The Steelers did what they had to do last week vs the Jets to get their first win, putting together a solid defensive effort and enough on offense for a 19-6 win.
The team now will get a shot at a much better team, and a bigger stage, as they take on the Champion Ravens in a late afternoon game that will have a lot of eyes on it.
Here’s our official preview for the matchup with the Ravens, and who we think will walk away with a win.
1. Pressure On Flacco – Joe Flacco is going to be the focal point of the Ravens offense, and the best way to beat him and beat the Ravens is to make him uncomfortable with pressure in the pocket. Flacco can move around, but does not have the footwork to be able to escape pressure. Last week the Steelers got to and hit Geno Smith often, and it resulted in two picks and a win. If they do the same against Flacco, they will win the game.
2. Big Ben Mistakes – Last season Ben Roethlisberger missed the two games vs the Ravens, but overall has been pretty average at best, throwing for just 54.9 percent of his attempts for an average of 259.8 yards with six touchdowns and seven interceptions in his last six regular-season meetings with the Ravens. It’s time for him to step up and make some big downfield plays against the Ravens, and also avoid the mistakes that will give Baltimore short fields.
3. Don’t Get Down – The Ravens last season took the crowd out of the game after the Steelers took a 7-0 lead, but you knew that the game for the most part belonged to Baltimore. The Steelers can’t let that happen. The fans want to have something to cheer about from the opening kickoff to the final buzzer, it’s up to the players to stop the Ravens and give the fans what they want. The Steelers haven’t won two in a row in 13 games, a disgrace. That’s got to change and they have to not play catch up all day.
Prediction – The Steelers will try to avoid their fourth straight regular-season home loss to the Ravens, and it’s a critical game for so many reasons, maybe the biggest of all just being confidence. The club has to play sound football, the Ravens haven’t looked nearly as good, or as aggressive as last season, and the Steelers have to be physical and beat the Ravens up front. They can and I think they will do it, doing enough through the air and enough on defense to get the job done. Steelers 23 Ravens 13
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Pingback: Steelers Gab 2013 Week 7 NFL Preview – Baltimore At Pittsburgh FEATURED BLOG POST « Pittsburgh Steel Foundry - The Ultimate Pittsburgh Steelers Blog
DrGeorge
October 19, 2013 at 6:11 pm
Two weeks ago, when we were contemplating the Jets, Ravens, Raiders, Patriots 4-game stretch, I opined (not predicted) that the Steelers would split these four games 2-2. The Steelers made me half right the next Sunday by beating the Jets. However, beating the Ravens was not one of the games I thought we would win. The Ravens are not the Jets. On the other hand, they are not the Ravens of old, either.
The Steelers do indeed have a good chance to win this game, if only because the Ravens woes almost equal our own. It largely depends on which defense can stop the mediocre offense of the other. Against the Jets, the Steelers D turned it up a notch; our younger players on D are beginning to live up to expectations. Sitting Ziggy Hood was a sound move. Getting Williams, Thomas, Heyward, and Worilds on the field helped too. But that’s only half of the equation.
The negative remains the anemic O-line. Despite Tomlin’s cliche ridden defense of Bell, the rookie RB has made little difference. Tomlin seems as fixated on Bell as he was on Mendenhall. Neither justified such blind loyalty. Redman and Dwyer are both as good as or better than Bell. But the real problem is that the line can’t open holes for any of them. So Ben and his receivers will be taxed with the task of winning the game. With Suggs on Beachum as the key match up, and with no running game, this shapes up as a bad day for Ben R.
For those reasons, against my fervent wishes, I think the Ravens will win this one. But not by much.
Mario
October 20, 2013 at 8:29 am
You are exactly right! No matter who our RB is, without the O-line opening up holes, the running game is going to suffer.