By Teresa Varley
Steelers.com

The Steelers got behind early and tried valiantly to mount a late comeback, but lost to the Baltimore Ravens 27-21 at M&T Bank Stadium.

“We are disappointed we didn’t get the job done,” said head coach Mike Tomlin. “The loss was similar to a lot of our losses in that we have some self-inflected wounds early. The spirited effort we displayed throughout the game wasn’t enough to bring us back at the end. I am disappointed by the loss, but proud of these men in the way they fight and continue to fight in the face of adversity.

“We have to do a better job of securing the ball. You can’t turn the ball over. We have to take advantage of opportunities when we have them.”

The loss sends the Steelers into the playoffs as the number four seed and they will host the Jacksonville Jaguars at Heinz Field in the Wild Card round on Saturday, January 5.

The Steelers were unable to get going on offense until late in the game, while the defense struggled to stop the Ravens running attack. The Ravens had 180 yards rushing, with Musa Smith rushed for 83 yards, while Cory Ross added 72 yards.

The rain didn’t play in the Steelers favor to start the game when Willie Reid had trouble holding on to the opening kickoff, fumbling at his own 35-yard line. Devard Darling recovered to give the Ravens excellent field position. And they took advantage of it.

Musa Smith got the call at running back and opened with a three-yard carry. Troy Smith, starting at quarterback for the injured Kyle Boller, completed his first pass of the game for 18 yards to Mark Clayton. It was back to Musa Smith for back-to-back short carries and then he had an eight-yard reception to the two-yard line. Smith finished out the short drive with a two-yard touchdown run to give the Ravens an early 7-0 lead.

Batch got off to a good start, completing his first two passes, including a 10-yarder to Heath Miller. But tight coverage forced Batch to throw an attempted flea-flicker to Nate Washington out of bounds. Davenport had a four-yard gain and on third down Batch hit Santonio Holmes for five-yards. They rolled the dice and went for it on fourth-down, but Batch’s pass to Cedrick Wilson fell incomplete.

The Ravens continued to get productivity out of both Smiths on their next drive. Musa Smith had a 10-yard run and later added a 14-yard scamper, with a 15-yard personal foul penalty tacked on after James Harrison hit Troy Smith late. Troy Smith came back and converted third-and-10 when he scrambled for an 11-yard gain. They didn’t have the same success on their next third down and had to bring on Matt Stover for a 28-yard field goal to extend their lead to 10-0.

Reid lost his grip on the ball again on the ensuing kickoff and it was initially ruled a fumble. Mike Tomlin threw the red flag to challenge the call and he was right on. Reid was ruled down by contact and the Steelers maintained possession. But they weren’t able to go anywhere. Davenport was knocked for a one-yard loss and Batch’s pass to Miller went for only two yards. On third down Batch was under extreme pressure and somehow managed to avoid the sack, but his short pass attempt to Carey Davis was incomplete.

The Ravens continued to click on offense on their next drive. Musa Smith had a six-yard carry and Ross followed with a 14-yard gain. Ross then burst up the middle and took it 32-yards to the end zone for his first career touchdown and a 17-0 lead.

Batch continued to move the offense with an 18-yard completion to Washington. Davenport had carries of six-and-two yards, setting them up with third-and-two. Batch went deep for Washington and Corey Ivy was called for pass interference, a 47-yard penalty which gave the Steelers the ball at the two-yard line. It took three attempts, but Davenport punched it in to the end zone for a one-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 17-7.

After allowing them to score on their first three possessions the defense stopped the Ravens thanks to a third-down sack by Travis Kirschke. They came back with another big stop on the Ravens next possession when rookie linebacker LaMarr Woodley recorded his first NFL sack.

It wouldn’t take long for the Ravens to get the ball back. On the first play of their next drive Batch was intercepted by David Pittman and returned 30 yards into Steelers territory. Pittman fumbled, but Nick Greisen alertly fell on the ball for the recovery.

The defense went back to work with Casey Hampton knocking Musa Smith for a seven-yard loss. He came right back with a six-yard carry and Troy Smith then scrambled for a 14-yard gain. The defense stiffened, forcing the Ravens to settle for 31-yard Stover field goal to take a 20-7 lead into the half.

The Ravens started the second half with good field position after Jeff Reed’s kickoff went out of bounds at the two-yard line. Starting from their-own 40-yard line Musa Smith went up the middle for a 14-yard gain. A short gain and incomplete pass had the Ravens facing third-and-eight. Troy Smith came through for them with an 18-yard completion to Darling. Smith completed a 19-yard pass to Lee Vickers for another third-down conversion, but the play was negated by a holding call. Smith went right back to the air, connecting with Derrick Mason for a 16-yard completion. Mason was hit by Tyrone Carter on the play, fumbled and Clark Haggans recovered at the Steelers 17-yard line.

Unlike the Ravens who turned two first half turnovers into 10 points, the Steelers weren’t able to do anything once they got the ball and punted it away fast.

The ground game continued to be a problem for the Steelers defense with Musa Smith barreling forward for a 24-yard gain. Troy Smith then went airborne, hitting Mason for 11 and 14-yard gains. Smith capped the drive with a 15-yard scoring strike to Darling to give the Ravens a 20-point lead at 27-7.

The offense came to life in the fourth quarter, starting at their-own nine-yard line. Gary Russell had an eight-yard carry and Batch hit Washington for a 24-yard gain to the 41-yard line. Batch then aired it out for Santonio Holmes, who pulled in the reception and then took it into the end zone for the 59-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 27-14.

The Steelers went for the onside kick which Washington recovered at their 44-yard line. Batch completed a nine-yard pass to Davis and Russell had a two-yard carry for the first down. A roughing the passer call on the next play gave the Steelers first down at the Ravens 31-yard line. Batch completed a four-yard pass to Davis and Washington got away from the defender for a 12-yard reception. On first down Batch completed an eight-yard pass to Miller at the seven-yard line. Two incomplete passes gave the Steelers fourth-and-goal and Batch found Wilson at the goal line for the score, closing the gap to 27-21.

When they needed it most the defense came up with a big stop, forcing the Ravens to punt and giving the Steelers the ball back at their-own 11-yard line with 1:36 left to play in the game and no timeouts.

Batch was penalized for intentional grounding on the first play of the drive, pushing the Steelers back to their own two-yard line. Batch’s deep pass to Washington was incomplete, giving the Steelers a third down. Batch fired a missile to Holmes who pulled it in at the 30-yard line for a 28-yard gain. But the comeback fell short when Pittman had his second interception of the game to secure the Ravens win.

Notes: Max Starks suffered a left knee sprain…James Harrison had a shoulder contusion but returned to the game…Bryant McFadden suffered an ankle injury…Willie Reid had an AC shoulder re-injury…James Farrior suffered a stinger.