The Ravens/Steelers rivalry is arguably the best in sports and is definitely the best in football. It has produced some great games and with that comes great memories and moments. Of the 35 meetings between these two franchises, Pittsburgh owns the all time series by a 21-14 margin. This has been an extremely close rivalry in the last few years especially. Five of the last six regular season meetings between these two teams have been decided by three points. Sunday night should be another memorable contest even if the Ravens don’t have to face Ben Roethlisberger.
Here are my most memorable games from the rivalry:
November 4th, 2001 – The Ravens shut out the Steelers in the second half and held running back Jerome Bettis to under 100 yards for the 6th straight time up to that point. Matt Stover was able to connect on a go-ahead field goal in swirling winds while Steelers kicker, Kris Brown, miss a game tying field goal to give the Ravens the victory and hand the Steelers their first lost at Heinz Field. How fitting is was against the Ravens, right?
December 28th, 2003 – Jamal Lewis came into this game (the final game of the season) 148 yards shy of Eric Dickerson’s single season rushing record. It came down to the last drive but Lewis was not able to surpass Dickerson and finished just 39 yards shy of the record. The Ravens kicked a game winning field to finish the season 10-6 and the Steelers finished 6-10. Steelers linebacker Joey Porter said after the game “we wasn’t going to let him get the overall record. He got some yards, but he didn’t get the record.” Just like a Steeler not to use proper English.
November 29th, 2009 – Pittsburgh came into the game with a one game lead over the Ravens in the division. In a hard hitting contest it was only fitting that it would take overtime to settle it. The Steelers received the ball to start but it didn’t take long for then rookie Paul Kruger to intercept Dennis Dixon and set up the Ravens for a game winning by Billy Cundiff. Joe Flacco said after the game “It feels good. It’s what we needed. Against these guys, it’s even bigger.
October 3rd, 2010 – Pittsburgh took the lead 14-10 midway through the fourth quarter and stood the Ravens up on the goal line in the final minutes after Joe Flacco threw an incomplete pass on fourth down. All seemed lost until the defense was able to force the Steelers to punt and a crucial holding penalty gave Baltimore the ball on Pittsburgh’s 40 yard line. Flacco then connected with T.J. Houshmandzadeh on an 18 yard strike to put the Ravens up for good with the help of a Ray Lewis interception to seal the deal.
November 6th, 2011 – Another close game came down to the wire. Torrey Smith dropped a wide open pass in the endzone only to come back and make an even better catch to give the Ravens the lead with mere seconds remaining. This was also the game Terrell Suggs had a leaping interception of Ben Roethlisberger stealing points off the board from Pittsburgh.
November 14th, 2012 at 7:27 pm
Jonathan Ogden catching a TD as a tackle eligable from Vinny in the cold rain at Memorial Stadium then watching all those Stiller turds head back to Breezewood.
November 15th, 2012 at 1:04 pm
My most memorable game was the ravens 1st year in Baltimore. I was 16 and had never been to an NFL game live until that year (my dad immediately bought season tickets when it was announced they were coming) and there was definitely not a rivalry with the steelers then. The stadium was half filled with Steelers fans in the pouring down rain. It was then I realized I hated them after how awful their redneck fans were (one d-bag pushed me down intentionally while walking to get hot chocolate….yes a grown man pushing a 16 year old kid). That epitomized how awful western Pennsylvanians were. We also beat them and sent them home crying. It was then that my hatred for them began and it hasn’t ceased since.
November 15th, 2012 at 2:18 pm
The Bart Scott hit on Big Jen. It was awsome, it rocked the whole stadium, and we taunted the Stealturd fans the entire second half with chants of “Ben eats jello!”.
November 16th, 2012 at 8:27 pm
My most memorable game was the January 15, 2011 playoff game in Pittsburgh. Remember that? Ravens up 21-7 at the half, already making reservations for the AFC championship game? Then that darned “Renegade” song blared over the PA system and the Steelers proceeded to set things right, outscoring the Ravens 24-3 in the second half.
Oh, and a word about those wonderful Ravens fans. The weekend after the above game, I was waiting in line at a Dunkin Donuts in Perry Hall (where i have lived for 20 years) with my then 12 year old daughter when a father-son team of purple wearing Ravens fans decided it was great sport to display their four-letter-word vocabulary to my daughter because she had the audacity to be wearing a Steelers jacket. With my hysterical daughter clinging to my leg, I had to call 911 to request a police presence before these kind Ravens stopped verbally assaulting my 12 year old. But unlike Chris, I did not assume that these low-lifes represented all Ravens fans. 99.9% of Ravens supporters are just like 99.9% of Steelers supporters – fanatical about their team, but not to the point of harassment and assault.
November 16th, 2012 at 8:36 pm
Almost forgot to mention my other most memorable game. That one was in 2004, when Tommy Maddox was knocked out of the game and some guy named Ben Roethlisberger came in to the game. The Steelers lost that game, but would not lose another one until the AFC Championship game.
I remember that game for more than just the start of Big Ben’s career. The night before the game, someone climbed up on my porch railing, destroyed a flagpole I had attached there, and stole a prized Steelers banner that my wife had purchased for me. Even then, I did not assume that this miscreant represented all Ravens fans. I assumed he was a criminal.