Welcome back to my second Retro Game Diary, where we look back and relive some of the best moments in Steelers’ history.
Let’s set the scene for today. Christmas Day, 2016. The Pittsburgh Steelers played host to the Baltimore Ravens. This was a key game in the AFC North race – the Steelers came in at 9-5 to the Ravens 8-6, but the Ravens had already beaten the Steelers earlier in the season and held the tiebreaker. So a Steelers win would clinch the division, while a Ravens win would allow Baltimore to control their AFC North destiny in Week 17.
The game was fairly back and forth, but the Ravens opened up a 20-10 lead early in the fourth quarter. Pittsburgh came roaring back, with back-to-back touchdowns from running back Le’Veon Bell to give them the lead with about seven minutes to go. Baltimore then put together a long six-minute drive capped off by a 10-yard rushing touchdown by fullback Kyle Juszczyk. Pittsburgh gets the ball back down three on their own 25-yard line with 1:18 left, and that’s where we pick up.
1:18 (First-and-10, PIT 25):
Commentator Tony Dungy is asked by play-by-play guy Mike Tirico who the Steelers and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger should look for on this drive. Dungy mentions he thinks wide receiver Antonio Brown will be doubled teamed on the drive and that they should look for Bell instead.
Sure enough, there are plenty of white jerseys near Brown, but Roethlisberger finds tight end Jesse James near the sideline for a short gain.
1:14 (Second-and-7, PIT 28):
This time, Baltimore leaves Antonio Brown in single coverage as they run a zone blitz. Roethlisberger delivers a great timing throw, and Brown makes the catch and jets upfield. He both picks up the first down and gets out of bounds.
1:09 (First-and-10, PIT 38):
Baltimore sends safety Eric Weddle on the blitz as part of a five-man rush, but the line holds up and Bell delivers a decent block. Roethlisberger stays poised, steps up in the pocket, and finds Jesse James over the middle to get the team across midfield. Pittsburgh uses their second timeout. Defensive end Elvis Dumervil delivered a hit to Roethlisberger as he threw, and he goes into the timeout limping.
:57 (Second-and-1, BAL 39):
After a nine-yard pass to Demarcus Ayers on first down, the Steelers seem to be getting closer to field goal range.
Roethlisberger steps up again in a collapsed pocket on second down and rolls out to his right. He throws a dart to wide receiver Eli Rogers, who makes a very athletic catch right around the twenty-yard line. Rogers quietly had a solid rookie season for the Steelers in 2016 after going undrafted, putting up 48 receptions and almost 600 yards. He makes arguably the biggest catch of his career on this play.
The Steelers hustle to the line and clock it, saving their last timeout.
:32 (Third-and-4, BAL 13):
The Steelers pick up six on second down, and Cobi Hamilton can’t get out of bounds, so the team has to use their last timeout. On third down Roethlisberger finds Jesse James again over the middle all the way at the Ravens four-yard line. James was never known for having big receiving games, but he came through huge on this drive with three big catches. With all the defensive attention on Brown, it left him open over the middle.
An interesting thing happens here. As Roethlisberger hustles to the line to spike the ball, you can see him take a few glances at Antonio Brown’s side of the field. He’s almost checking to see if Ravens’ cornerback Shareece Wright is ready, which he is. Roethlisberger just spikes the ball, but Brown takes off and begins a fade route anyways. Seems like the two were considering pulling off the fake spike again after they had executed it to perfection against the Cowboys the month before.
:14 (Second-and-Goal, BAL 4):
We’ve probably all seen this play. Brown runs a short in route, makes the catch at about the one-yard line, and impressively fights through three defenders to break the plane of the goal line. With no timeouts and the clock probably down to about eight seconds by the time the tackle would be fully made, the game very well could have been over if Brown doesn’t get in there.
Baltimore really has no time to get down the field when they get the ball back, and an interception as time expired by linebacker Ryan Shazier clinches the game and the division for the Black and Gold.
An all-time game, and moment. Something to look back on to appreciate the greatness of Antonio Brown before the news cycle was dominated by his antics instead of his play.
