Numerous times throughout the 2012 NFL season Steeler fans and national media pundits alike have had the pen and paper out, ready to write the eulogy for this year’s Pittsburgh Steelers. And every time they have, these Steelers have made them put it away. In Sunday’s win over the Ravens was yet another example of this team being able to summon up a win when not many gave them a chance. Trailing most of the game, on the road against a team that hasn’t lost at home in two years, with their third string quarterback, the Steelers managed to come from behind to shock the Ravens 23-20.
It isn’t the first time the Steelers have gone on the road and come back from a double-digit deficit to win. They did it earlier in the season against Cincinnati, coming back from a 14-3 deficit to defeat the Bengals 24-17. Two weeks after that the Steelers fought back from a 20-10 fourth quarter deficit to beat the Giants 24-20. It’s truly amazing considering the Steelers have dropped games to the likes of Oakland, Tennessee, and of course, Cleveland, which now seems like a distant memory after quarterback Charlie Batch’s performance on Sunday, in which he completed his final eight pass attempts to lead the Steelers to the game winning field goal.
The Steelers to this point in the season may not be a Super Bowl contender, and they may not even make the playoffs, but you have to admire the fight in this team and their ability to come up big when they need it the most. They will need their best over the next few weeks, with big games against Dallas, who are also fighting for a playoff spot, and a rematch with the Bengals which could decide who gets the last playoff spot in the AFC.
But with big names like Troy Polamalu and Antonio Brown back in the lineup, and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger returning this week, the Steelers may be setting themselves up for a successful stretch run. It definitely is a far cry from what we were saying about them last week at this time.
Photo Credits: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
