One key aspect of the Steelers’ home-field advantage is the highlight video usually played at the end of the third quarter. But on Saturday night against the Ravens, the montage set to the Styx song Renegade wasn’t played.
The Ravens noticed.
“I’ve been here for 12 years now and we’ve been winning a game and they play their little music,” linebacker Terrell Suggs said after the game, via the Baltimore Sun. “We didn’t hear it this year, so I was like, ‘Oh, maybe they’ve got something new.’
“They play their song and then something terrible happens, and it was something usually we couldn’t overcome. But we didn’t get to hear it, and we stayed the course.”
“It is not always played right at the end of the third quarter,” a Steelers spokesman told PFT via email. “Depends on the game situation to be honest. That’s how it always has been.”
Apparently, in some game situations (like Saturday night), it’s not played at all.
The last time the Steelers hosted the Ravens in the playoffs, Renegade made an appearance. And as this video made by a fan at the game shows, it got the place cranked up. Tied 21-21 after three quarters, Pittsburgh won the game, 31-24.
This time around, the Steelers trailed 20-9. But they got a spark at the start of the fourth quarter, even without the Renegade moment. A Ravens fumble at the 11:59 mark resulted in a 44-yard bomb to Antonio Brown followed by a touchdown pass to Martavis Bryant, cutting the deficit to 20-15 with plenty of time left.
Maybe that’s when Renegade should have played. On the next drive, the Ravens drove for a field goal. Three plays later, Suggs intercepted quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. One play later, the Ravens scored a touchdown and the game -- and the season -- was over.
