SportsDirect Inc. staff
Dec 5, 2010
Ben Roethlisberger threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Redman with just under three minutes to play, lifting the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers to a 13-10 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night.
Roethlisberger converted a huge turnover by the Steelers' defense into the winning touchdown and gave Pittsburgh (9-3) sole possession of first place in the NFC North.
Steelers safety Troy Polamalu set up the decisive score, stripping Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco on a blitz with just over three minutes to play.
Three plays later, Roethlisberger hit Redman on a slant over the middle and the third-string running back broke a tackle en route to the end zone with 2:51 left.
Baltimore (8-4) drove to Pittsburgh's 32-yard line in the final minute, but coach John Harbaugh elected to go for it on fourth-and-2 rather than attempt a 49-yard field goal into the wind.
Flacco misfired on a pass to tight end Ed Dickson, sending the Ravens to their first home loss of the season. Baltimore had beaten the Steelers in overtime in Week 4.
Roethlisberger, who was playing with a sprained foot, finished 22 of 38 for 253 yards with one TD and one interception.
Flacco wound up 17 of 33 for 266 yards and a touchdown - a 14-yard pass to Anquan Boldin with 1:59 to play in the first quarter. Boldin had five receptions for 118 yards.
Both teams lost their tight ends to injuries. Baltimore's Todd Heap appeared to injure his hamstring on the opening series of the game while Pittsburgh's Heath Miller suffered a concussion.
Pittsburgh also lost punter Daniel Sepulveda to a leg injury, forcing kicker Shaun Suisham to pull double duty. Suisham booted field goals of 45 and 19 yards.