Men Will Bleed, Bones Will Be Crushed

by Reid Jupin

Whatever deity is out there in the ether must be smiling down on Pennsylvania this weekend, because only a higher power would bless us with this weekend's AFC game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Let me take you on a quick trip through history to emphasize why this match up will unquestionably be a historic one.

Sunday December 14, 2008, Balitmore, Maryland: With the Ravens leading Pittsburgh 9 to 6 in the waning minutes of the 4th quarter, rookie coach John Harbaugh instructs his team to punt on a 4th down after his team's offense--led by rookie quarterback Joe Flacco-- fails to convert a late game 3rd down. The ball is snapped, the punt goes up and falls perfectly, gracefully, and fortunately within the 10 yard line of Steelers' territory. With the ball ultimately downed at the 8 yard line, and the home crowd in Baltimore explodes… That’s it!... It’s done!... Game over, man!...

That beautiful punt all but insures a Ravens' win, as the Steelers would have to move heaven and earth to win. To secure a victory, the Steelers needed to drive 92 yards in a little over 2 minutes and score a touchdown. To make things worst, the defense that would be preventing them from doing this was no ordinary unit, but the fabled and feared Baltimore squad, led by outspoken middle linebacker Ray “I might have helped kill a guy” Lewis. No, there was no way that could happen--no way could the Steelers pull off an impromptu victory, not in front of this crowd, not against this defense.

Of course, it did.



In front of a stunned Ravens' home crowd, the Pittsburgh Steelers offense--which had been sputtering all game long--willed a drive the length of the field down the to the Ravens' end zone and topped off the drive--and the game--with a controversial 4 yard Santonio Holmes touchdown pass. It proved to be the difference in the game, and the Steelers had done the impossible and won.

With that, the victorious Steelers were all but certain to receive a playoff berth. For the crushed Ravens, the loss meant it would take a divine intervention for them to make the post-season.

Yet for whatever reason, the football gods saw it necessary for these two titans to clash again, and here and now, five weeks later, in one of the best AFC Championship match-ups in recent years.

The Baltimore Ravens, a team once thought to be as dead as disco when it came to the playoffs, is now advancing to the AFC Championship game and set to face none other than the Pittsburg Steelers. Mike Florio, of Profootballtalk.com, said it best, “Ladies and Gentlemen get ready for World War 3!”

In predicting an outcome to this inevitably epic game, all rational thinking says to pick the Steelers. They’ve beaten the Ravens twice this year, the game is a home game for them, they are led by a fifth-year quarterback with super bowl experience and “statistically” they have the best defense in the NFL. With all those factors backing a decision you’d have to be crazy to bet against them, yet that is precisely what you should do.

I’m taking the Ravens in this game to win by a field goal, and I’m taking them because of the turnout of their last meeting. The Ravens are a team with too much pride to let it end the way it did on December 14th. There’s just something about this team and the way they're playing.

You have to ignore all the facts and justifications the pundits pull out to explain why the Ravens will lose this game: They have a rookie quarterback, they Raven’s haven’t had a bye week since September, they are riddled with injuries, it’s an away game...Some even say there’s nothing left in the tank for Ray Lewis and his defense.

Ray may be on his last leg and might only have a couple more years in him--he is not the player he once was. But, you have to assume that the memory of the Steelers' 92 yard drive against Lewis' proud Baltimore defense--in front of a Baltimore crowd--topped by a touchdown pass that never crossed the plane is a memory that still haunts Ray.

And we shouldn't forget that, though the Baltimore defense is not statistically number one, it is surely the most feared in the NFL.

Forget assumptions and statistics--the Ravens will have their vengeance this weekend, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers, in their own house, in front of their own home crowd. They win with a rookie quarterback and a smile on their face. The Steelers might have all the favorable statistics in the world, but Sunday morning, the Ravens will awake with a burning need to reclaim their pride, and they will stop at nothing to get it back.

Men will bleed, bones will be crushed, Pittsburgh will burn and Baltimore will prevail.

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