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After this afternoon's 17-14 win over the Steelers, offensive coordinator Cam Cameron was given a game ball.
Cameron should grab a pair of scissors and cut that football into seven pieces.
He can keep one for himself, because he called a pretty nice football game, especially considering the defense the Ravens were facing and the beat up running back corps that they were working with.
The other six pieces of that game ball, however, should go to offensive line coach John Matsko and the Ravens' five starting offensive linemen.
Through their first three games of the season, the Steelers had 10 sacks. They have two great outside pass rushers in James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley, a formidable presence along the defensive line with ends Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel, and they bring pressure from every direction at any time.
But today, against a Ravens offensive line which again was without tackle Jared Gaither, the Steelers only sacked Joe Flacco once, and registered just two quarterback hits.
The only sack that Pittsburgh did register was arguably Flacco's fault; he held onto the ball too long, and he was hit by nose tackle Casey Hampton, who also forced a fumble.
Throughout much of the afternoon, Flacco was given plenty of time to look downfield and find his receivers, and he rarely had to scamper out of the pocket or force a throw early because of bodies in his face.
Offensive tackles Michael Oher and Marshal Yanda contained Harrison and Woodley, respectively - two Steelers linebackers who had burned the Ravens in previous matchups. Guards Ben Grubbs and Chris Chester and center Matt Birk did well setting the pocket and giving Flacco room to step up into his throws.
That was especially evident on the Ravens' game-winning drive, when Flacco had all day to throw even when the Steelers brought extra bodies at him, and as a result, Flacco hit a rhythm, going 4-of-4 for 40 yards and the touchdown to Houshmandzadeh.
If you saw Flacco's jersey at the end of the game, it sure looked a lot whiter than it had at the end of previous games against the Steelers.
It's not an accident, then, that the Ravens won this game, while they had lost four of their five previous matchups with Pittsburgh with Flacco under center.
