still concerne about our sub par rushing game. Willie does not look like Fast Willie he looks more like Half Willie. While that is not his fault I see this biting them in the butt come playoff time.

> For great Pittsburgh Steelers apparel & jerseys online look to Pro Football Fans and check out the 2008 NFL scores!

 

Overall though the team keeps plugging away. I also want to shout out some love for Hines Ward who had a couple huge energy boosting catches. Also the hit Lawrence Timmons pasted on Derrick Mason was awesome. If only Ryan Clark had the shoe string catching ability of Polamalu it would have made the play perfect.

Well goal #1 of winning the AFC North is done and the Steelers have themselves a nice 11 and 3 record. Which coming into the season 10 and 6 would have proved respectable considering the schedule. But now we have a shot at goal #2. Playoff home field advantage. Winning out will accomplish that. Next stop is against the team who has that advantage at this moment. The Tennessee Titans.

By Andy Natalie
ProFootball-fans.com Pittsburgh Steelers Correspondent