After last week’s debacle in London, the Ravens returned home to Baltimore looking to rebound and get back to their winning ways. However, rebound they did not. The club fell victim to a stellar offensive performance from the Pittsburgh Steelers. While the Steelers offense was firing on all cylinders, the Ravens offense could not get off the ground.
The Birds were held to just nine points on the afternoon, all of which came in the third quarter. Kicker Justin Tucker opened the scoring for the club with a 42-yard field goal. Following the kick, quarterback Joe Flacco connected with wide out Mike Wallace on a 16-yard strike for the team’s lone touchdown.
The defense too faced struggles. Pittsburgh running back Le’Veon Bell torched Baltimore for 186 all-purpose yards, while adding two touchdowns of his own. In the air, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger completed 18 of 30 passes for 216 yards and one touchdown.
Final score: Pittsburgh 26 Baltimore 9.
The Ravens will be back in action this weekend in Oakland to face the Raiders at 4:05 p.m. on Sunday.
The Redskins took to the road this week to take on the Kansas City Chiefs during Monday Night Football. The Redskins opened the night as a seven-point underdog to the undefeated Chiefs, but Washington played as if they were the favorites. The Skins got on the board early via a 44-yard bomb from quarterback Kirk Cousins to wide receiver Terrell Pryor. Kicker Dustin Hopkins then knocked in a chip shot 19-yard field goal to put Washington up 10-0 in the first quarter.
Following a Chief’s score at the end of the half, followed by another early in the third quarter, the Skins trailed 14-10. However, Washington answered with a three-yard touchdown grab from running back Ryan Grant to put the club on top 17-14. The Chiefs tacked on two field goals to take a 20-17 lead. However, Cousins led the Redskins on a 10-play, 53-yard drive that put Hopkins in position to nail a 40-yarder to even the score with 47 seconds left.
With the score knotted at 20, the Redskins allowed two big plays to quarterback Alex Smith, and allowed a 43-yard field goal with four seconds left in regulation time. Washington’s desperate attempt to score as time ran out was halted when Chiefs’ defensive end Justin Houston recovered a fumble for a score.
Final score: Kansas City 29 Washington 20.
Although the Redskins dropped this game, the club will look to continue to play solid football next week when they head back home to take on the San Francisco 49ers. With the way Washington has performed of late—beating Oakland in convincing fashion and taking Kansas City to the wire—next week’s matchup should be in their favor. The Redskins should take this one without much question.
*Photo by WCities via flickr.com*