Pittsburgh Hexes Ravens

By Heath Bloxton
The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Baltimore Ravens 20-19 in front of a Halloween crowd at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh on Monday night, Oct. 31.

With ABCs Monday Night Football broadcasting the game, millions of fans tuned in to what ended up being a fantastic game. The Steelers came into the game a favorite, but knew that the Baltimore Ravens would be hungry for a win. Two AFC North Division rivals battled it out for four quarters in a trench fight.

The Steelers took the lead early when Ben Roethlisberger threw a touchdown pass to tight end Heath Miller, making the score 7-0 Pittsburgh. However, the Ravens came right back as Chester Taylor ran the ball into the end zone from 13 yards away tying the game. The two teams exchanged field goals and took a tied, 10-10 game into halftime.

The Ravens took the ball after halftime and tried a “trick” play on the opening drive. However, it was Steelers safety Chris Hope who was “treated” to an interception. The Steelers took the lead again when Heath Miller caught his second touchdown, making the score 17-10 Pittsburgh.

Raven’s kicker Matt Stover decided he was going to take the lead himself as he hit three more field goals for Baltimore, giving the Ravens a 19-17 lead.

The Steelers knew they had to answer and took the ball with under four minutes to play. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger led the way for the Steelers by completing big passes down the field to Antwaan Randle-El and Quincy Morgan. Jerome Bettis was also called upon to run the ball and answered the call as he busted through the line for a big gain, putting the Steelers in field goal range. The Steelers tried to inch closer for better field goal position and set up for the kick with less than two minutes to play.

Steeler’s kicker, Jeff Reed lined up for a 37-yard field goal and nailed it for the Steelers lead, 20-19.

The Pittsburgh defense stepped up and stopped the Ravens in the closing seconds of the game, giving a “thrilling” victory to the Steelers on Halloween night.