If the Baltimore Ravens' 23-20 win Sunday night put the final nail in the coffin of the Steelers' hopes to win the AFC North, then the atmosphere in the Pittsburgh locker room after the game was certainly fitting.

Minutes after the Ravens shocked Pittsburgh with a 92-yard touchdown drive to take the lead with mere seconds left in the game, the Steelers locker room was so quiet you could hear the sighs of disappointment from every member of the roster who didn't quickly shower, dress and exit the stadium before the post-game media availability.

The eerie quietness made the usually electric home team locker room feel more like a wake. The stunned looks on their faces said it all. They had fought to get back into the game after the Ravens took a 16-6 lead in the third quarter. With just under five minutes left, Ben Roethlisberger threw a 25-yard strike to Mike Wallace to put the Steelers on top 20-16. But the Joe Flacco-led Ravens would strike back with an uncharacteristic 92-yard touchdown drive to steal the game from the Steelers with only eight seconds left.

The 26-yard pass from Flacco arched toward the back right corner of the end zone where Torrey Smith atoned for poor play earlier in the game by allowing the ball to fall into his arms for the game-winning touchdown.

"A miscommunication between six guys who shouldn't have a miscommunication," Ryan Clark said of that final play. "I'm the leader of that. I'm the guy who is supposed to get everybody on the same page and I didn't. I should've been over the top a little more to help William (Gay) and I wasn't, which caused him to be a little behind the guy."

"It was a tough [loss]," said DE Brett Keisel. "To have the lead there and have a chance to go out and make a stop and win the game, it's tough. But they're a good team and you gotta give them credit. They beat us today."

The silence in the Steelers locker room spoke louder than any post-game quote could. This was a team that was devastated to lose to a division rival that in recent years had been unable to get over on them. The Ravens flipped the script of the best rivalry in the NFL by sweeping the Steelers this season.

"They made plays and we didn't," Keisel said. "It just didn't go our way today. They're a good team. Hopefully we'll see them again."

Sunday night's game, until the final 15 seconds of the game, had followed a familiar formula. The Ravens looked like the better of the two teams early, and then the Steelers made plays to get back in the game and take a late lead. But that's where the similarities to previous installments ended.

Instead of the Steelers defense feasting on Flacco and coming up with a big play late, it was the Ravens offense who drove right down the field on the Steelers defense.

Flacco made it look easy with passes of 21, 13, 10, 11 and finally 26 yards to put the game away.

"That was, on my part, the worst drive ever," explained a disappointed William Gay.

As the clocked tick to all zeroes in Heinz Field, the Steelers found themselves in an unfamiliar situation: Looking up at the Baltimore Ravens with their hopes of winning the division on life support, suffering from a severe lack of turnovers. Through nine games this season, the Steelers defense has registered a mere six turnovers.

The Steelers now turn their focus to division upstart Cincinnati who sit atop the AFC North along with the Ravens at 6-2. If the Steelers want to keep their playoff hopes alive, they have to win Sunday in Cincinnati. But it won't be an easy task to take down rookie sensation Andy Dalton and the resurgent Bengals. Especially if the ghost of Sunday night's loss to Baltimore refuses to leave the Steelers alone.

"For today and tomorrow it's gonna be tough," Keisel admitted. "But we've got a bunch of tough guys in here and we'll find a way to respond."

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-- CHASE KENDERES
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