Charmed in Charm City

In what has been a season laden with plot twists, turns, highs, and lows, the pendulum of irony took another big sweeping arc on the 2012 Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday, as the men of steel rode out of town with an unlikely 23-20 victory over their arch nemesis, the Baltimore Ravens. Matching up against the heavily favored Ravens, the undermanned Steelers gritted out what may be remembered for years to come as the most electrifying regular season win under head coach Mike Tomlin.

Perhaps those words are overstated, but simply consider that the Steelers were again playing behind the geriatric backup quarterback Charlie Batch, and now without cover corner Ike Taylor who was lost early in the contest. Couple this with Maurkice Pouncey making his first NFL start at guard, a few spots over from rookie Kelvin Beachum, a man drafted at #248, five picks away from the notorious "Mr. Irrelevant" award, who was giving it a whirl as the Steelers' third right tackle.  Oh, and all this while playing the Ravens at home where they've won their last 15 contests, and to re-state, without the only man seemingly qualified to beat those Ravens, Big Ben Roethlisberger.  In the Las Vegas Bookkeepers' Wikipedia page, the link to "underdog" simply shows the team's lineup card from yesterday.

But as Coach Tomlin often reminds us, "it's not what you're capable of, it's what you're willing to do"...or perhaps the fitting quote should be the oft overused Chris Bermanism: "that's why they play the game".

Behind a resiliant and rejuvinated Batch, the Steelers got A games from tight end Heath Miller and the patchwork offensive line, while tailbacks Jon Dwyer and Isaac Redman did their share in running hard and protecting the ball.  There was even a Mike Wallace sighting, as Wallace made a few big snares during the critical closing drive.  The defense was once again stellar, and for another week, kicker Shaun Suisham extended his nearly perfect season.

Maybe yesterday was a case of the desperate team syndrome, maybe Batch's manhood and pride were that bruised last week, maybe it was bad karma for Ray Rice, as he unwisely enlisted into the ranks of Terrible Towel desecrators a few weeks back.  Maybe it was finally just shoving a fist into the crotch of the overly arrogant and annoying John Harbaugh.  You decide.  For me, this is a victory to savor, reminiscent of that snowy day on December 11th, 2005.  You remember the game, against the Bears?  The one that transformed a lost season into something that seemed...charmed.