Flush with twists and turns, plenty of bad blood and an outcome that boiled down to one fateful play, it's clear we've just emerged from an instant AFC North classic.
After Jerricho Cotchery's clutch fourth-and-1 touchdown grab drew Pittsburgh within two points of Baltimore, the Steelers fell short on the two-point conversion as Ben Roethlisberger's pass to Emmanuel Sanders was ruled incomplete in the end zone.
That won't happen, but if we've learned anything from this year's version of the Black and Gold, it's that no team should be ruled out after an ugly start when the roster includes one of the game's grittiest passers. Ben Roethlisberger has carried this team, and the Steelers would be village idiots to allow him to go anywhere else in 2014.
Big Ben should be handed a fat new contract like Joe Flacco, who hushed his critics with a crisp evening through the air that saw the Ravens go for the throat with a menu of deep strikes to Torrey Smith and Jacoby Jones.
Flacco made key throws all over the field, but Baltimore's rediscovered success with the long ball over the past two weeks has thrust them back into the conversattion in the AFC.
This Ravens team has a long way to go before printing playoff tickets, but if they can repeat Thursday's performance, Baltimore looks like a good bet for January play.
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