It was a tale of two halves for both the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Ravens controlled the first half of the game with a 21-7 lead. Baltimore's Cory Redding had the highlight of the first half when he picked up a fumbled football from off the ground and ran it into the end zone for a touchdown. All the other players had believed the play was dead, but Redding never heard a whistle and did the correct thing.
But all that good quickly came to an end early in the second half. On the Ravens' first drive of the third quarter, running back Ray Rice ran for five yards or so and then had the ball knocked out because he failed to properly secure it. It took only two plays for the Steelers to add to their score, a Ben Roethlisberger-to-Heath Miller touchdown. Roethlisberger added a second touchdown pass to Hines Ward before the end of the third quarter to tie the game at 21.
Both teams added field goals in the fourth quarter, the Ravens kicking theirs with 3:28 left to tie the game. While it looked like the NFL's new playoff rules would be tried out in this game, Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown would have none of that. Roethlisberger launched a deep pass to Brown, who caught the ball for 58 yards and held possession by keeping it between his right hand and his helmet. With the Steelers at the Ravens' four-yard line, Rashard Mendenhall eventually found himself in the end zone for the winning score.
The Steelers won, 31-24. The will play the winner of Sunday's Jets-Patriots game on Sunday, Jan. 23 at 6:00 p.m. ET. They will either host the Jets at Heinz Field or visit Foxboro and the Patriots.