Rubbing ‘D’ the wrong way

Steelers get best of Ravens’ defense with slick picks

Believe it or not, there were third downs the Pittsburgh Steelers failed to convert Sunday. It might have only seemed as if the Ravens defense could not figure out how to get off the field in the team’s 23-16 loss. In fact, the Ravens stopped Pittsburgh’s first third down of the game.

Early in the first quarter, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger took the snap out of the shotgun, assessed his options on a runpass option and handed the ball off to James Conner. The running back got 4 yards; he needed 10. The play call was a bet that Conner would get the Steelers to fourth-and-manageable, with the offense too far away to kick a field goal and too close to punt.

The offense remained on the field, Roethlisberger and Co. bluffing that they’d go for it. Instead, he executed a pooch punt, one that, if not for safety Eric Weddle’s Nov. 18, 1 p.m. TV: Ch. 13 Radio: 97.9 FM, 1090 AM

COURTESY PHOTO Steelers running back James Conner scores a 7-yard touchdown on one of 10 third-down conversions for Pittsburgh on its 16 attempts in last Sunday’s game.