NFL: Ravens rally, beat Steelers 17-14 in final minute

PITTSBURGH — Joe Flacco made certain that Ben Roethlisberger's suspension wouldn't end perfectly for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Flacco withstood Pittsburgh's goal-line stand and go-ahead touchdown in the closing minutes to throw an 18-yard scoring pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh with 32 seconds remaining, and the Baltimore Ravens prevented the Steelers from going unbeaten without their suspended quarterback by winning 17-14 on Sunday.

The Steelers (3-1) took a 14-10 lead on Rashard Mendenhall's 7-yard run midway through the fourth quarter, and appeared ready to win after turning away Baltimore on third- and fourth-down plays from the 2 with over 2 minutes remaining.

But a holding call on a punt gave Baltimore (3-1) the ball at Pittsburgh's 40 with 55 seconds remaining, and Flacco found Anquan Boldin on two passes for 12 yards and Houshmandzadeh for 10 to set up the winning score.

Flacco, winning for the first time in four games in Pittsburgh, froze the Steelers' defense with a pump fake that freed up Houshmandzadeh in the end zone for the game winner.

Now, instead of being two games down in the AFC North to Pittsburgh with Roethlisberger to go for the rest of the season, the Ravens are tied for the division lead after beating the Steelers in Heinz Field for only the second time in 11 games.

Baltimore appeared to squander any chance at winning when, after driving from its 30 to the Steelers 2 with just over three minutes remaining, Flacco threw incomplete on two plays from the 2. Cornerback William Gay knocked away a pass intended for Boldin near the corner of the end zone on fourth down.

Two false-start penalties set back the Steelers as they tried to run out the clock, and Keyaron Fox's holding penalty on the punt gave Baltimore another precious 10 yards to work with in the final 1:08.

Flacco finished 24 of 37 for 256 yards and an interception to outplay Charlie Batch, the No. 4 quarterback who couldn't win only his second start since 2007 for Pittsburgh. Batch, a 38-13 winner at Tampa Bay the week before, went 12 of 21 for 141 yards and an interception.

The Ravens won despite getting almost nothing from their running game. Willis McGahee had 14 carries for 37 yards and a touchdown and Ray Rice, playing despite a bruised right knee, had eight carries for 20 yards — 121 fewer than he had in Pittsburgh last season.