National Football League
Baltimore 35, Pittsburgh 7
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, September 11, 2011
Where: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland
Temperature: 75°
Head Official: Tony Corrente
Attendance: 71434

Joe Flacco threw three touchdown passes and the Baltimore Ravens’ defense forced seven turnovers in a convincing 35-7 victory over the visiting AFC North rival Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

Ray Rice ran for 107 yards and accounted for 149 yards and two touchdowns for Baltimore (1-0), which scored twice in a span of 2:07 bridging the first and second halves to turn the latest rendition of the NFL’s fiercest rivalry into a rare laugher.

Eight of the last nine meetings had been decided by a touchdown or less, but Baltimore avenged last season’s 31-24 loss in the divisional round by manhandling the defending AFC champion Steelers (0-1).

The much-maligned Flacco silenced some of his critics by beating Pittsburgh for the first time in seven tries. Overall, Baltimore had lost seven straight in the series when Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was in the lineup.

Roethlisberger threw three interceptions – two shy of his total from last season – and the Steelers’ NFL-best string of eight straight season-opening wins came to an emphatic end.

Similar to last January, Baltimore jumped out to a 21-7 halftime lead, but this time the Ravens didn’t wilt. On the first play of the second half, Haloti Ngata burst through the line and drilled Rashard Mendenhall before he could secure the handoff and recovered the fumble at the 18-yard line.

Flacco then hit a diving Ed Dickson for a touchdown on the Ravens’ first play. Punter Sam Koch ran in a fake extra point for a two-point conversion, adding insult to injury.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
Pittsburgh   Baltimore
Rashard Mendenhall Player Ray Rice
12 Attempts 19
45 Yards 107
3.8 Avg Yards 5.6
0 Touchdowns 1
23 Long 36
Receiving
Pittsburgh   Baltimore
Mike Wallace Player Anquan Boldin
8 Receptions 4
107 Yards 74
13.4 Avg Yards 18.5
0 Touchdowns 1
26 Long 27
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Pittsburgh 312 66 246 1 0 0 1.0 0
Baltimore 385 170 215 4 2 3 4.0 4
Upcoming Games
  • Baltimore will play their next game on the road against Tennessee. The Ravens have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
  • Pittsburgh will play their next game at home against Seattle. The Steelers have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.