Pittsburgh’s losing woes show no sign of abating as the Steelers crashed to their second straight defeat with a humbling 27-16 loss to New England on October 23. The Steelers simply had no answer for Patriots quarterback Tom Brady who threw for 222 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The four-time Super Bowl champion is now 9-2 in his career against the Steelers.
Things are bound to get tougher for the Steelers as standing in their way this coming Sunday are the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens are fourth in the NFL in total defense, allowing just 301.9 yards per game this season. To make matters worse for Pittsburgh, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is still unavailable for this weekend’s clash because of a knee injury. The pressure then is on Landry Jones to deliver the goods for the Steelers this coming Sunday. He completed 29 of 47 passes for 281 yards and a touchdown with one interception in the loss to New England.
To ease the burden on Jones, Le’Veon Bell must once again stand tall for the Steelers against the Ravens. He has been terrific for Pittsburgh since returning from his three-game suspension at the start of the season. Bell’s 589 yards from scrimmage from Weeks 4-7 account for 38.14 percent of the Steelers’ overall yardage of 1,544 against the Chiefs, Jets, Dolphins and Patriots. With 344 rushing yards and 245 receiving yards, the Ohio native is on pace for 2,356 total yards over a full season.
Pittsburgh is 1-2 SU and ATS on the road this season.
Baltimore’s bye week couldn’t have come at a much opportune time after the Ravens absorbed their fourth consecutive defeat at the hands of the lowly New York Jets in Week 7. That loss proved to be costly for the Ravens as they dropped down to 3-4 in the team standings, one game behind the division-leading Pittsburgh Steelers.
They will look to keep their playoff hopes afloat when they lock horns with the aforementioned Steelers this coming Sunday. For the Ravens to record the much-needed win against their division rivals, they will need to do a much better job on their third-down opportunities. They converted just three of their 14 third-down attempts against the Jets in Week 7. The Ravens have the second-worst third-down conversion in the NFL, with Baltimore nailing just 32 percent of its opportunities.
The onus then is on Joe Flacco to improve on his passing accuracy against Pittsburgh. He completed just 25 of 44 passes for 248 yards and a pair of interceptions in the loss to the Jets. Flacco has now gone 11 quarters without throwing a touchdown pass. Apart from Flacco, the Ravens also need to get a much better showing from their running backs. Baltimore was held to just 11 yards rushing in that Week 7 loss to New York. It won’t get any easier for them against a Pittsburgh defensive line that’s allowing just 104.6 yards per game on the ground this season, 12th-fewest in the NFL.
That being said, the Ravens will fancy their chances against the Steelers as they have fared extremely well against them at home of late. The Ravens have won each of their last three home games against the Steelers. Baltimore edged past Pittsburgh, 20-17, in their last meeting at M&T Bank Stadium.
Baltimore is 1-2 SU and ATS at home this season.
Writer’s Prediction
The Ravens (-3) snap their four-game losing streak with a thrilling 24-20 victory.
