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Sunday, Sep. 19 1:00pm ET
Ravens make Case, but fall to Steelers | ||||||||||||||||||
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BOX SCORE
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Stoney Case once again worked his magic for the Baltimore Ravens in the closing minutes. His mistake was leaving the Pittsburgh Steelers enough time to undo his handiwork. Will Blackwell returned a kickoff 37 yards to midfield after Case tied the game with his first NFL touchdown pass, and Kris Brown kicked a 36-yard field goal as time expired to give the Pittsburgh Steelers a 23-20 victory Sunday.
"I was very disappointed in the drive at the end of the game. But we made some plays," Cowher said. "We're creating a lot of turnovers and not turning the ball over. That's the key." Case, who produced two wins in the preseason with last-minute touchdown passes, struggled after taking over for an ineffective Scott Mitchell in the third quarter. He fumbled in his second series and Pittsburgh recovered to set up a field goal and a 17-10 lead. It was 20-13 when Case got his final chance and, as usual, he saved his best for last. After struggling for much of the second half, he moved the Ravens 72 yards in six plays to make it 20-20. Case kept the drive alive with a 26-yard pass to Justin Armour on a 3rd-and-9 play, hit Jermaine Lewis on a 19-yarder and ultimately connected with Qadry Ismail for a 19-yard touchdown.
But the jubilation on the Baltimore sideline didn't last long. After Blackwell's kickoff return, two completions by Kordell Stewart set up Brown's third field goal. "It was just a matter of who was going to have the ball last and drive the ball down and get a touchdown or field goal," Stewart said. Baltimore coach Brian Billick is still winless as a head coach, and now he's got a quarterback controversy. "We changed the quarterback because we needed a guy with Stoney's ability to move around and make some things happen and that's not particularly Scott's strength," Billick said. Asked who would start against Cleveland next week, Billick replied, "I'll let you know." Billick, who ripped the Ravens for their lackluster effort in the opener against St. Louis, said the team improved its intensity this week. But he was distressed over the ending. "I'm very disappointed that we were able to come back the way we did and give up a return and put them in a position to kick a field goal," Billick said. "Our job now is to find out what happened and correct it." Case, who hadn't played in an NFL game since 1997, was 7-for-15 for 130 yards. "I'm real disappointed. It took me too long to get it going and play some football," he said. "I had to stop thinking and just react." Mitchell, benched in Detroit last year after just two games, was pulled after going 7-for-16 for 48 yards and two interceptions. He was coming off a miserable 17-for-40 effort in the opener. Stewart went 18-for-27 for 138 yards and ran for his second touchdown in two games. Richard Huntley also scored for the Steelers, who are 6-1 against the Ravens since the team moved to Baltimore before the 1996 season. In a surprise move, Billick started Errict Rhett at running back in place of Priest Holmes, who played only in the second series of the game. Rhett ran 22 times for 101 yards, his first 100-game since 1995 with Tampa Bay. "We were shocked that they ran the ball on us," said Steelers defensive end Nolan Harrison. "We're going to have to address that this week. It was kind of insulting. We've got a better run defense than that." Dewayne Washington got Pittsburgh started with the first of his two interceptions, on the game's third play from scrimmage. Six plays later, Stewart scored from the 8 on a quarterback draw. Mitchell was booed when he took the field for his third series, but he temporarily quieted the impatient fans by directing a 10-play, 80-yard drive that included three Pittsburgh penalties. Four plays after ripping off a 35-yard run, Rhett scored from the 2. The Steelers went up 14-7 with 1:46 left in the first half when Huntley rambled around left end on a 17-yard touchdown run, capping an 80-yard drive. Corey Harris took the ensuing kickoff back 63 yards to set up a 45-yard field goal by Matt Stover to make it 14-10 at halftime.
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