Baltimore Ravens vs Pittsburgh Steelers Match Player Stats On Jan 03, 2015

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Jan 3, 2015

Ravens 30, Steelers 17: Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes as visiting Baltimore notched its first-ever playoff win against Pittsburgh.

Steve Smith racked up 101 receiving yards on five receptions while Torrey Smith and rookie Crockett Gillmore each caught a touchdown as the sixth-seeded Ravens (11-6) advanced to next week's matchup against top-seeded New England. Justin Forsett was limited to 36 rushing yards on 16 attempts, although Bernard Pierce scored on a TD on his only carry.

Recently signed Ben Tate, undrafted rookie Josh Harris and fellow rookie Dri Archer combined for 43 rushing yards on 15 carries for the third-seeded Steelers (11-6), who played without Le'Veon Bell after the NFL's second-leading rusher suffered a hyperextended knee last weekend. Ben Roethlisberger threw two costly interceptions and finished 31-of-45 for 334 yards and a touchdown, with the rest of Pittsburgh's points coming from three first-half field goals by Shaun Suisham and a late safety after the outcome had been decided.

Pierce's 5-yard run marked the only touchdown of a first half that ended with the Ravens ahead 10-9, and Baltimore scored the only 10 points of the third quarter, including Flacco's 11-yard TD pass to Torrey Smith with 4:13 to go in the period. Forsett fumbled near midfield with under 12 minutes left in the contest and Roethlisberger hit Antonio Brown for 44 yards on the next play, setting up a 6-yard TD pass to rookie Martavis Bryant with 11:01 to play.

Baltimore answered with Justin Tucker's 52-yard field goal before Roethlisberger's short pass to Tate was tipped and intercepted by Terrell Suggs, leading to Flacco's 21-yard TD pass to Gillmore on the next play for a 30-15 advantage. Pittsburgh did reach the red zone once more in the waning minutes, but Roethlisberger threw a poor interception to Darian Stewart, essentially sealing the outcome.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Veteran LB Elvis Dumervil had two of the five sacks for the Ravens, who had lost all three of their previous playoff meetings with the Steelers - all at Heinz Field. ... Flacco, who matched Tom Brady's NFL record for playoff starts by a quarterback in his first seven seasons (14), finished 18-of-29 for 259 yards without a turnover. ... Roethlisberger missed two plays on Pittsburgh's final drive. Bruce Gradkowski came in and completed 2-of-3 passes for 22 yards, escaping a third-and-21 in the process. ... Brown, who led the NFL in receptions and receiving yards, contributed nine catches for 117 yards to lead all players in both categories.