The Pittsburgh Steelers have been racked with injuries in the past few weeks and Sunday's win against the Baltimore Ravens was no different.
Starting cornerback Ike Taylor left the game against the Ravens following the first series with a right ankle injury and may miss three to six weeks, sources told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.
Taylor has been the top cornerback for Pittsburgh this season, recording 32 tackles, one interception and 13 passes defended in 12 games. Later in the game he appeared on the sidelines with a walking boot and will have more testing done this week.
Cortez Allen came into the game for Taylor and replaced him at cornerback. Allen suffered a pass interference penalty and was also beat on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco to Anquan Boldin.
"During the course of the game, I had some ups and downs," Allen said, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Allen along with Curtis Brown combined to keep Flacco's numbers down, allowing just 188 yards passing for the game.
"It was important to stay mentally tough and sound to my technique," Allen said, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "As a cornerback, you have to have a short memory. I won some and lost some, but I stayed consistent and positive in the second half."
The young cornerbacks were helped along in the game by veterans on defense, including safety Troy Polmalu and cornerback Keenan Lewis.
"I told them to be calm and just play," cornerback Keenan Lewis said, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.. "We have one of the best receiving corps in the league, so going up against those guys every day, then coming out here was like practice."
Pittsburgh safety Troy Polmalu played his first full game since October and made it though all four quarters without any issues.
"I was very happy to make it through the day," Polamalu said. "I went in with zero expectations, so I would have been happy to make it through two series unlike against Philadelphia (eight) weeks ago. Before the game started, I was sitting with the strength and conditioning coach thinking there was nothing more they could have done to prepare me more."
Polmalu had not played since Oct. 7 and only participated in five quarters this season before Sunday's game. Although he was not at full strength, the safety made two tackles and was all over the field for the Steelers.
"We persevered through a lot of adversity," said Polamalu, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "The corners stepped up, and they've been the difference why this defense has been successful."
This season Polmalu has made only nine tackles this season, but will be crucial for the Steelers as they make it through their final four games.
Polmalu was a first round draft pick for the Steelers in 2003 and has been a seven-time Pro Bowler. He was named AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2010 and has been an All-Pro five times.
The Steelers kept their division chances alive with the 23-20 road win against Baltimore. If they lost, the Ravens would have clinched the AFC North, but with four games left and a 7-5 record, Pittsburgh still can mathematically overtake Baltimore.
The Steelers are currently in the sixth playoff spot, but have a number of teams right behind them, including the Cincinnati Bengals and NY Jets.
The Steelers were previously 0-6 against the Ravens without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, but finally earned that first victory with Charlie Batch taking his place.
Roethlisberger has been out for two games, both losses for the Steelers, while Batch started last week against the Browns. Against the Ravens, Batch passed for 276 yards and a touchdown with one interception and completed over 69 percent of his passes.
Roethlisberger has been dealing with injuries the past two weeks after suffering a dislocated rib and sprained shoulder in Pittsburgh's 16-13 overtime win against the Kansas City Chiefs and appears as if he will be out again next week. Since Batch played much better against the Ravens, the Steelers will have more confidence in him.
This season Roethlisberger has thrown for 2,287 yards and 17 touchdowns with just four interceptions. The team has the 14th ranked passing attack, but has been hamstrung without Roethlisberger.
Roethlisberger rushed back from an injury last season, but instead got hurt even worse. Last year he hurt his ankle and returned to play in a 20-3 loss to San Francisco, but was forced to miss the next week after re-aggravating the injury.
"We've had people talk about last year in San Francisco, if I would have rested maybe I would have been better off the next couple games, but to me, I live for the here and now," he said. "I'm going to do everything I can to be out there and if it doesn't work then I'll do what I can about the next week."
The Steelers play the San Diego Chargers at home next Sunday.
