The Ravens play the Steelers this week. What was that again? Oh yeah, it’s Steelers week, and the game is in Baltimore. There has been a lot of talk about the Ravens season being over after losing 4 straight games, and that may well be the case, but if you take a close look at the standings the Ravens are only 1 game behind the AFC North leading team, which happens to be the Steelers. That means this game carries a lot of weight for how the division will play out. Now it wouldn’t be a proper Steelers week if Ben Roethlisberger’s health wasn’t in question. And of course he is questionable coming off of meniscus surgery 2 weeks ago, an injury that was originally supposed to take 3-4 weeks to heal, but somehow Roethlisberger is magically making a heroic attempt to play. We all know Roethlisberger will play, but the real question is can the Ravens defense get back into peak form and make him wish he was sitting the game out.
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While the Ravens defense has largely held opponents down this season with a few hiccups here and there, the Steelers offense has had it’s fair share of peaks and valleys. The Roethlisberger led unit managed only 3 points in Philadelphia in week 3 and was walloped on the road in Miami in week 6. On the other hand the Steelers dropped 38 on the Redskins in week 1 and 43 versus the Chiefs in week 4. The Steelers are clearly a team that is capable of some explosive scoring outputs, so how do the Ravens keep this unit in check? It’s simple really, just make Ben Roethlisberger uncomfortable while taking away the Steelers best offensive weapon: Antonio Brown. In fact, Dean Pees and the Ravens perhaps developed the blueprint themselves in 2015 when they frustrated Roethlisberger into 2 INTs and a costly road loss late in the season.
The 2016 Steelers do have a healthy Le’Veon Bell and he is one of the best RBs in the NFL who can hurt you running the ball or catching the ball out of the backfield. However, the Ravens defense has proven to be one of the toughest in the league to run on. If they can force the Steelers to be one dimensional, it will pay dividends. The biggest question is can the Ravens pass-rush show up and make Roethlisberger uncomfortable? The key will be in disguising coverages, using overloads and zone blitzes, and perhaps most importantly, always shading an extra defender towards Antonio Brown. We saw what a dynamic WR can do when Odell Beckham Jr. single-handedly torched the Ravens defense. Antonio Brown can do the same if the secondary is not disciplined and fundamentally sound.
On the other side of the ball, we have the Ravens offense that has been injured and largely ineffective going up against a Steelers defense that has been just as bad as we have come to expect the Steelers defense to be. The good news for the Steelers is they will likely be getting DE Cameron Heyward back from a hamstring injury. Heyward is their best defensive player and an anchor along the defensive line. The Ravens are looking to be closer to full strength as well, with LT Ronnie Stanley and RG Marshal Yanda both expected to play on Sunday. The Ravens really need to get the OL healthy and playing at a high level for the offense to rebound after a very tough start to the season. I would look for the Ravens to get the run game going behind a healthy Marshal Yanda as the Steelers are letting opposing teams run all over them at a clip of 4.7 YPA. Joe Flacco might get a respite this week as well as the Steelers have only managed to sack opposing QBs 8 times all season, the fewest of any team in the NFL, while letting up 283 passing yards per game. Marty Mornhinweg should definitely look to attack the Steelers secondary with some max-protect plays designed to get one of the speedy WRs open deep. The Steelers also tend to be overly aggressive in the front 7 leaving them vulnerable to misdirection and screen plays. It might even be a good opportunity to attempt an end-around or reverse. If the Ravens offense is ever going to get right, this coming home game against the Steelers is setting up to be the perfect opportunity.
Ravens – Steelers games are always highly entertaining and normally come down to the wire, and I expect nothing less for this one. I’ve been bullish on the Ravens early this season, largely due to the level of competition they have faced. For this reason, I have been mostly wrong in my predictions, but I think that once again the Ravens should manage a win at home against their most hated rival.
Ravens 23 – Steelers 20
Ravens Analyst
Gabe is an avid fan of the NFL and Ravens football. He grew up in Westminster, MD, and attended college at Johns Hopkins University majoring in Biology. He earned his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and now works as a R&D Scientist developing Transplant Diagnostics assays. Gabe has appeared as a guest on 105.7 The Fan.