This is about as important a game as two teams can play at the midway point of a season in the NFL. On Sunday Night Football in Week 9, the Baltimore Ravens (5-3, 2-2 AFC North) visit the surging Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3, 1-2 AFC North) in a primetime showdown between bitter rivals.
The winner will claim a sixth win on the season, taking a lead in a crowded AFC North division. Cincinnati, at 4-2-1 due to a tie against Carolina, currently has the best win percentage but by the end of the season when all teams have had a bye week, they could still lag behind in the wins column. Thus, taking charge on this night could be vital in determining which team claims the division title and an automatic playoff berth.
Pittsburgh will strive to avenge a disappointing Week 2 performance at Baltimore, where it has lost the last two meetings with the Ravens. The most recent Steelers win against the Ravens was the first meeting last season, a 19-16 victory at Heinz Field. The 20-point margin seven weeks ago ended a string of five games between the two teams that had been decided by three points or less.
Baltimore is 2-2 on the road while Pittsburgh is 3-1 at home, including wins in the last two games against Houston and Indianapolis. This matchup ends a three-game home stretch for the Steelers who then head on the road at the New York Jets and Tennessee before a Week 12 bye. A Ravens loss would give them a losing record in the AFC North and a 2-4 record in AFC conference play, which could severely damage chances at earning a Wild Card berth should it not win the division.
At plus-86, the Ravens have the best points differential in football, slightly beating out the Denver Broncos. Several dominant performances have led to this figure, including wins of 18 or more over four opponents. The only close win on the resume for John Harbaugh’s Ravens so far was a two-point triumph at Cleveland. All three losses for Baltimore have been by seven points for less, at Indianapolis and twice to the Bengals.
The Ravens are led by Joe Flacco, who is completing 62 percent of his passes with 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions. At running back without the suspended Ray Rice, Justin Forsett has stepped it up, averaging 5.5 yards per carry on just over 100 carries. Veteran Steve Smith, signed as a free agent last offseason, leads a receiving corps that has gotten little production from anyone else. Smith’s 41 receptions for 675 yards and four touchdowns are followed by the younger Torrey Smith, who has just 18 catches. Four of those, however, have gone for touchdowns so when T. Smith is healthy, he is finding the end zone. Tight end Owen Daniels has contributed 27 catches, good for second on the team, but he is listed as questionable heading into Sunday and will be a game-time decision.
Offensively for Pittsburgh, a unit that had been criticized for underproduction is on fire lately. Coordinator Todd Haley seems to be putting it all together, with a ninth-ranked running game and a fourth-ranked passing game. QB Ben Roethlisberger had a record-setting performance against a first-place Indianapolis Colts team last week, airing out 522 yards and six touchdowns. He is completing 68 percent of his passes with 16 touchdowns and just three interceptions. Le’Veon Bell has 691 rushing yards, second only to Dallas’ DeMarco Murray. Antonio Brown leads a young and capable set of receivers that has seen rookie Martavis Bryant get in on the action recently. Bell is also dangerous coming out of the backfield in the passing game, giving Roethlisberger an easy quick option when under pressure.
Baltimore will likely bring that pressure, as Terrell Suggs, Haloti Ngata and Elvis Dumervil will be coming after Pittsburgh’s quarterback. If Roethlisberger has ample time to throw as he did last week, a depleted Ravens secondary will suffer the consequences. Top cover corner Jimmy Smith is out with a foot injury, though Lardarius Webb is expected to play after missing some practice time. For Pittsburgh, CB Ike Taylor is the only regular expected to be on the sideline.
The Steelers are healthy, hungry and eager to best the hated Ravens in a crucial Week 9 gridiron clash.
When: Sunday, November 2, 2014 – 8:30 pm EST
Where: Heinz Field – Pittsburgh, PA
Watch: NBC (Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth)
Spread: Ravens -1 (via Bovada)
Last Meeting: Baltimore defeated Pittsburgh in Week 2 this season in a bit of a rout, 26-6 in the wake of the Ray Rice scandal. That performance, under the duress of turmoil surrounding the organization proved that Baltimore is, again, a team to be reckoned with this season.
Keys for Pittsburgh:
1) Get the patient and shifty Bell involved early and successfully to alleviate some of the pressure Roethlisberger will face early. If and when the passing game is allowed to open up, the air attack on Baltimore’s 22nd-ranked pass defense could be swift and fierce.
2) Speaking of that banged-up Ravens secondary, even if Webb has some success covering Brown, who will be left to stop Bryant, Wheaton and even veterans Lance Moore and Heath Miller? The answer could be no one. Roethlisberger will have options galore if given the chance to look for them.
3) On defense, bottle up Steve Smith, who had six grabs in the Week 2 matchup. Daniels scored twice in that game and, as previously stated, may not play. If the Smiths can be covered, the mostly immobile Flacco (16 rushes for 35 yards on the season) may run out of options on most plays.
Keys for Baltimore:
1) Get to Roethlisberger, plain and simple. They’ve done it before and can do it again, but the Steelers offensive line has been up to the challenge in recent weeks against two dangerous pass rushes (Texans and Colts). The key to unstoppable success for Pittsburgh’s offense belongs to solid offensive line play, so Baltimore must disrupt that or pay the price.
2) Forsett will need to produce in the Ravens ground game, perhaps with help from Bernard Pierce and Lorenzo Taliaferro. Pierce had the majority of the carries in Week 2, but Forsett has since had a stranglehold on the starting job.
3) Field goal kicking could be vital in a stadium notorious for difficult kicking conditions and in a rivalry known for games often decided by three points or less. Baltimore has a good one in Justin Tucker, though he has missed three times already this season (18 for 21, 86 percent). He has a 90 percent success rate in his first three seasons. Shaun Suisham, for Pittsburgh, has been a little bit better this year (14 for 15) and is nearly perfect at his Heinz Field home in his career.
Prediction: It will be close. Duh. It will be feisty, angry, desperate and maybe dirty. After two weeks of highlight reel performances here at home vs. the Texans and Colts, the Steelers can put an exclamation point on a rare three-game homestand and I believe they will. Baltimore is hurting in the wrong places and it does not bode well for the chances of coming into the Steel City and leaving with the division lead. Pittsburgh wins, 27-17.
