Banged-up Steelers outlast Ravens

PITTSBURGH – Jeff Reed kicked a 46-yard field goal in overtime as the Pittsburgh Steelers overcame a 10-point deficit, numerous injuries and a late Baltimore comeback to outlast the Ravens 23-20 on Monday night.

Reed’s third field goal ended a back-and-forth game in which the Steelers (3-1) were down by 10 late in the third quarter, rallied but couldn’t hold a seven-point lead, then found a way to win despite being without their top three running backs.

Pittsburgh came back to win despite losing two players to season-ending injuries, running back and first-round draft pick Rashard Mendenhall (fractured shoulder) and right guard Kendall Simmons (right Achilles). Both will be placed on injured reserve, coach Mike Tomlin said.

The Ravens (2-1), losing for the seventh time in their last eight games in Pittsburgh and falling out of the AFC North lead, won the important overtime coin toss but were backed up by two penalties and a sack. Sam Koch had to punt out of the end zone.

Then, on third-and-8, Ben Roethlisberger found fourth-string running back Mewelde Moore – playing only because of the injuries – on a key 24-yard swing pass for a first down at the Ravens’ 31. On third-and-14, Moore made a 7-yard catch to the 28 to give Reed the extra yardage he needed to make it.

“That was important – a 46-yarder there isn’t a given, and a 53-yarder isn’t easy,” Reed said. “I get too much credit. My foot won it, but that’s what I’m supposed to do in that situation.”

Moore said, “Coach Tomlin told me when I came here I’d be his minute man, that I had to be ready on a minute’s notice. Everything he said held true.”

The Steelers turned the 10-point deficit into a 17-13 lead in a 15-second span in the third quarter, only to have rookie quarterback Joe Flacco of the Ravens hit Derrick Mason for 35 yards ahead of Le’Ron McClain’s 2-yard TD run that tied it at 20 with 4:02 remaining.

Before then, Pittsburgh appeared to have overcome three mostly dreadful quarters in a momentum-turning span of three plays, and Reed added a 19-yard field goal for 20-13.

The Steelers, booed by their own fans while held without a touchdown for eight quarters since the second period of a 10-6 win in Cleveland on Sept. 14, finally awoke late in the third by going to a no-huddle offense with Roethlisberger lined up in a shotgun formation.

They resorted to the no-huddle almost by necessity, with Mendenhall out and Pro Bowl runner Willie Parker (knee) not in uniform.

“We’re resilient,” Steelers receiver Hines Ward said. “There was no finger-pointing when we fell behind. We stayed together. I can’t say enough about that group of running backs.”

In a game filled with injuries, the Steelers also lost backup running back Carey Davis (ankle) and backup linebacker Andre Frazier, who was carted off the field on a stretcher with a spinal injury after being blocked during the opening kickoff. Frazier was immobilized, but appeared to be fine after the game.