After QB Ben Roethlisberger suffered a partially dislocated rib in 2012, the Steelers turned to QB Byron Leftwich for one start before going to longtime backup Charlie Batch. Batch struggled in a loss against the Cleveland Browns in Week 12, but in Week 13, the Steelers pulled off an upset against the eventual Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens on the road, with Batch at quarterback. Appearing on The Ryan Ripken Show at Super Bowl Radio Row, Batch talked about that win and how it’s something fans still remember years later.
“When you come over to Pittsburgh, it’s like you don’t make your moment until you make a play in the Baltimore game. You make that play, people remember you for it. And you talk about it for years. And in my case, here I am 12 years later, in 2012, I started my last game in Baltimore. M&T Stadium, having the opportunity to go down there, 9-2 having the chance to clinch the division, number one seed. They didn’t do it. We went in and beat them in their house.”
“It was cool to be able to do it and people remember it all these years later.”
It was the final game Batch played in before retiring after the 2012 season, and he went out on top with a victory over Pittsburgh’s rivals. He threw for 276 yards and a touchdown in the Steelers’ 23-20 win, and it was the most yards that Batch ever threw for as a member of the Steelers. Of course, the Steelers finished that season 8-8 while the Ravens won the Super Bowl, so Batch admitted that Baltimore got the “last laugh.” It was still a cool moment to knock off Baltimore and likely meaningful for Batch to win what wound up being his final appearance and start.
Batch is right that fans will remember plays and big moments against the Ravens for years and years. Isaac Redman is a folk hero in Pittsburgh for his game-winning touchdown against Baltimore, and I’m sure Payton Wilson’s interception against the Ravens this season is one that will live in fans’ minds for years down the line. Making winning plays is always important, but doing so against a team’s biggest rival will always be something that isn’t forgotten.
For Charlie Batch to lead the Steelers into Baltimore and make them wait to clinch the division with an upset win is something that fans haven’t forgotten, even though it came during a mediocre season for the Steelers. That’s just how it is when it comes to Steelers-Ravens.
