Watch Cheap Trick Play Halftime Show at NFL’s Ravens vs. Steelers Game
Cheap Trick performed a three-song halftime show set during the final NFL regular season game where the Baltimore Ravens faced off against their division rival Pittsburgh Steelers in a high-profile matchup with playoff implications and a potential final game for a sure-to-be Hall of Fame quarterback.
For the contest, the Ravens were again without starting quarterback Lamar Jackson as Tyler Huntley commanded the offense for the final regular season tilt and, on the opposing sideline, Ben Roethlisberger prepared for the game to potentially be his last-ever in the NFL as speculation ran rampant that the signal caller would retire after his 18th season in the league.
With the game knotted 3-3 at halftime in a defensive battle that saw linebacker T.J. Watt tie New York Giants legend and television personality Michael Strahan's single-season sack record, Cheap Trick played a trio of songs from their historic catalog for the fans at M&T Bank Stadium.
"Light Up the Fire," taken from the band's latest album, last year's In Another World, served as the set opener while two all-time classics — "I Want You to Want Me" and "Surrender" — capped off the performance. Unfortunately, the band didn't play "Big Eyes" for the Steelers quarterback commonly referred to as "Big Ben."
View the halftime set below.
Following Cheap Trick's performance, the second half commenced and, with under five minutes left in the game, the Steelers kicked the go-ahead field goal to ultimately edge out the Ravens with a 16-13 victory.
The win came shortly after the collapse by the Indianapolis Colts, who were toppled by the league-worst Jacksonville Jaguars in a win-and-in game regarding the post-season. The Colts loss opened up an unlikely window for the Steelers to secure a playoff spot so long as the Sunday night Los Vegas Raiders vs. Los Angeles Chargers game did not end in a tie, which it nearly did before the Raiders kicked a winning field goal as overtime expired. The Ravens needed a Chargers loss and a Miami Dolphins loss or tie in addition to the Colts loss in order to be playoff-bound, but the Dolphins defeated the New England Patriots.
The Steelers now have a road matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs next Sunday night (Jan. 16) at 8:15 PM ET.