On the Brink of a Heart Attack, the Steelers Earn 7-0

Raise your hand if you could feel your heart beating out of your chest for nearly 60 (football) minutes this afternoon?

Good. Now that I've gotten your attention, it's time to let you know that you weren't alone. Not only did every fan, personnel and random spectator watching whatever was on CBS feel as if Nov. 1 would be their final day outside a hospital, but the Pittsburgh Steelers felt the exact same way.

"You better believe it," Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin replied when asked if this game was stressful. "It's an honor. It's a humbling experience. This is what we signed up for. This is why we do what we do at this level, whether it be a coach, a player, trainer or anybody. You want to be in these stadiums."

For the first two quarters, the Baltimore Ravens looked like the MVP-led team, who everyone expected to run away with the AFC North before the season. The Steelers had no answers for the run game - not that they had many in the second half - and found themselves trailing by 10 at halftime.

"They threw some things at us," Tomlin said. "They were a group that was coming off a bye, so I knew that it could be tough sledding early on, and it was. Not only on offense, but in all three phases. We had to adjust. We needed that 12 or so minutes at halftime to recalibrate and eliminate some things on our menu and highlight some other things on that menu that were going to be critical to the challenges they were presenting us."

The story between the first 30 minutes and the second was astronomical. The Steelers' offense tallied 64 yards, including just 24 from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

"The second half, we went to a no-huddle with a personnel group that was newer," Roethlisberger said on the Steelers' halftime adjustments. "We got to get guys in matchups. This is a really good defense. They're really good. They create pressure, they're really good in the secondary, in the back end. Just try to get some guys in spots and make plays. Everyone made plays today in the second half."

The Steelers remain unbeaten, though. It wasn't pretty. It wasn't even close to pretty. But Pittsburgh left M&T Bank Stadium with their second divisional win of the season, a two-game lead over the Ravens and a sense that this team can go as far as they want to.

"Day in and day out, a lot of people said, 'ya'll beat the Ravens, ya'll really are legit,'" tight end Eric Ebron said. "And I'm like, 'we're 6-0, how are we not a legit unit?' Now that we beat the Ravens, I want people to understand that we are legit. We're coming with our A-game every single time."

The season continues, and everyone - players, coaches and fans alike - have the next seven days to collectively regroup. Go hydrate, take a nap and maybe meditate for a minute. Whatever you've got to do to slow your heart rate because we all know it's high after this one.

"It's good today but it means nothing for tomorrow," Tomlin said about the win. "The totality of it is, is that regardless of these experiences, we need to continue to be a group that is on line and understand that the bigger challenges, and the bigger opportunities, are in front of us."

Noah Strackbein is a Publisher with AllSteelers. Follow Noah on Twitter @NoahStrack, and AllSteelers @si_steelers.