National Football League
Baltimore 30, Pittsburgh 17
When: 8:15 PM ET, Saturday, January 3, 2015
Where: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Temperature: 48°
Head Official: Clete Blakeman
Attendance: 62780

Ravens 30, Steelers 17: Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes as visiting Baltimore notched its first-ever playoff win against Pittsburgh.

Steve Smith racked up 101 receiving yards on five receptions while Torrey Smith and rookie Crockett Gillmore each caught a touchdown as the sixth-seeded Ravens (11-6) advanced to next week's matchup against top-seeded New England. Justin Forsett was limited to 36 rushing yards on 16 attempts, although Bernard Pierce scored on a TD on his only carry.

Recently signed Ben Tate, undrafted rookie Josh Harris and fellow rookie Dri Archer combined for 43 rushing yards on 15 carries for the third-seeded Steelers (11-6), who played without Le'Veon Bell after the NFL's second-leading rusher suffered a hyperextended knee last weekend. Ben Roethlisberger threw two costly interceptions and finished 31-of-45 for 334 yards and a touchdown, with the rest of Pittsburgh's points coming from three first-half field goals by Shaun Suisham and a late safety after the outcome had been decided.

Pierce's 5-yard run marked the only touchdown of a first half that ended with the Ravens ahead 10-9, and Baltimore scored the only 10 points of the third quarter, including Flacco's 11-yard TD pass to Torrey Smith with 4:13 to go in the period. Forsett fumbled near midfield with under 12 minutes left in the contest and Roethlisberger hit Antonio Brown for 44 yards on the next play, setting up a 6-yard TD pass to rookie Martavis Bryant with 11:01 to play.

Baltimore answered with Justin Tucker's 52-yard field goal before Roethlisberger's short pass to Tate was tipped and intercepted by Terrell Suggs, leading to Flacco's 21-yard TD pass to Gillmore on the next play for a 30-15 advantage. Pittsburgh did reach the red zone once more in the waning minutes, but Roethlisberger threw a poor interception to Darian Stewart, essentially sealing the outcome.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Veteran LB Elvis Dumervil had two of the five sacks for the Ravens, who had lost all three of their previous playoff meetings with the Steelers - all at Heinz Field. ... Flacco, who matched Tom Brady's NFL record for playoff starts by a quarterback in his first seven seasons (14), finished 18-of-29 for 259 yards without a turnover. ... Roethlisberger missed two plays on Pittsburgh's final drive. Bruce Gradkowski came in and completed 2-of-3 passes for 22 yards, escaping a third-and-21 in the process. ... Brown, who led the NFL in receptions and receiving yards, contributed nine catches for 117 yards to lead all players in both categories.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
Baltimore   Pittsburgh
Justin Forsett Player Josh Harris
16 Attempts 9
40 Yards 25
2.5 Avg Yards 2.8
0 Touchdowns 0
14 Long 8
Receiving
Baltimore   Pittsburgh
Steve Smith Player Antonio Brown
5 Receptions 9
101 Yards 117
20.2 Avg Yards 13.0
0 Touchdowns 0
40 Long 44
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Baltimore 299 53 246 3 3 2 5.0 2
Pittsburgh 387 68 319 1 3 0 1.0 1
Upcoming Games
  • Baltimore will play their next game on the road against New England. The Ravens have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .833 after a loss.