The Baltimore Ravens took it to the Pittsburgh Steelers 35-7 in Sunday’s opener. Joe Flacco threw for three touchdowns in the game which marked his first time beating Ben Roethlisberger head-to-head. Things were going so well for the Ravens that after they scored to make it 27-7, they pulled out a trick play on their extra-point attempt.
Taking a page out of the Les Miles playbook, holder Sam Koch fielded the snap and ran through a beautiful hole opened up by his blockers. The conversion made it 29-7 and Baltimore added two more field goals to make it 35-7. It was a brilliant play and it was executed to perfection. But why did the Ravens waste it during a game they were winning by a wide margin? Why not save it for a later game when they really needed it?
Not only was the timing questionable, but the play also made enemies in Pittsburgh (as if the rivalry wasn’t already strong enough).
“It leaves a taste in your mouth,” Hines Ward said. “The 2-point conversion. The passing at the end … We’ll remember everything.”
Ben Roethlisberger expressed a similar feeling of disgust and anger. “They’re trying to score, they’re trying to put an exclamation point on a win against the Steelers I guess,” he said while shrugging. “That’s how their coach wants to play the game, then that’s fine.”
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my years of covering football, it’s that you don’t piss off your opponent. You do that, you generally pay the price the next time you play. Pittsburgh will remember the two-point conversion and so will I. You bet your sweet behind I’ll be picking the Steelers in the rematch.
