Steelers win, but gain nothing after 34-31 triumph of Ravens

Not only didn't they earn a weekend off, but they had to use their regulars right to the end .
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Pittsburgh Steelers gained almost nothing by beating the Baltimore Ravens.
They didn't get the wild-card weekend off, or home-field advantage in the second round of the playoffs.
They didn't get a quick, easy win that would allow them to rest their regulars in the second half, or a tidy defensive performance to carry them into the postseason.
Instead they got a wild, down-to-the-last play 34-31 victory Sunday in which they built a double-digit lead then spend most of the fourth quarter frantically rallying from just such a deficit.
Ask them, though, and the Steelers say they couldn't imagine a better way to go into their wild-card game against rival Cleveland (9-7), even though they must win three games in three weeks -- possibly, two on the road -- just to reach the Super Bowl.
After squandering home-field advantage four times previously under coach Bill Cowher -- in the 1992, 1994, 1997 and 2001 seasons -- maybe the Steelers won't mind trying it another way this time.
"We have gone into the playoffs in so many different ways, but have always come out with a loss," Cowher said.
Momentum might be better
Obviously, the suggestion was it just might be better to keep playing and maintain the momentum the Steelers (10-5-1) gained by winning three straight and five of six.
If the Steelers beat the Browns, they will play at Tennessee (11-5) the following weekend.
Oakland (11-5) is top-seeded, just as the Steelers were a season ago when New England upset them at home in the AFC championship game.
The Steelers also lost the conference title game at home to San Diego during the 1994 season -- the weekend after beating the Browns 29-9 in their only previous playoff matchup -- and to Denver in the 1997 season.
"I feel better going into the playoffs this year than I do last year, I really do," said Dewayne Washington, whose interception with 18 seconds left on a first-and-10 play from the Pittsburgh 11 sealed it. "We were so dominant, but then we had a bad game. I like the way we're playing now."
So does Tommy Maddox, whose two touchdown passes helped him overcome two interceptions the Ravens (7-9) turned into touchdowns and a 31-20 lead.
"It's not what we wanted coming into this game. But like I've said all season, this team sticks together and this is a huge momentum lift," Maddox said. "It's an exciting way to go into the playoffs."
A little too exciting, perhaps?
Blew 17-7 lead
The Steelers looked ready to put the Ravens away early, leading 17-7 lead on Maddox's 23-yard touchdown pass to Hines Ward -- the receiver's team-record-tying 12th scoring catch -- and the first of Amos Zereoue's two short scoring runs.
But the Ravens, whose own playoff chances hinged on them winning and five other teams losing Sunday, rallied for to go up by 11 points on TD passes by Jeff Blake of 31 yards to Todd Heap and 20 yards to Chester Taylor.
Fullback Alan Ricard, who scored Baltimore's first touchdown by falling on a fumble by Jamal Lewis in the end zone, also scored on a 6-yard run.
The Ravens' biggest mistake might have been taking the lead too early.
With half the fourth quarter remaining, the Steelers still had time for a 10-play drive ended by Zereoue's 5-yard scoring run and, after Taylor fumbled away a kickoff, Maddox's 8-yard touchdown pass to Antwaan Randle El.
Costly interception
When Blake's pass was intercepted with the Ravens easily within range for a tying field goal, it sealed their second last-minute loss in two weeks. Cleveland beat them 14-13 a week earlier on a long, late scoring drive.
"It's kind of like this whole year," Ravens tackle Jonathan Ogden said. "We're almost right there, but we just didn't have enough to get it done."
Coach Brian Billick never thought about kicking the tying field after the Ravens drove to the Steelers' 11, not with enough time left for two throws into the end zone.
"Sometimes you take a shot, and sometimes it doesn't work out," he said. "If you're too cautious and too careful about everything you do, then you don't belong in this business."
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