Nevermore

Could the line hold up with no time together in preseason? Can Joe Flacco beat Ben Roethlisberger? Will anybody be able to replace Todd Heap and Derrick Mason? Can the secondary succeed against fast receivers like Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown?

Those were all questions the Ravens were facing before their season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers and the answer to all of them was “Yes.”

Ray Rice rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown against one of the league's top run defenses from last season.

Behind a tremendous effort by the offensive line and a defense that caused turnover after turnover Joe Flacco and Ray Rice bowled over the Pittsburgh Steelers, 35-7.

On the first drive of the game Baltimore went 66 yards in three plays in just over one minute for a score, setting the tone for their biggest defeat of their rival in team history.

Flacco, who never beat the Steelers with Roethlisberger under center before, finished the game with 224 yards and three touchdowns while Ray Rice continued his tend of success against the Steelers with 149 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown.

But it was the Ravens’ defense that picked the Steelers apart. Baltimore’s pass rush got to Roethlisberger for four sacks and picked him off three times while forcing four fumbles, giving the Ravens a plus-seven in turnover differential, a statistic that it is nearly impossible to lose with.

Entering the 2011 season the healthiest he has been in a while Ed Reed picked Roethlisberger off twice while Ray Lewis came up with a pick and Haloti Ngata was a disruptive force in the backfield recovering two fumbles while Terrell Suggs had three sacks.

This one was personal for the Ravens. After having two of their last three seasons end in the playoffs with losses to Pittsburgh their frustration level was building up for the past eight months and they embarrassed their most hated rival on opening day.

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