The Pittsburgh Steelers were one of the top teams in the AFC throughout the mid-to-late 2000s and the 2010s. They were only able to capture two Super Bowl victories during that time, but that is because of how competitive the AFC was. From the 2003 season through the 2011, the Super Bowl featured someone with the name Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, or Peyton Manning and their respective organizations representing the AFC, which kept Steelers rival Ed Reed and the Baltimore Ravens out of the big game.
Steelers Rival Reminisces On AFC Championship Game Matchup With Pittsburgh
Along with Troy Polamalu, Reed was considered one of the best safeties in the NFL during his time in the league. He was part of a daunting duo on the Ravens defense, with the other half being Ray Lewis. They presented an intense matchup for all of the top teams in the AFC, but had trouble getting over the hump in the playoffs to make it to the Super Bowl. Reed discussed what this was like on Championship Sunday on NFL Gameday Live with Kurt Warner and Michael Irvin.
"It's just being at your best. I remember going against Brady in New England, there was countless amounts of battles between them and Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger and those guys. Just trying to get over that hump. It was also Indy with Reggie [Wayne] and Marvin Harrison and all those guys."
Reed and the Ravens had trouble getting over the hump until they made a trip to the Super Bowl and beat the San Francisco 49ers in 2012. Up until that point, they consistently fell in the postseason to the Steelers, New England Patriots, or the Indianapolis Colts. They lost to the Colts in the Divisional Round in 2006, the Steelers in the AFC Championship Game in 2008, the Colts in the Divisional Round in 2009, the Steelers in 2010 and then the Patriots in 2011.
Reed played in two AFC Championship Games prior to 2012 when the Ravens were able to advance to the Super Bowl. Losing to the Steelers in 2008 and the Patriots in 2011. He was constantly knocking on the door of the big game, but continued to fail to get there. In 2008, the Ravens traveled to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers, the game was close until the end of the fourth quarter. The Steelers got out to a 13-0 lead to start the game, until the Ravens were able to score right before halftime to make it a 13-7 game.
The Steelers were able to add three more points in the third quarter on a field goal by Jeff Reed to make the score 16-7 heading into the fourth. Ravens running back Willis McGahee then scored his second touchdown of the game to make the game tight, at 16-14. The Ravens had the ball with just under five minutes remaining and only needed a field goal to take the lead. All Steelers fans know what happened next. Polamalu picked off Joe Flacco and returned it for a touchdown to secure the Steelers ticket to Super Bowl XLIII.
Reed was unable to win an AFC Championship Game until he was 10 years into his NFL career, and the Steelers were a major part of that. During his interview on NFL Gameday Live, he and Warner agreed that the Conference Championship Game was bigger than the Super Bowl in some ways, and that you didn't want to go that far not to earn your spot in the big game.
"Yeah, no doubt. I shed tears after this one, after the Super Bowl I did not. Getting there was everything, because of the battles like I said we had. Man we had went to two AFC Championship Games before that third one to get over that hump."
The Steelers and Ravens rivalry will always be a strong one, and it is because of the consistently difficult matchups they have had. Keeping one another from reaching their season goals. Reed was a great player, but even he couldn't get past Pittsburgh for the longest time to get to the Super Bowl he was hoping for.
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