Just call him the Thighmaster.
Leave it to none other than Terrell Suggs to come up with the play of the game. Up eight and on a third-and-four in the fourth quarter, the Ravens brought pressure to Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger, forced the check down, tossed the ball to running back Ben Tate, who wasn't ready for the pass. The ball then deflected off of his hands with Suggs approaching.
Suggs may not have anticipated the ball coming his way. But talk about an adjustment on the fly. With the ball hitting his chest, he somehow corralled the ball in between his thighs before bringing it into his body. The interception gave the Ravens the ball on the Pittsburgh 21-yard line. One play later, Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco found tight end Crockett Gillmore on a play-action bootleg, with the rookie scoring a touchdown. That would be the decisive sequence of events in Baltimore's 30-17 win over the Pittsburgh.
Suggs seems to save his best for Steelers games. He was all over the field all night. Credited with six tackles, one for loss, he generated pressure on Roethlisberger throughout the game. His teammates got after him as well, with Elvis Dumervil (2), Brandon Williams, Haloti Ngata and Courtney Upshaw all recording sacks.
That interception came at a crucial time, with the Steelers having the opportunity to potentially tie the game up with a touchdown on that drive. But Suggs' heads-up play saved the day and turned things the opposite way.
The Steelers tried to make things interesting with a long drive down the field following the 30-15 lead from the Gillmore touchdown. However, Roethlisberger threw another interception to safety Darian Stewart in the end zone that sealed the game once and for all.
The Steelers scored first to make it a 3-0 game in the first quarter. The Ravens answered early in the second with a five-yard touchdown run from backup running back Bernard Pierce. The Ravens led 20-9 after a Torrey Smith 11-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
The Ravens will now play the Patriots in the Divisional Round of the playoffs.