By Teresa Varley
Steelers.com

 

 

It was a night of honoring the past as the Steelers recognized their 75^th Season All-Time Team at halftime, but the 2007 Steelers were the ones who put on a show in a dominating win over the Baltimore Ravens.

 

 

The Steelers remain on top of the AFC North with the 38-7 win, improving their record to 6-2 while the Ravens dropped to 4-4.

 

 

Linebacker James Harrison turned in a performance that those before him had to be proud of as he had eight solo tackles, one assist, three and a half sacks, three forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and an interception.

 

 

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger played a phenomenal game, completing 13 of 16 for 209 yards and five touchdowns.

 

 

"It’s a great win for us tonight," said head coach Mike Tomlin. "The men just responded to the situation the way we had hoped. We had some outstanding performances by some men. Ben (Roethlisberger), James Harrison of course, those two guys were spectacular, but I don’t want to devalue the team effort. I like the way this football team played tonight and we got the win."

 

 

Roethlisberger left the game in the third quarter after going down hard and remaining down for several minutes following a 45-yard completion to Santonio Holmes. Charlie Batch came in for Roethlisberger for a series, and then Roethlisberger returned for one series, before being replaced by Batch for the majority of the fourth quarter.

 

 

The defense shut down the Ravens offense, which put up 58 points in two games against them last year, allowing Steve McNair 13 completions for just 62 yards and an interception.

 

 

The Steelers defense set the tone by going on the attack early and often, creating havoc for McNair on their first drive. On third-and-13 James Harrison sacked McNair, knocking the ball free and after a battle for it Harrison came up with the recovery to give the Steelers prime field position at the Raven’s 20-yard line.

 

 

It didn’t take long for the offense to cash in. As he has done all season, Roethlisberger showed his elusiveness by breaking free from a sure sack and hitting a wide-open Heath Miller in the end zone for the first score of the night, giving the Steelers a 7-0 lead.

 

 

Harrison came up big again for the Steelers, this time on special teams. After a penalty forced a re-kick, Ed Reed fielded Daniel Sepulveda’s punt at the 32-yard line and was hit by Harrison, who forced his second fumble of the game. Rookie Lawrence Timmons came up with the recovery at the Ravens 28-yard line.

 

 

The Ravens hurt themselves with two penalties, giving Roethlisberger a first down in the red zone. Roethlisberger found Holmes, threading the needle between two Ravens defenders for a 15-yard touchdown, extending the lead to 14-0.

 

 

The defense continued to harass the Ravens and on third down Troy Polamalu hit Willis McGahee, forcing a fumble. Anthony Smith came up with the recovery, once again giving the offense a perfect situation to work with.

 

 

Roethlisberger went right back to work and on third down went to his right and fired a 30-yard strike to a wide open Nate Washington in the end zone for a 21-0 lead.    

 

 

Things went from bad to worse for the Ravens when McNair was sacked by Harrison at their own 13-yard line for the second time, forcing a fumble. McGahee recovered, but was knocked for a loss back to the three-yard line, where he was tackled by Harrison. The Ravens couldn’t convert on third and a mile and were forced to punt.

 

 

Roethlisberger continued with his hot hand, connecting with Holmes for his second touchdown reception of the game while building a 28-0 lead in the second quarter.

 

 

While Roethlisberger was putting on a show on offense, Harrison was all over the field on defense, intercepting McNair and returning it 20 yards to the Ravens 44-yard line.

 

 

Like clockwork the offense took advantage of the situation the defense put them in when Roethlisberger threw his fifth touchdown pass of the game, hitting Washington again for a seven-yard score and a 35-0 lead.

 

 

The Ravens were able to get on the board late in the first half when McGahee broke free for a 33-yard touchdown run, sending the Steelers into the locker room for the half up 35-7.

It was much of the same from the defense in the second half as they continued to confuse the Ravens and live in their backfield.

 

 

The offense got a scare when Roethlisberger went down in the third quarter after a 45-yard completion to Holmes to the eight-yard line. Charlie Batch came in at quarterback, but the drive was stalled and Jeff Reed hit a 22-yard field goal for the 38-7 lead.

 

 

The pressure continued to come from the Steelers defense. Harrison recorded his third solo sack of the game when he knocked McNair for an eight yard loss. On third-and-14 Brett Keisel was all over McNair, forcing him to unload the ball to avoid a safety.

 

 

Roethlisberger returned to action, but the offense wasn’t going anywhere after he was sacked for a five-yard loss on third down.

 

 

Batch came back in for the Steelers on the next series, but it ended when Reed came across the middle for an interception and returned it 22 yards to the Ravens 45-yard line.

 

 

Notes: Joe Greene served as the honorary captain for the coin toss. Former head coach Bill Cowher was recognized prior to the game to the cheers of the Steelers faithful and was warmly greeted by players on the sideline. Hank Williams, Jr., a loyal Steelers fan, sang the National Anthem.