The Baltimore Ravens’ first victory in Pittsburgh came in December 1999 after failing to win at Three Rivers Stadium the previous three seasons. This game was remarkable in several aspects. As previously noted, this was the franchise’s first road win against their soon-to-be bitter rivals. This game also featured some all-out, crazy moments and statistics that only Ravens games ever seem to be blessed with.
The Ravens started the game off strong, as their offense scored a touchdown on their opening series of the game. Priest Holmes ended the drive with a 64-yard touchdown run to match the Steelers’ opening drive touchdown and tie the game at 7. It should be noted that Tony Banks was 0-3 passing on the drive. That will become significant as the game progresses.
After trading a couple of punts, the Ravens got their first completion of the game with 1:09 remaining in the 1st quarter, a 31 yard pass to Qadry Ismail. Tony Banks finished the first quarter 1 of 9 passing for 31 yards. The Ravens would eventually get a field goal on the drive, no thanks to Banks.
The score was 10-7 one minute into the 2nd quarter, and Tony Banks was 1-11 passing. The Ravens would not score the rest of the half, and would only complete two more passes in the quarter, a 7-yard completion to Billy Davis and a 15 yarder to Ismail. Tony Banks went into the locker room at halftime with the Ravens tied 10-10 with the Steelers with 3 completions. He was 3-18 passing for 53 yards at the half. And the Ravens were somehow tied.
If things weren’t entertaining (or disturbing) enough, things got even crazier in the 3rd quarter. Qadry Ismail had 4 catches for 210 yards and 3 touchdowns in the quarter. His scores were from 54, 59, and 76 yards, respectively. Nope. No typos there. Tony Banks, after going 3-18 for 53 yards the entire first half, was 5-6 passing for 213 yards and 3 touchdowns in the quarter. The only other completion of the quarter went to Chuck Evans for 3 yards. Ha-ha.
The Ravens ended the quarter leading 31-17. Banks would only go 1-3 passing in the 4th Quarter, a 25 yard completion to Priest Holmes. Banks’ final numbers were: 8-26 passing, 268 yards, and 3 TDs. Excluding the 3rd quarter, Banks was 4-21 for 78 yards. Qadry Ismail finished the day with 258 yards receiving on 6 catches, including those 3 touchdowns in the 3rd quarter. He still holds the record for most receiving yards in a game in Ravens’ franchise history. And over 80% of those yards came on 4 completions all in 1 quarter.
When is the last time the Ravens won a game with a 30% completion rate?
When is the last time the Ravens won when averaging 1.33 completions a quarter for 3 of the 4 quarters?
After all was said and done, the Ravens won 31-24. The Steelers had 21 first downs to the Ravens’ 12. Oh, and Kordell Stewart, the long-tenured quarterback of the Steelers, had 4 receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown. Mike Tomczak was the quarterback for the Steelers that day. Bill Cowher (and his chin) decided to use Kordell as a receiver for some reason. I guess it worked. Whatever. This game was wacky enough that pretty much anything makes sense when looking back on it.
The Ravens had a 6-7 record after the game, already clinching the best regular season in team history before finishing with a .500 record in Brian Billick’s first season as head coach.
They went on to win the Super Bowl the following year, in case you didn’t already know that.
