A Fine Line Decides AFC North

Pittsburgh Edges the Ravens on Holmes's Debated Touchdown Reception in the Final Minute: Steelers 13, Ravens 9

BALTIMORE, Dec. 14 -- The Baltimore Ravens matched the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive stand for defensive stand and crunching hit for crunching hit for most of the day at M&T Bank Stadium.

But the Ravens finally blinked on defense when it mattered the most, and the Steelers got a controversial touchdown in the game's final minute to prevail, 13-9, Sunday and clinch the AFC North title.

"We fought all the way through, and it's great to win here in Baltimore," Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward said in a cramped but jubilant postgame visitor's locker room. "It's great to be the division champions after the tough schedule that we've played and the way we've had to battle to win games all season."

The Steelers extended their winning streak to five games, improved their record to 11-3 and secured a first-round playoff bye. They beat the second-place Ravens (9-5), who had their three-game winning streak stopped, for the second time this season.

It was a rugged matchup of the NFL's two most fearsome defenses, and the game's only touchdown came on a four-yard pass from Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to wide receiver Santonio Holmes with 43 seconds remaining. The play capped a 92-yard drive by the Steelers and included some terrific improvisation by Roethlisberger, who scrambled to his left and then moved back to his right before directing a pass to Holmes at the goal line.

The play also included controversy. Holmes caught the ball with his feet in the end zone but with the ball extended in front of his body. It was unclear if the ball reached the goal line. The officials originally marked the ball down short of the goal line, which would have given the Steelers a fourth-down play from inside the 1-yard line trailing by three points. But after an instant replay review, referee Walt Coleman ruled the play a touchdown.

Yet even Coleman's announcement was confusing. He announced to the crowd Holmes had made a legal catch with two feet in the end zone, never mentioning whether he'd determined on the replay if the ball had reached the goal line. Later, Coleman told a pool reporter the replay had showed the ball had reached the goal line.

"I thought I got the ball in the end zone," Holmes said. "I caught it out in front of me but then I brought it in to a tuck position. In my mind, that meant the ball was in the end zone."

Ravens Coach John Harbaugh said he never was given an official explanation by Coleman on the field.

"It didn't look to me like the ball broke the plane" of the goal line, Harbaugh said. "That's what I saw. . . . It's my understanding that the ball has to cross the plane. We'll be looking forward to hearing if that's a fact. . . . I asked for an explanation, but no one was explaining too much at that point in time. So we're moving on."

Harbaugh called the defeat "in some ways heartbreaking." But he also said: "It's tough to lose a game any way you lose a game."

Rookie quarterback Joe Flacco threw his second interception of the game to end the Ravens' last-gasp drive after the disputed touchdown. The Ravens had their scoring chances but managed only three field goals by place kicker Matt Stover. The Steelers got a pair of field goals by their place kicker, Jeff Reed, and were plagued by lost fumbles by Roethlisberger and Holmes.

"When we play the Ravens, it's always a physical, hard-hitting game that comes down to the end," Steelers linebacker James Harrison said. "These are two teams that don't like each other, but we do respect them, and I know that they respect us."

Yards were, predictably, tough to come by. The Ravens had the field position advantage in the early going but couldn't cash in. Flacco threw an interception in Pittsburgh territory on a tipped pass late in the first quarter. But the Ravens moved in front two and a half minutes into the second quarter on a 28-yard field goal by Stover set up by a 46-yard punt return by Jim Leonhard.

The Steelers got even on a 31-yard field goal by Reed on a drive aided by a seemingly generous spot that gave them a first down on a third-and-one running play. Harbaugh challenged the spot, but the instant replay review didn't produce a reversal. The Ravens shrugged that off and took the lead in the final minute of the half on Stover's 26-yard field goal.

The Ravens added to their lead in the third quarter after a punt by Sam Koch pinned the Steelers at their 1-yard line and Holmes lost a fumble after a first-down catch. The Baltimore offense took over at the Pittsburgh 16-yard line but could move only six yards before settling for Stover's 28-yarder.

The Steelers got a break when Holmes muffed a punt but linebacker Keyaron Fox picked up the ball and ran 18 yards to the Baltimore 33. It didn't help because Roethlisberger lost a fumble on a third-and-one play from the 24 in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter. Pittsburgh got the ball back and drove to the Ravens 12 but had to settle for Reed's 30-yard field goal, narrowing the deficit to 9-6. The Ravens moved into possible field goal range but got knocked backward by a sack and had to punt to set up the Steelers' winning drive.

"We lost the game," Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis said. "That's the bottom line. There aren't any . . . excuses. A million times if you play it, of course [Holmes] didn't get in. But they called it the way they called it. You've got to move on. That didn't win or lose the game for us."