Ravens Find That Winning Feeling

After enduring nine weeks of pain as losses mounted and morale dwindled in Charm City, the Ravens simply refused to close out their season with that emotion in a gritty 27-21 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

On the churning legs of Musa Smith and Cory Ross, the Ravens built a 20-point lead, but it took a last-minute interception from David Pittman to completely seal the victory.

When Pittman secured Charlie Batch's 50-yard attempted bomb to Santonio Holmes, the cornerback's second interception of the day, a huge sigh of relief exhaled out of M&T Bank Stadium, where the specter of a nine-game losing streak was lifted.

Batch, who finished 16-of-31 for 218 yards, sparked the comeback with two fourth-quarter touchdown passes, including a 59-yard connection with Holmes. The tension was as heavy as the steady rain falling on a chilly Baltimore evening.

"I took a deep breath once we got that interception," said wideout Derrick Mason, whose six catches gave him a career-high 103 on the season. "All that frustration just came out. It was good because we played against a very good team and they fought until the end.

"We were able to make one more play than them at the end, so that just leaves us to go into the offseason on a positive note. No matter how the season went, we were able to win our last game, and that's good."

Despite not having playoff aspirations like the Steelers, Baltimore was desperate to end its unprecedented slide heading into the offseason. Both teams were saddled by injuries, but the Ravens wanted it more in Sunday's battle of the backups.

Troy Smith, making his second career start, turned in another solid performance, completing 16 of 27 passes for 171 yards and one touchdown.

Musa Smith, who was third on the depth chart a week ago before Willis McGahee cracked his ribs and Mike Anderson injured a hamstring, rushed for 83 yards and a touchdown. The 5-foot-6 Ross contributed 72 yards on only 12 carries, including a slippery 32-yard scoring romp.

"I honestly felt like we would not be denied," said the rookie quarterback. "The season has been long and drawn out. Today there was something special about the feel – something special about everything."

Having already locked up the AFC's fourth playoff seed, the Steelers rested starting signal-caller Ben Roethlisberger, receiver Hines Ward and return specialist Allen Rossum, keeping an eye on their meeting with the Jacksonville Jaguars (Pittsburgh could have jumped to the third seed with a win and a San Deigo loss Sunday).

Considering they haven't won since Oct. 14, the Ravens felt that they had just as much - if not more - to play for.

"Some might [think it was a meaningless game], but these kids won't," explained head coach Brian Billick. "To go out there and physically have to do what you have to do under those circumstances, they showed their professionalism until the end. That's all you can ever ask a group. It was an outstanding win."

From the start, luck seemed to be going the Ravens' way. Pittsburgh's Willie Reid fumbled away the opening kickoff, leading to Musa Smith's 2-yard touchdown run. Matt Stover added a 28-yard field goal on the next Ravens possession.

"Give credit to the special teams for getting that ball on the first play. It really set the tone," said linebacker Nick Greisen, who logged 11 tackles in place of an injured Ray Lewis (hand). "For us to get the ball and for them to score seven right away, for our offense, it's a good confidence booster for them and for our defense as well."

By the time Ross weaved his way through the NFL's third-ranked rush defense at 13:27 in the second quarter, Baltimore had built a 17-point cushion. Steelers running back Najeh Davenport broke the drought with a 1-yard score three minutes later with the help of a 47-yard pass interference penalty on Corey Ivy.

The Ravens answered with another Stover field goal after Pittman caught his first-career interception and returned it 30 yards.

Troy Smith found Devard Darling for a 15-yard scoring pass midway through the third quarter to raise the margin to 20 points.

That was when the Steelers' offense woke up. Batch found Holmes on a short pass near the left sideline, and the speedy wideout had a step on cornerback Derrick Martin to race 59 yards to paydirt. Pittsburgh recovered the ensuing onsides kick after Darling and Le'Ron McClain collided with each other, and the veteran quarterback mounted another 56-yard touchdown drive.

Sam Koch's booming punt on the next series backed the Steelers up to their 11, and Pittman corralled Batch's late attempt to Holmes to seal the victory.

While the win certainly doesn't erase the disappointment of a season gone awry, the smiles and looks of relief in the Ravens' locker room told the story of a team finally remembering what that old sensation was.

"It feels so good just to walk out of this locker room knowing that we won our last game," Darling said. "We fought hard, and we practiced hard all year, and it's just a great feeling."