WHAT WENT RIGHT
* Ben Tate was the starting running back, and the Steelers got him four touches right away – three carries for 17 yards and one catch for 4 – but on his third carry he fumbled after gaining 8 yards, but Antonio Brown recovered and gained an additional 4 yards.
- The Ravens' first series began at their own 7-yard line and ended in a three-and-out. On second-and-10, Steve McLendon drove Ravens center Jeremy Zuttah back into Joe Flacco, who tripped and fell for a 5-yard loss while attempting to hand the ball off.
- How far Martavis Bryant has come during his rookie season was on display late in the first quarter. On a third-and-5 at the Baltimore 42-yard line, Bryant was on the receiving end of a 20-yard back-shoulder throw from Ben Roethlisberger while being covered closely by Lardarius Webb. The drive ended with a 45-yard field goal from Shaun Suisham and a 3-0 Steelers lead with 1:29 left in the first quarter.
- It was a third-and-10 for the Steelers when Ben Roethlisberger shrugged off DE DeAngelo Tyson before finding Heath Miller for a 30-yard gain to the Ravens 38-yard line.
- The Steelers got a takeaway with 11:51 remaining when Justin Forsett lost 8 yards and the football only to have Stephon Tuitt recover at the Baltimore 45-yard line. On the play, Ryan Shazier aided the cause by pulling Forsett away from the loose ball to prevent him from trying to make the recovery.
- On the next play, Ben Roethlisberger found Antonio Brown deep down the field and the two hooked up for a 44-yard gain despite the presence of three Ravens defenders around the Steelers receiver. After a review, the ball was placed inside the 1-yard line.
- The touchdown came on the play following guard David DeCastro being flagged for a false start when Ben Roethlisberger threw to Martavis Bryant who used his height to box out Ravens CB Lardarius Webb to make the catch to cut Baltimore's lead to 20-15.
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WHAT WENT WRONG**
* James Harrison got good pressure on Joe Flacco, who still was able to throw the ball deep down the middle of the field toward Jacoby Jones. The pass was incomplete, but Mike Mitchell was flagged for a personal foul for hitting Jones with his helmet.
- The Ravens took a 7-3 lead with an 80-yard drive that began with the personal foul penalty on Mike Mitchell, and Baltimore ran the ball five times for 37 yards and the touchdown, which was a 5-yard burst by Bernard Pierce right up the middle.
- After a personal foul penalty on CB Rashaan Melvin for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Ben Tate moved the ball to the Baltimore 10-yard line, Ben Roethlisberger was sacked for a 9-yard loss on first down. Subsequent completions to Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant moved the ball to the 4-yard line, but the Steelers had to settle for a field goal from there that cut Baltimore's lead to 7-6 with 5:40 remaining in the first half.
- A second personal foul on the Steelers was called when Jason Worilds took a swing at TE Crockett Gilmore and hit him in the facemask. The penalty moved the ball to the Pittsburgh 30-yard line. The possession ended with a 28-yard field goal by Justin Tucker that gave Baltimore a 10-6 lead with 2:41 remaining in the first half.
- One of the areas the Steelers had identified as an area of emphasis was stopping the run of Justin Forsett. At the end of the first half, Forsett had 41 yards on six carries, while the Steelers had 28 rushing yards as a team.
- On the opening possession of the second half, the Steelers defense failed three straight times on third down. On third-and-14 from the Baltimore 12-yard line, Joe Flacco hit Torrey Smith for a 17-yard gain. On third-and-2 from the Baltimore 37-yard line, Flacco again threw to Smith, who drew a 32-yard pass interference penalty on Antwon Blake that gave the Ravens a first down at the Steelers 31-yard line. And then after a sack by Sean Spence set up a third-and-20 at the Pittsburgh 41-yard line, Flacco completed a 14-yard pass to Steve Smith that got the Ravens close enough for a 45-yard field goal by Justin Tucker that made Baltimore's lead 13-9 with 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
- After a 37-yard punt by Brad Wing, the Ravens attacked deep down the right sideline, and Steve Smith made the catch over Brice McCain. Five plays later, Flacco escaped the pass rush, moved to his left and found Torrey Smith in the back corner of the end zone for the 11-yard touchdown that upped the Baltimore lead to 20-9 with four minutes left in the third quarter.
- Another failure on third down, this time by the offense. On a third-and-8 from the Pittsburgh 47-yard line, Ben Roethlisberger was buried under the Ravens pass rush. Elvis Dumervil came in unblocked and dumped him for a 12-yard loss on what was the final play of the third quarter.
- Brice McCain had a chance at an interception down the right sideline on a second-and-8 from the Baltimore 44-yard line, but he couldn't hold onto the ball.
- Following the Steelers touchdown, the Ravens got good field position for their next possession when Shamarko Thomas was flagged for a personal foul for a hit out of bounds on returner Jacoby Jones. From there, Joe Flacco converted a third-and-13 with a 23-yard catch-and-run by Owen Daniels, and it would end with a 52-yard field goal by Justin Tucker and a 23-15 Ravens lead.
- Another turnover led to a quick Ravens touchdown that seemingly put the game out of reach for the Steelers, 30-15, midway through the fourth quarter. Under pressure, Ben Roethlisberger tried to dump the ball to Ben Tate, but the ball tipped off his hands and was intercepted by Terrell Suggs.
- The icing touchdown then came on the next play, when Joe Flacco completed a pass to TE Crockett Gilmore who ran into the end zone for the touchdown.
- The final nail in the Steelers coffin came when Kelvin Beachum was flagged for holding on a play that was a 19-yard touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to a wide open Dri Archer. Usually, holding penalties on offensive linemen are called either by the referee or the umpire, but this time it was called by one of the linesmen.
