The Pittsburgh Steelers cruised to an unblemished 11-0 record after clobbering Baltimore Ravens, 19-14, at their home turf at Heinz Field.
The win allowed the Steelers to sweep their AFC North rival for the current season.
The Ravens had started the NFL campaign on a strong note. The home team Steelers crumbled in the first quarter, as the Ravens took advantage of possessions through extra passes and touchdowns.
The rematch, which was postponed thrice, posed a challenge to the teams as they both came from a shaky start. The Ravens got only 17 players on the sideline. The reserve list could do nothing but cope with the erratic game-changers from the coronavirus aftermath.
Pittsburgh was on the verge of throwing in the early encounter. The Ravens' defense was impeccable after successfully hampering the Steelers with turnovers.
From the 1-4 stamp for a red zone possession, Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger emerged from the ground. The Pittsburgh quarterback held on to his miracle, blowing season-high 51 passes in 266 yards.
Ben's most crucial pass led to James Washington, who salvaged the Steelers after a third-down catch in the last moments of the game.
Starting from the ignition pass, the Steelers converted previous errors into an advantage courtesy of Benny Snell, who pulled 19 touches on 93 yards en route to a strong finish.
The running back from Pittsburgh drove Baltimore's Marcus Peters in a tough arm tackle. His crucial drive boosted the Steelers' morale to overcome the Ravens in a forceful fashion.
Besides Washington, Roethlisberger polished his passing skill. The 38-year-old served outlets of free pass to teammates, Eric Ebron, Diontae Johnson, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and to tenderfoot Chase Claypool to provide lateral ammo for the Steelers.
Smith-Schuster rolled to a Roethlisberger touchdown-pass within one yard, which was the initial marker in the fourth.
The Steelers explored more room to amp their score at halftime. Chris Boswell was on full throttle to stretch the lead to 19-7, knocking down a five-point upper hand.
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Despite the win, Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin focused on the key take-away they could have improved. "I'm really disappointed. It was really junior varsity in all three phases."
Tomlin stressed that his team failed to make accurate passes.
Down the stretch, the Steelers' weak defense converted into a Herculean wall for the Baltimore team. Pittsburgh shackled Baltimore in 3-out-of-13 third downs.
From the on-set, the Ravens looked for extra passes but could not make an antidote to the Steeler's poison. Baltimore's presence returned when Marquise Brown tapped a 70-yard point.
The Ravens slumbered late when Robert Griffin III spoiled the team's momentum. Griffin, who won the 2011 Heisman Trophy, threw 33-yard slingshots to contribute to the team's catastrophic second-half.
The Ravens continued to trip down the lane as Griffin exited in the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury.
Trace McSorley surfaced immediately as a replacement to Griffin. McSorley recorded his first-ever touchdown in the league in a 50-yard run from Brown's 20-yard pass.
Defensive Player of the Year, darkhorse T.J. Watt, chalked up seven tackles and two dumps for Pittsburgh.
"We're happy for the win, but not real happy with how we played today ... We didn't play good enough. I didn't play good enough. We're happy with the win, but offensively, it wasn't good," Roethlisberger spoke to NBC Sports.
The Steelers remain unbeaten as they prepare for their next game against the Washington football team. The latter squad is on a winning spree in a back-to-back win against Cowboys and Bengals.
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