Ravens Quarterback Joe Flacco had never lead his team to a win at Pittsburgh in three NFL seasons. The Steelers gave him two final chances on Sunday and Flacco led the Ravens to an important divisional win. The Steelers could have sealed the victory by making a first down with only 2 minutes remaining in the game since the Ravens were out of timeouts. Head Coach Tomlin decided to play it conservative on third and five with a run instead of a pass play. The play failed and the Ravens were provided with a chance for a final drive that determined the outcome of the game.

Joe Flacco threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh with 32 seconds remaining and Baltimore pulled out a 17-14 victory over previously unbeaten Pittsburgh. Baltimore (3-1) had lost four in a row at Heinz Field, including the AFC championship game two seasons ago, and nine of 10 overall.

“We found a way to beat them at their place,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “So that’s what makes it special.”

It was a rare bright moment for Flacco in Pittsburgh. He began his college career at Pittsburgh but, remained behind three-year starter Tyler Palko, who transferred to Delaware. After being drafted by Baltimore, he went 0-3 in his first three starts in Pittsburgh. He had three touchdown passes and six interceptions in his last four starts against the Steelers.

“There’s not too many better ways to win a game, especially in Pittsburgh,” Flacco said.

Flacco, playing with poise and confidence, went 4 for 4 on the final drive, hitting Houshmandzadeh for 28 yards on the final two passes. The former Bengals receiver, cut by Seattle during the preseason, had as many catches in a 6-second span as he did in the Ravens’ first three games.

“You don’t want to give teams second opportunities,” said cornerback Bryant McFadden, who bit on Flacco’s pump fake on the game-winner. Safety Ryan Clark said defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau warned the Steelers all week that Flacco was dangerous in such situations.

“He said if you give him time, if you give him opportunities to hit guys, he’s going to hit them,” Clark said. “He’s not one of those quarterbacks who’s going to miss.”

It was the sixth time in two seasons the Steelers lost when leading in the fourth quarter. Now, instead of owning a two-game lead over Baltimore in the AFC North with Roethlisberger ready to go for the rest of the season, the Steelers are tied with the Ravens.

The Steelers, down 10-7 in the third, twice failed to convert Ravens turnovers inside their own 35 into points when Jeff Reed missed field goal attempts of 49 and 45 yards. But they came back to take a 14-10 lead with 7:14 left on Rashard Mendenhall’s second touchdown run.

Mendenhall put the Steelers ahead 7-0 in the first quarter on a 1-yard run, but Baltimore answered with Willis McGahee’s 9-yard touchdown. Neither team’s running game did much else but score—the Steelers were limited to 84 yards rushing and the Ravens had 70.

With fourth string quarterback Charlie Batch going 12 of 21 for 141 yards with an interception, the Steelers were held to 210 yards by the NFL’s top defense. Batch wound up making two starts, and playing most of a third game, after Roethlisberger was suspended and backups Byron Leftwich and Dennis Dixon were hurt.

“We didn’t let adversity sink us,” wide receiver Hines Ward said. “We easily could have been 4-0. Yeah, we’re 3-1, but we could easily be 4-0, and it hurts a little bit.”

Charlie Batch Leads the Steelers to Dominating Win over Tampa Bay