Arguably the best rivalry in football will square up for our first mid-week game on Thursday night when the Pittsburgh Steelers travel to the Baltimore Ravens. No rivalry in the league matches up quite like this one, reviving the term “smash-mouth football” into a commonplace theme during their 40 game history. Trending away form an era that will go down in history with the likes of future Hall of Fame players including, Ray Lewis and Ed Reed who set the tone on defense, while their counterparts Troy Polomalu and James Harrison matched them blow for blow. Now, those players are gone, but the hate for one another is still as present as an Andy Reid mustache, with new players filling the void admirably.
Between these two teams, dating back to 2001, they have been crowned AFC North division winners in 10 of the last 13 seasons, proving their shared stretch of dominance over their other division foes.
But, how long can it last?
With the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns vastly improved, both for the immediate and long term future, its clear the run of flip-flopping division winners has now doubled, from a two to four team race.
While the Steelers own the head-to-head record with a 23-16 advantage, its the Ravens who have won the AFC North division (2012) as well as the Super Bowl (2012) most recently. However, after just one week of NFL action, its clear which team is trending up, and which team is trending down.
Pittsburgh Steelers
In week one the Steelers jumped on the back of running back Le’Veon Bell, who rushed for 109 yards on the ground while adding six receptions for 88 yards, equating to a monster performance, and the ultimate key to his teams success. Bell was one of the highest graded players by Pro Football Focus, after his 197 total yards from scrimmage translated to 40 percent of the Steelers generated offense, and perhaps most impressive was Bell’s ability to make his opponent miss, forcing a combined 11 missed tackles by the Cleveland Browns.
The Steelers should be in for a tougher battle in the trenches with Bell against the Ravens after they held the Cincinnati Bengals to just a 3.0 yards per carry average on 26 rushes. Without an effective running game, the Steelers will be hard pressed to work their deep routes to Antonio Brown, which was extremely effective last week. Brown finished with five catches for 116 yards and a touchdown, and will surly be looked too when his quarterback needs a big play.
Behind Brown are a mix of new school and old school targets that has complimented their offense nicely. Second year receiver Marcus Wheaton already surpassed his catching totals form last year after just one game, and will look to continue that trend as the teams number two option throughout the air. Meanwhile, veteran tight end Heath Miller is still as reliable as a AAA tow truck, and has been utilized much more in the teams new offensive system. Between these three, Ben Roethlisberger has a trio of options to spread the ball to, if and when Bell gets slowed down by the Ravens front seven.
Baltimore Ravens
Just one week into the five-month long season and things couldn’t get much worse for the Ravens. If losing to a division opponent not named the Steelers (Bengals) wasn’t bad enough, the team has faced an onslaught of off the field distractions thanks to Ray Rice. What was originally a two-game suspension, Rice has now been released form the team while facing the facts that he may never play in the NFL again. After a second video of Rice was released, things turned into a much tougher situation for everyone, including the players and coaches, and must now be addressed in the proper way by head coach John Harbaugh sending the right message to his team.
Like the rest of us, Harbaugh knows the ramifications of slumping out the gates 0-2, and will need to do everything in his power to put a halt to the teams negative momentum, and the only way to do that is by beating the their biggest rival in the Steelers.
Last week the Ravens running game was nonexistent after Bernard Pierce rushed for a putrid 14 yards on six carries while losing a fumble. Due to the ineffectiveness of the running game the Ravens were unable to move the ball in any manner, and found themselves in a 15-0 hole at halftime thanks to a bend but don’t break defense in the red zone. In the second half, Justin Forsett was called upon to help move the piles and churn out first downs, giving Joe Flacco some breathing room, from both his own end zone and his opponents defense. With the aid of Forsett, Flacco found a rhythm in the second half going 25-39 for 277 yards and a touchdown.
However, the time that was missed during preseason by three Ravens cornerbacks including starter Ladrius Webb (who did not play) was evident, as the next Bengal's possession started and ended with a deep pass to A.J. Green for a 77-yard touchdown, and the go ahead score. Webb is on schedule to return from injury and play Thursday which will be a huge lift to the Ravens secondary, and will shadow Antonio Brown for the majority of the game.
With the addition of Webb, winning in the trenches on both sides of the ball will be the key to a Ravens victory. This means slowing down running back Le’ Veon Bell (easier said than done) forcing Roethlisberger to sit in the pocket and find his second, and third reads. While Justin Forsett (who is likely to carry the load) must if nothing else continue to churn out positive yards in-between the hashes, in what could be a 25 plus carry game for him. With an effective running game Flacco can utilize his biggest strength, the deep ball, off play-action passes to Torrey Smith, or pick apart the defense with underneath routes to the still highly effective Steve Smith. Either way I can assure you Flacco’s 62 pass attempts was not a part of last weeks game plan, and with any form of a running game Thursday night the Ravens can steer clear of that notion for at least one week.
Fantasy Outlook
Justin Forsett, Baltimore Ravens, Running Back
After a non existent start and an early fumble, head coach John Harbaugh pulled running back Bernard Pierce for back up Justin Forsett. Forsett ceased his opportunity carrying the ball 11 times for 70-yards and a touchdown and made himself a lock to get the majority of touches just five-days later.
In what is always a “grind it out” style of game between these two teams, much like his counterpart Le’ Veon Bell, Forsett could see close to 25 total touches, which could equate for a solid performance even against the Steelers defense. While Harbaugh hasn’t named one running back a starter over the other, the writing is on the wall for Forsett to take the job and… Run!
Marcus Wheaton, Pittsburgh Steelers, Wide Receiver
A highly regarded sure handed route-runner out of Oregon State, Wheaton was buried on the roster last season and his numbers proved it. Now, with Emanuel Sanders in Denver, Wheaton has climbed his way up the depth chart as the clear cut number two receiver, opposite of Antonio Brown. Wheaton looked good in his preseason action and carried that momentum into week one against the Browns where he caught six passes for 97 yards.
While I’m not ready to crown him a pro bowler quite yet, this weeks matchup for Wheaton is a favorable one. As noted earlier, the return of Ravens cornerback Ladarious Webb will mean a tougher time for Brown than originally anticipated, as he could be used as more of a decoy for their offense. While this league is all about mismatches, getting Wheaton lined up against a banged up secondary will surly mean a couple of big catch-and-run opportunities for the second-year wide out, as its already been proven Ben Roethlisberger isn’t afraid to look his way.
Final Prediction
The Ravens can blame TMZ for the extra distractions and playing short handed for good at their running back position. Meanwhile, the Steelers offense looked mighty good last week when they jumped out to a huge lead against the Browns, eventually handing the ball over to the running game to wear out the clock.
Still, this rivalry always seems to produce a one possession ball game, filled with dramatics at the end. Take the 2.5 half points form Las Vegas and put your money on both teams continuing their momentum in opposite directions.
Steelers 27 Ravens 20