The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2017 season ended not only prematurely, but also bitterly, suffering an early postseason exit after falling to the Jacksonville Jaguars at home in the Divisional Round by a score of 45-42. The wounds are still fresh, but it’s time to relive the 2017 season that was, starting from the beginning.
Chapter XVII – Offenses Saves The Day In Rare Shootout With Ravens
The last thing that the rivalry between the Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens would be known for is high-scoring affairs. That is exactly why the two teams’ second collision of the 2017 season was such an anomaly, and ended up being the highest-scoring affair in the history of the rivalry.
The final score of 39-38, reflecting a combined 77 points, is a far cry from what we are used to from these two teams. The first meeting, for example, offered up a 26-9 game, for a combined 35 points, less than half of what the second game produced.
In fact, a good number of the games these two teams have played fail to even reach the 39 points the Steelers scored. That includes three of the four games that they played against one another leading into that one.
And it took another historic performance from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who became the only player in NFL history to throw for 500 or more yards in a game on three separate occasions—in none of them did he ever turn the ball over, either.
While he tossed two touchdown passes, he completed 44 of 66 attempts for 506 yards, and all of them proved vital. His final completion was a 34-yard deep throw with 68 seconds to play that put the Steelers on the Ravens’ 28-yard line, which set up the eventual game-winning field goal.
Leading up to that, however, was an awful lot of bad defense by both sides. Pittsburgh was adjusting to the loss of Ryan Shazier in the last game, which unquestionably played a big role, but the run defense was quite poor throughout.
Alex Collins needed just 18 carries to go for 120 yards. Buck Allen added another 25 yards, and each of them had a rushing touchdown, while Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes. His interception on the opening drive did help set up the Steelers offense for a touchdown on their first possession, however.
The Steelers did get out to a 14-0 lead, but they would blow it in the second half. By halftime, it was already 20-14.
The Ravens scored three times in the third quarter, however, two touchdowns and a field goal, putting the Steelers in a 31-20 hole. They had to score 19 points in the fourth quarter alone just to end up with the win, as the defense allowed Baltimore to score a touchdown after coming within a two-point conversion of tying the game
