PITTSBURGH - The football kept ricocheting off the uncooperative hands of Baltimore Ravens rookie wide receiver Torrey Smith, a frustrating sequence of miscues that threatened his confidence and the outcome of the game.

When the former University of Maryland standout absolutely needed to haul in a critical pass, though, he delivered in the clutch. As did quarterback Joe Flacco, delivering a signature win over the archrival Pittsburgh Steelers.

Smith gathered in a 26-yard touchdown pass from Flacco with eight seconds left in the game to boost the Ravens to a pivotal 23-20 victory Sunday night before 64,851 at Heinz Field as they swept the season series with the Steelers for the first time in five years.

A few plays prior to beating cornerback William Gay, a potential touchdown pass glanced off of Smith's hands. Smith dropped a total of four passes in the game. However, the second-round draft pick got it done when the game was at a critical juncture.

"After I dropped those couple of balls, I was down for a second," Smith said. "My teammates warned me, ‘Move on to the next play, you're going to make a big one.' For me, it was all about my teammates just having the confidence in me.

"For me to drop those couple of balls and to have that mess up his rhythm, that was the most frustrating part for me just letting Joe down. I made it a little more dramatic than it needed to be. For him to keep coming back to me, that meant a lot."

Although the Ravens squandered a 10 point advantage, they still managed to pull this game out because of Flacco's last-minute heroics.

By doing so, the Ravens avoided a nearly disastrous defeat that would have unseated them from first-place in the AFC North to third in the division.

And Flacco was a huge factor in the triumph.

The oft-criticized quarterback manufactured a 13-play, 92-yard drive to outduel Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, completing 28 of 47 passes for 300 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.

Trailing by four points with two minutes and 24 seconds remaining, Flacco engineered the eighth fourth quarter or overtime game-winning drive of his career. To accomplish that feat, he marched the Ravens nearly the entire length of the football field.

"This Steelers-Ravens game is for men, it's a game for big men," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "You got to shine bright if you want to win this game, and nobody shined brighter than Joe Flacco in this game.

Before connecting with Smith to clinch the game, Flacco connected with Anquan Boldin for 21 yards, LaQuan Williams for 13 yards, Boldin for nine yards, Boldin for 10 yards, Boldin for 11 yards and endured drops by Smith and Boldin in Steelers territory.

Earlier in the drive, Flacco converted a 4th-and-1 from the Steelers' 49-yard line with a 10-yard pass to Boldin.

"Maybe people will stop putting him down now," Boldin said. "We know what kind of quarterback we have. There was no panic with our offense, and I think you saw that. A lot of it starts with our quarterback. He was real poised."

Although Smith dropped a pass in the end zone and Boldin dropped a throw deep in Steelers territory, Flacco finished off the Steelers with his lob to the former Terrapin.

"You take the second half of the Arizona game and this game, and there hasn't been a better quarterback in the NFL than Joe," running back Ray Rice said.

The Ravens converted 14 of 21 third downs, establishing a new franchise record.

And Flacco did so by distributing the football to nine different targets and by continuing to show faith in a rookie in need of a confidence boost as

"It's not my job to get down on Torrey, and it's not his job either," Flacco said. "I could tell he was feeling bad about dropping those few, but what are you going to do? If I don't go to him, I really don't have anywhere else to go. I have all the confidence in the world in these guys, especially Torrey. He's a playmaker."

For the Ravens (6-2), defeating the Steelers (6-3) twice in their annual AFC North series keeps them in a tie for first place with the Cincinnati Bengals (6-2) and drops Pittsburgh to third place.

This marks the Ravens' second win in Pittsburgh, including the playoffs, during the Harbaugh era.

The Ravens trounced the Steelers, 35-7, to launch the season in Baltimore.

Now, they've won a close contest where they were nearly vanquished by Roethlisberger again if not for Flacco and Smith's last-minute touchdown.

"We can put the Steelers behind us now," Boldin said. "Nobody gave us a chance coming into tonight. Everybody thought the first game was a fluke.

"So, we had to come in here and prove everybody wrong once again and prove that we were the better team. We want to continue to get better and win the AFC North."

This was nearly another trademark Roethlisberger comeback as he rallied the Steelers back from a 16-6 deficit to pull ahead 20-16 behind 14 unanswered points.

Roethlisberger scrambled out of the pocket, rolling deftly to his right away from the jumble of bodies at the line of scrimmage.

Escaping from the Ravens' grasp, Roethlisberger delivered a clutch strike to wide receiver Mike Wallace in the end zone.

The 25-yard touchdown pass was thrown exactly where it had to be, a few steps ahead of trailing cornerback Cary Williams and into the outstretched fingertips of Wallace.

However, the Ravens expect to clash with the Steelers again this season in the playoffs.

"This is the toughest place in the world to win," Pro Bowl outside linebacker Terrell Suggs said. "It's a big accomplishment. In my eyes, they are the still the defending AFC champs. They're still the team to beat. If we play Raven football through, when we see them again it'll be in our house.

"We swept them, but don't be fooled. We're going to have to see this team in January. We just positioned ourselves for them to have to come to M&T so we can do it."

The Steelers' final score was set up by a Flacco fumble forced by outside linebacker James Harrison and recovered by Gay.

Roethlisberger completed 20 of 37 passes for 330 yards, one touchdown and one interception for an 86.1 passer rating.

Roethlisberger kept connecting downfield with speedy wide receiver Antonio Brown, hitting him five times for a game-high 109 receiving yards.

The Ravens built a 16-6 lead after Rice busted into the end zone for a four-yard touchdown run.

The score was set up by a huge defensive play by Suggs.

His interception of a short Roethlisberger pass set up the Ravens' 12-play, 47-yard drive capped by Rice's touchdown run.

"He was talking to the receivers too long," Suggs said. "Wallace was their No. 1, and he just gave him an extra look. So I said, ‘If you don't throw the screen, then so what?' If he does, then I have a chance to pick him off. I should have scored, but I didn't. It was a blessing."

The Steelers issued a strong rebuttal, marching 95 yards on 11 plays before Rashard Mendenhall scored from one yard out immediately after a Roethlisberger touchdown run was overturned by instant replay.

It was determined that Roethlisberger's right knee hit the ground before he reached the end zone.

The Ravens had few answers for Harrison in his first game back from a broken orbital bone that had sidelined him for the past month.

The intimidating former NFL Defensive Player of the Year sacked Flacco three times, including a forced fumble in the fourth quarter recovered by Gay.

Stout defense from both sides has traditionally typified this rivalry, and this game was no different.

By halftime, the Ravens had gained 176 yards to the Steelers' 133 yards.

Rice rushed for only 26 yards on 12 carries in the first half with Mendenhall managing to gain only 18 yards on five carries.

And Flacco connected on 11 of 20 passes for 144 yards by halftime with Roethlisberger hitting 7 of 15 throws for 115 yards.

Delivering a devastating hit, All-Pro middle linebacker Ray Lewis knocked Steelers veteran wide receiver Hines Ward out of the game early in the second quarter.

The Steelers characterized the injury as a stinger, and Ward later returned to the sideline without his helmet.

Ward got crushed after initially catching the football over the middle with Lewis' helmet making contact with Ward's helmet.

No penalty was assessed on Lewis and the catch was overturned by an instant replay review, but the NFL is likely to consider fining the former NFL Defensive Player of the Year since it's a point of emphasis to protect defenseless receivers.

The Steelers turned the drive into points, though, as Shaun Suisham converted a 36-yard field goal to tie the game at 3-3.

Pro Bowl kicker Billy Cundiff pushed a 40-yard field goal attempt wide right in the first quarter, the same as his three previous missed kicks this season from 52, 51 and 51 yards.

However, he would redeem himself at the end of the first half.

Cundiff broke a 6-6 deadlock by powering in a 51-yard field goal as the clock expired to boost the Ravens to a 9-6 lead at halftime.

The Ravens benefited from a personal foul on hard-hitting Steelers safety Ryan Clark on the final drive of the half.

Clark was attempting to break up the pass intended for tight end Ed Dickson when his facemask made contact with Dickson. The penalty was announced, though, for hitting a defenseless receiver.

Rice bolted 76 yards to the end zone on the Ravens' first play from scrimmage, but a dubious holding penalty on Smith erased the touchdown.

Although it was the closest either team would come to scoring a touchdown in the first half, the Ravens still managed to get on the scoreboard.

The Ravens steadily marched down to the Steelers' one-yard line before Rice was stuffed on third down by defensive end Ziggy Hood and Clark.

Then, Cundiff made his first of three field goals in the first half, connecting on an 18-yard chip shot to stake the Ravens to a 3-0 lead.

One of the key plays on the 14-play, 75-yard drive was Smith drawing a pass interference penalty on Clark in the end zone.

As rough a game as Smith had, he caught the game-winner and finished with five receptions for 71 yards.

"That's what football is all about," Harbaugh said. "That's what fighting the fire is all about. You walk through the fire, and come out untouched. You get purified by it. He walks off to the sideline and our guys do nothing but put their arms around him and tell him, 'You're going to make the play.' That's why we're a team."

The Ravens intercepted Roethlisberger three times, sacking him four times and forced a franchise-record seven turnovers during the first meeting in September back in Baltimore.

This time, the former Super Bowl Most Valuable Player was masterful throughout with few mistakes.

Flacco essentially matched Roethlisberger by peppering the Steelers' defense with short to intermediate throws.

Now, it's Flacco who has reversed the Ravens' fortunes after losing to the Steelers in the playoffs in two of the past three seasons.

"Either we're going to be the same team from last year or we're going to show how we have grown up from last year," said Suggs when asked what he was thinking before the game-winning play. "We did just that."

Harbaugh even borrowed a page from former President Theodore Roosevelt when asked about Flacco.

"It's not the critic who counts," Harbaugh said. "It's the man who is in the arena, whose face is covered with blood, sweat and dust. He will never be with those poor and timid souls who know no victory or defeat. So, that's what I say to all those people. They don't count."