For years, the Baltimore Ravens have been patiently waiting for Joe Flacco to step up and be a quarterback who can put the team on his shoulders at crunch time.

On Sunday night on the road against the rival Pittsburgh Steelers, it finally happened. Flacco directed a 13-play, 92-yard scoring drive, hitting rookie receiver Torrey Smith for the winning 26-yard TD pass with just eight seconds to play and giving Baltimore a 23-20 victory and a series sweep of Pittsburgh.

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

Flacco's Ravens teammates professed confidence in the sometimes embattled quarterback.

"Maybe people will stop putting him down now," receiver Anquan 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."

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Terry McCormick covers the Titans for TitanInsider.com