Hey Pete...
I agree that this was a huge win, but I would caution that putting too much behind this win is very dangerous. I think when looking at the numbers, you have got to factor in the 'missing' players that make the Steelers as successful as they have been. Sure...we are missing some players as well, but the ones we are missing have rarely been a comodity that we could do without this season. Which brings me to my point...the Ravens once again flirt with losing to a team they have 'beat' because they lack the integrity and disipline to get-it-done when it counts. What is more frustrating is the penalties EVERY TIME we run a good kick off (or punt) back. Why is it that we get coaches that are 'good' at a particular facet (like 'O-Coordinator or 'Special Teams' Coach) and our head coach can't get anyone to be be good at these things? (Sorry...just remembering the years of Billick) I love to get excited when my team wins...but when will be able to look forward to the next opponent and say 'this will be a good one!'. Hell, almost every game this year has been frustrating to watch - and it seems it will continue to do so. We barely 'squeeze' one out at home to a team we supposedly had outmatched for the night. Depressing (sigh...)

One thing I did like... Is that we seem to have some real good (up-and-coming) rookies in Webb & Kruger. They have seemed to have a tremendous up-side and are already contributing this early on.

I believe that the Packers will 'woop-our-butt' if we come out and play sloppy and if we keep getting penalties like we have been. If the penalties stop....we have a shot at a win. I do agree with you Pete.....we do have some lesser teams after Green Bay (minus the Steelers), but the Ravens have shown no team is an easy victory (sometimes the lesser ones are the hardest to beat).

They're all huge games from here on. The Ravens have 6 wins with 5 left on the schedule. Conventional wisdom says 10 wins makes the playoffs, but NE missed out with 11 last year.
The Ravens can maybe afford to lose one more game at most and Pittsburgh on the road seems like a good candidate for that one.
Sure it was a huge win last night, and there had better be a few more huge wins to come.

TheReaper our team has lost 5 games to 4 first place teams, (cin twice) we have beaten all of the lesser ones. What are you talking about?

TheReaper our team has lost 5 games to 4 first place teams, (cin twice) we have beaten all of the lesser ones. What are you talking about?

We did enough to win, period. That is going to be the determining factor the rest of the way. The mental mistakes have to stop ... could have used "C-Mac" in the secondary (a thumper) a few times but Webb has a lot of upside potential.

The house was rockin' last night. People called and said they could not believe the crowd noise coming through the television broadcast. Even the Steelers fans in our section were fairly cool.

We did enough to win, period. That is going to be the determining factor the rest of the way. The mental mistakes have to stop ... could have used "C-Mac" in the secondary (a thumper) a few times but Webb has a lot of upside potential.

The house was rockin' last night. People called and said they could not believe the crowd noise coming through the television broadcast. Even the Steelers fans in our section were fairly cool.

Boy Pete, you hit the nail on the head about getting better secondary play out in Green Bay. If Aaron Rodgers has enough time to get the ball downfield to Donald Driver and Greg Jennings it could mean big trouble for the Ravens.

Greg Mattison is really going to have to put together a scheme for next Monday night.

A win is a win, however--

As was pointed out in the Carroll County Times,
the O-Line was a sieve, at times. I realize it's James Harrison and company, but come on.

The Mason-Rice express worked most of the time, and we saw some mix in the receivers, but Flacco is still missing downfield opportunities that could lead not only to big yards, but scores that would have put the Steelers away.

The Blitz packages made Dixon look like a bonified NFL QB, especially on the obvious bootleg on which Dixon scored. Chris Collinsworth called that one perfectly.

If the Ravens contained Payton Manning with a light rush package, how did Dixon hurt them deep? It is clear the Raven need to stay in the Zone Package and forget about the blitz.

Ed Reed? Where was Ed Reed? Why is it all or nothing with Ed. Why can't he come up and give support to the corners when he's not breaking with a Pick Six on his mind.

Yeah, I'm happy the Ravens won, but come' on, they'd better play with more consistency, or they'll be O-U-T of the playoff race.

You beat a Steeler team at home, in OT and without their star QB. Hardly a big win.

To even suggest that the outcome of the game wouldn't have been impacted by Roethlisberger's absence is insane. They were missing one of the top QBs in the league and had a guy that had never taken a snap in the game.

I little journalistic integrity would be nice.

I don't know that a concussed Roethlisberger would have been better than Dennis Dixon. He played very well.

The bigger loss for the Steelers was Polamalu. Flacco wouldn't have dared throw the ball that Clayton caught for the 50+ yds in the second half if Polamalu was back there. And Polamalu would have been a huge weapon in containing Ray Rice.

Nice win, and in the NFL any win is a good one.

And John G, if you're citing "journalistic integrity" in the comments of a blog by a columnist, you're clearly out of your intellectual league. This is Pete's Blog, and he's not reporting as fact, confirmed by sources, that the game would or would not have been different. He's clearly offering his opinion, and while you may disagree with it, it's not a matter of integrity. I happen to disagree with Pete's opinions on blousy flowered shirts, but I'm not going to question his integrity over it.

JohnG -

A little reading comprehension would be nice.

Pete said: "Though I don't doubt a healthy Ben Roethlisberger would have affected the way the game played out, that doesn't necessarily mean that the Ravens would not have beaten the Steelers."

Translation: Roethlisberger's absence impacted the game.

And regardless of the state of the opponent, to say it's "hardly a big win" when you beat a division rival to jump into a tie for a Wild Card spot is borderline psychotic.

OK---short memories everyone. When the Ravens played the Steelers for the 3rd time last year they had had 17 players on the injury list. Remember the "6th corner" who created that penalty at the end of the game? 6th corner !!!!! Do you remember that the Ravens number 1 receiver last year in that game played with a separated shoulder? I don't want to hear any excuses about the Steelers being without 2 stars. This is football and it is a violent sport. Finally, I am a Ravens fan but I am beginning to question our 3 main coaches. How many more times is the head coach going to burn time outs, etc. due to bonehead decisions? He needs to pull players out for being undisciplined (do you think a coach like Cohwer would put up with this stuff?). How come everyone in America new Dixon was going around the right end except the Ravens coaches? How come McClain carries the ball three times for about 7-8 years a carry and then doesn't really get his number called after that?

Are you really a write for the Baltimore Sun??? I can't believe someone as idiotic to make a statement that Roethlisberger wouldn't have made a difference in the game is seriously on the payroll for a major city's newspaper.
Dixon was making his first career start ... he is 3rd string for a reason. There was plenty of open receivers that he didn't even look at or throw to and not to mention all of the obvious times the Steelers were going to run the ball, with Ben they won't run the ball every single 2nd and 5~8. It's ridiculous to think one of the best QB's in the NFL wouldn't have made a difference in the game when the QB that was starting was a 3rd string QB. Notice how he choked the last drive of the 4th quarter and in OT? Well, that is where Big Ben thrives.
You need to stop homering because even Ravens fans know it was sad that the Ravens didn't beat the Steelers by double digits.

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Pete's reply: You need to read more carefully. I said I didn't know what would have happened if Ben played. Maybe he throws four TDs, or maybe he struggles because he has a concussion and they don't even get the touchdowns that Dixon engineered. But thanks for the vote of confidence.

umm...from pete's blog again.
"It was a huge victory, no matter what the circumstances involving the opposing team. Though I don't doubt a healthy Ben Roethlisberger would have affected the way the game played out, that doesn't necessarily mean that the Ravens would not have beaten the Steelers"

Read much?

Well, Pete, your opinions on football may not sit well with some of the less thoughtful readers, but I don't care much about that. Where I have to draw the line, though, is your taste in blousy flowered shirts. They're too bland - get some color on, man! Reds, greens, fluorescent blacks, maybe some purple or something! My rule of thumb is, if people don't fall to the ground, foaming at the mouth, when they come upon you suddenly, you're just not trying. And any time the Ravens can beat the Steelers, good enough. I suspect that was the high point of the season, though.

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Pete's reply: I fear you may be right about the Ravens...and maybe the shirts.

Are we still harping about the secondary?

If the Ravens won 27-17 instead of 20-17 in OT, we'd be feeling better about our defense. The same is true if we score just one TD against IND, and win 19-17 or 22-17. And since CIN was held to 17 twice, anything greater than 17 would mean two more wins.

That would make the Ravens 9-2 even with Hauschka missing his FG against MIN.

The Ravens' D is not what it once was but it is still upper division in the NFL, and getting much more negative attention than it deserves.

It seems Flacco-to-Rice and Flacco-to-Mason are padding the stats but not enough to pad the scoreboard.