The Pittsburgh Steelers are on a roll, as no team has yet to stop them this season, thus far. However, up next for them are the Baltimore Ravens, who are serious contenders for the Super Bowl this season. Will the Steelers continue their undefeated streak? Or will the Ravens become the first team to gash Pittsburgh’s record this season?
The Steelers mean business, as with every other team, but they’re the only squad that’s undefeated, so that speaks a lot about how serious and cohesive they are. In their last game, the Steelers avoided a meltdown, as they defeated the erstwhile unbeaten Tennessee Titans on the road, 27-23, last Sunday. Ben Roethlisberger threw for 268 passing yards and two touchdowns on 32-of-49 completions, but he also got picked off three times. Pittsburgh will have to be more consistent against the Ravens’ opportunistic defense, and it would help the Steelers if they can establish their ground attack early to open things up for their passing offense. Speaking of their aerial game, the Steelers got a boost with the return of Diontae Johnson, who caught two touchdown passes in the Titans game. Johnson, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Chase Claypool are all sensational playmakers downfield who are going to be a handful even for Baltimore’s defense. Defensively, the Steelers will give Baltimore its toughest challenge, as Pittsburgh is sixth in scoring defense with just 19.7 points allowed per game and first in total offense with only 286.3 total yards surrendered per contest. Lamar Jackson will also have to deal with Pittsburgh’s pass rush that leads the NFL with 26 sacks.
The under is 8-1-1 in the Steelers’ last 10 games on the road.
Lamar Jackson and the Ravens are set to see action again this Sunday after a bye in Week 7. Before hitting the bye, the Ravens barely edged out the Philadelphia Eagles on the road in a 30-28 win. Baltimore’s defense gave up a lot to the Eagles, especially on the ground, where the Ravens let Miles Sanders and company gash them for some big plays. The Eagles had 118 rushing yards and a touchdown on just 18 rushing attempts. However, Baltimore has shored up its defense after that loss by trading for Minnesota Vikings defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, who’ll add more pressure for opposing quarterbacks. In six games with Minnesota this season, Ngakoue had racked up five sacks, tied for eighth in the NFL. Ngakoue joins a Ravens defense that’s already second overall in total Defense-adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA) and top 10 in sacks with 22. The Steelers are likely going to force Jackson to pass more, so the reigning NFL MVP will need his offensive line to be extra sturdy. Baltimore also has to play with more discipline after netting 12 penalties in the Eagles game.
The Ravens are 6-4 against the spread in their last 10 home games.
