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Superior kicking leads Balitmore Ravens past Pittsburgh Steelers in OT

By John Perrotto, The Sports Xchange
Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker (9) with Sam Koch (4) holding, kicks a 52 yard field goal to win the game in overtime with the score of 23-20 against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh on October 1, 2015. Photo by Archie Carpenter/UPI
1 of 7 | Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker (9) with Sam Koch (4) holding, kicks a 52 yard field goal to win the game in overtime with the score of 23-20 against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh on October 1, 2015. Photo by Archie Carpenter/UPI | License Photo

PITTSBURGH -- Justin Tucker stood at the podium, faced the media and cracked a joke while cradling the game ball under his right arm.

"You probably don't want to hear some kicker stand up here and give a detailed explanation about a kick," the Baltimore Ravens kicker said Thursday night. "I'm sure you'd rather hear about guys throwing touchdowns passes or catches."

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Not on this night. The pinpoint kicking of Turner and the scattershot performance of his Pittsburgh Steelers counterpart, Josh Scobee, made a big difference.

Tucker's third field goal of the game, a 52-yarder with 5:08 remaining in overtime, gave the Ravens their first win of the season, 23-20 over the Steelers.

The Ravens drove 32 yards in eight plays for the field goal. The winning march came after the Steelers drove to the Baltimore 33-yard line on their second possession of overtime but eschewed a game-winning field goal attempt by Scobee on fourth-and-1. Scobee missed two field-goal tries in the last 2:24 of the fourth quarter from 49 and 41 yards.

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Quarterback Michael Vick threw incomplete to give the ball back to the Ravens (1-3), who erased a 13-point, second-half deficit and avoided the first 0-4 start in franchise history.

"In this league, most games come down to three points," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "We have a great kicker."

Scobee, acquired in a trade just before the start of the season after spending the first 11 years of his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars, said he felt awful about his performance.

"I feel like I let the team down, and it's not something that I ever want to remember doing," Scobee said. "It's a bad feeling. It was a hard-fought game on both sides. I wish I had been able to come through, but it just wasn't my night."

Ravens running back Justin Forsett rushed for 150 yards on 27 carries. Quarterback Joe Flacco completed 20 of 33 passes for 189 yards and one touchdown with one interception.

"One of the greatest feelings in the world is winning a game in the National Football League because it's so hard," Flacco said. "This one was extra special because we were staring 0-4 in the face. You're together so much as a group. You work so hard. It's tough to lose but great to win."

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Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. left the game in the third quarter with a lower back contusion and did not return. He was limited to 24 yards on four receptions after recording a combined 23 catches for 236 yards in the previous two games.

Baltimore wideout Kamar Aiken had five catches for 77 yards and a touchdown.

Vick was 19-for-26 passing for 124 yards and a touchdown in his first start for the Steelers (2-2). The four-time Pro Bowl selection replaced quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who sat out after sustaining a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee Sunday in a win over the Rams at St. Louis. Roethlisberger is expected to miss at least four weeks.

"This probably the toughest loss of my career," said Vick, a 35-year-old veteran. "We had our chances to win the game. I had plays that I could've made but didn't, and it's disappointing."

Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell rushed for 129 yards and a score on 22 carries. Last season, he managed a combined 79 yards against the Ravens in two games.

Pittsburgh wide receiver Antonio Brown was limited to five receptions for 42 yards. That ended his NFL-record streaks of 35 consecutive games with at least five receptions and 50 yards and 14 games in a row with at least seven catches.

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The Ravens forced overtime on Tucker's 42-yard field goal with three seconds remaining in regulation.

Tucker's kick came after Scobee missed from 49 yards with 2:24 left and 41 yards with 1:06 to go, attempts that would have padded the Steelers' lead to six points.

Following the second miss, the Ravens drove 46 yards in seven plays and 38 seconds for the tying field goal.

Vick found wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey for a 9-yard touchdown in the left corner of the end zone less than five minutes into the third quarter to give the Steelers a 20-7 lead. The score was set up when defensive end Cameron Heyward sacked Flacco on the first play of the second half, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Steelers cornerback Ross Cockrell, who also had an interception.

The Ravens cut the lead to 20-14 when Aiken got behind the defense and caught a 15-yard scoring pass from Flacco with 7:27 remaining in the third.

A 40-yard field goal by Tucker with 10:14 left in the fourth got the Ravens within three points.

The Steelers scored twice late in the second quarter to take a 13-7 halftime lead.

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Bell's 11-yard touchdown run with 1:37 remaining in the second quarter put the Steelers ahead 10-7, and Scobee kicked a 36-yard field goal as time expired in the half. Scobee also opened the scoring with a 45-yarder in the first quarter.

Wide receiver Michael Campanaro gave the Ravens a 7-3 lead when he ran 9 yards for a touchdown on a reverse with 25 seconds left in the first quarter.

NOTES: Steelers CB Cortez Allen (concussion) did not dress after being listed as questionable. Among those joining him as inactives were QB Ben Roethlisberger (knee), LB Ryan Shazier (shoulder), DT Daniel McCullers (knee) and TE Matt Spaeth (hand). ... It was the 18th game Roethlisberger missed in 12-year career. ... Ravens LT Eugene Monroe (concussion) was questionable for the game but was inactive along with WR Breshad Perriman (knee), TE Crockett Gilmore (calf) and DE Chris Canty (calf). ... Former Steelers star running back Jerome Bettis received his Pro Football Hall of Fame ring during a halftime ceremony.. ... The Ravens host the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 11, and the Steelers visit the San Diego Chargers on Oct. 12.

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