The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens met

Week 9 Mike Webster Jersey , the second of their two divisional regular season meetings, and the two teams came into the game facing very different circumstances. The Steelers, at 4-2-1, had taken a lead in the AFC North, but the Ravens were trying to avoid losing three straight games, putting them under .500 for the first time this season.Under beautiful skies at M&T Bank Stadium, the Steelers won the coin toss and elected to defer the possession to the second half. Both teams failed to put up points on their opening drives of the game, but the Ravens changed that with their second attempt. Alex Collins and Joe Flacco moved the Baltimore offense into a first-and-goal situation, but failed to convert. Justin Tucker nailed the chip shot field goal to give the Ravens an early 3-0 lead with 5 minutes left in the first quarter.Not to be outdone, the Steelers took advantage of great field position after a short kick by Tucker was returned to the 40-yard line by Ryan Switzer. After Ben Roethlisberger his big completions to JuJu Smith-Schuster, Antonio Brown, it was a swing pass to James Conner to hit pay dirt, and give the Steelers a 7-3 lead.Baltimore failed to obtain a first down on the ensuing series, and what resulted was a 10 play, 85 yard touchdown drive by the Steelers. James Conner was the main key to the offense throughout the drive, but the drive was capped off when Roethlisberger hit Antonio Brown on a wide receiver screen, and after making a defender miss walked into the endzone. Chris Boswell’s point-after was good, making the score 14-3.With their next possession Greg Lloyd Jersey , Flacco turned to his go-to offense of heaving deep passes in hopes of drawing a defensive pass interference call. He did just that when targeting John Brown, and the 33 yard penalty on Terrell Edmunds moved the Ravens’ offense deep into Pittsburgh’s territory. However, when facing another first-and-goal situation, the Ravens failed to hit pay dirt, relying on another 23-yard Tucker field goal making the score 14-6.Both teams shared punts to end the half 14-6, and the Steelers started the third quarter with the football after deferring to start the game. To start the third quarter, Pittsburgh knew this drive could truly define how the game will end up. What resulted was a 15 play, 75-yard drive which ended in a Ben Roethlisberger one-yard quarterback sneak for the touchdown. The drive displayed the Steelers’ third down dominance, and took up nearly half of the third quarter. However, Chris Boswell pushed the point-after wide right, making the score 20-6.With the game in the balance, the Ravens responded with an impressive drive of their own. Joe Flacco made plays to Willie Snead for multiple first downs, but it was a defensive pass interference call on Morgan Burnett which set up the Baltimore offense on the one-yard line. Alex Collins then punched in the next play to make the score 20-13 in the waning minutes of the third quarter.Pittsburgh’s offense couldn’t find a worse time to post a three-and-out, but the Steelers’ defense forced a three-and-out of their own to get the ball back with 14:23 left in the fourth quarter. Early in the drive, Roethlisberger scrambled on a broken play, but was caught from behind and after he was tackled he remained on the ground. Joshua Dobbs entered the game and delivered a huge first down pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster before Roethlisberger returned.The next play from scrimmage Roethlisberger hit Jesse James down the sideline for a 51-yard catch and run, to set up the Pittsburgh offense in the red-zone. However, the Steelers were unable to convert for the first time Kevin Greene Jersey , and had to settle for a Chris Boswell field goal, making the score 23-13 with 8:26 left in the fourth quarter.Joe Flacco’s offense, and possibly the Ravens’ season, wasn’t about to go down without a fight, and thanks to Baltimore’s heave-and-pray style of offense the team moved quickly into Pittsburgh territory thanks to a pass interference call on Coty Sensabaugh. Trailing by 10 points, Baltimore faced a 4th and 4 deep in Pittsburgh territory, but elected for the field goal to make it a seven point game. Tucker’s kick was good, and the score read 23-16 with 5:23 left in regulation.While the Steelers’ next possession didn’t equate in points, it did result in time taken off the clock. After key first downs, the Steelers gave the ball back to the Ravens with just over 30 seconds left in the game, and Flacco and company weren’t able to get the job done without any timeouts left.The Steelers move their record to 5-2-1, while the Ravens’ record drops to 4-5. Pittsburgh has very little time to enjoy the game as the team now will host the Carolina Panthers in Week 10 at Heinz Field on Thursday Night Football.Stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes surrounding the black-and-gold as they look to win 5 straight games in Week 10. Few scenes Sunday seemed more incongruous than Drew Brees and Ben Roethlisberger on the sideline watching their teams trying to score without them.Even odder is the news Monday that Big Ben is done for the year with an elbow injury, and Brees is having hand surgery that will sideline him for a long period.This was damage of the highest order for two franchises that entered the season with championship goals.Brees tore a ligament near his thumb and Roethlisberger hurt his elbow, also requiring surgery. Also worrisome: The injuries occurred to their right arms, the ones they use to make their millions — and help their teams compete for titles. What will be the prognosis beyond this season for Roethlisberger, and for later in the schedule for Brees, who is expected to return in a couple of months.It’s fair to say neither New Orleans nor Pittsburgh is much of a Super Bowl threat without its veteran quarterback, each having taken its team to an NFL title. Sure Lynn Swann Jersey , Mason Rudolph looked solid enough, throwing for two fourth-quarter touchdowns in the Steelers‘ 28-26 loss to Seattle. And Teddy Bridgewater, though he struggled against the Rams‘ strong defense Sunday in a 27-9 loss, is considered by many the best insurance policy at quarterback in the NFL.Still, we’re talking about two likely Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees five years after each retires. While Brees is 40 and Roethlisberger is 37, neither has talked about hanging it up. Perhaps they’re inspired by the 92-year-old, uh, 42-year-old Tom Brady in New England.Brees was not able to grip the football, an impossible situation for a quarterback, particularly one with the Midas touch that Brees owns. New Orleans (1-1) is fortunate the NFC South is not looking particularly imposing, and barring a major surgery, the 19-year veteran figures to be back behind center in 2019.Rams quarterback Jared Goff sure hopes so.“I told him I’m hoping for the best,” Goff said of his postgame chat with Brees. “He’s a great player for this league, a face of the league, and somebody we need in the league.”Brees’ career was in doubt in 2006 after shoulder surgery made teams wary of signing the free agent who had lost his job in San Diego to Philip Rivers. Miami wasn’t sold he could be effective again, and the Saints couldn’t be certain, either. But they took the gamble, which led to the franchise’s best string of seasons Bud Dupree Jersey , including the 2009 NFL championship.The Dolphins are still searching for their franchise QB.Bridgewater also had his career disrupted by injury, a nasty knee issue while Minnesota’s starter that cost him the 2016 season and pretty much relegated him to backup status since. Coach Sean Payton’s offense rarely has been run by anyone but Brees, so it’s hard to predict how Bridgewater might fare. We’re about to find out.As for Rudolph, he beat out Joshua Dobbs for the backup role to Big Ben, whose durability isn’t quite like that of Brees or Brady — or his fellow first-round draft picks in 2004, Eli Manning and Philip Rivers. But it’s impressive: Roethlisberger has started 215 games, and has not missed a significant portion of a regular season since 2015, and before that in 2010, when he still guided Pittsburgh to the Super Bowl.Rudolph might be the future quarterback for the Steelers, and for the rest of 2019 he is the present QB. With the Steelers (0-2) already in a hole in an AFC North led by Baltimore, losing Roethlisberger is ominous.It also means that the three key components of their high-octane offense of recent seasons — Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown — aren’t around.Of the two teams, the Saints appear in far better position than the Steelers. Regardless, this is a major blow in the Big Easy and Steel City.