The AFC North could become a three-way logjam if the Baltimore Ravens can upset the Pittsburgh Steelers in Monday night's game; Pittsburgh is -9 on WagerWeb.com. Currently, the Steelers (5-2) lead Cleveland by half a game and the Ravens (4-3) by one.
The ravens swept Pittsburgh last season (27-0 and 31-7), but the Steelers are unbeaten at home this year and, amazingly, haven't lost a Monday night game at home in more than 16 years.
Pittsburgh is outscoring its opponents 84-19 in three home games this season, and has won six of its last seven at Heinz Field, with the only loss coming to Baltimore.
"I'm pleased we're in that position, that we can play a game on Monday night for the lead in the division," Ravens coach Brian Billick said. "Am I satisfied with 4-3? Of course not."
The Ravens will also have to deal with more Pittsburgh history: The Steelers are staging a 75th anniversary party Monday night, and nearly all of their stars from their dominant teams of the 1970s will be there.
This should be a typical Ravens-Steelers matchup: a physical matchup with the running games struggling to find room against each defense.
Baltimore's Willis McGahee is coming off a season-high 114 yards in a loss two weeks ago to the Bills.
McGahee is third in the NFL with 639 rushing yards, and rushed for 79 yards and two TDs in his only career game against the Steelers, a 29-24 loss for Buffalo on Jan. 2, 2005. However, he faces the NFL's fourth-best run defense, which gives up 77.7 yards a game. Pittsburgh hasn't allowed a 100-yard rusher in 32 consecutive games.Meanwhile, Pittsburgh's Willie Parker had 126 rushing yards on 22 carries last Sunday for his fifth 100-yard game of the season. The Steelers are 17-1 all-time when Parker tops 100 yards, but he has never rushed for more than 63 yards in four career games against the Ravens. In addition, the Ravens allow the fewest yards per carry in the league (2.9). The Ravens have limited starting running backs to 56 yards a game and a total of two rushing touchdowns this season.
Baltimore has the No. 2 overall defense, allowing 268.0 yards per game, second only to the Steelers' 256.9 yards.
Last season, the Ravens sacked Steleers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger 14 times and forced him to throw four interceptions. But Big Ben is playing significantly better than a year ago, as he's leading the league's fourth-ranked offense with 361.1 yards per game. He has 15 touchdowns -- three off his career high -- and six interceptions this season compared to seven TDs with 14 picks through seven games a year ago.
"I think offensively we're playing well," Roethlisberger said. "I think the key is if we can keep doing that, just trying to get better. We need to keep improving and keep working on trying to be a good football team. I think we have the potential to be great, but we've got a ways to go."
Baltimore will get its starting QB back in Steve McNair. McNair has missed the last two games, and was 39-of-55 (70.9 percent) with four touchdowns and two interceptions in the two victories over the Steelers last season. He is 11-4 all-time against Pittsburgh, throwing for 2,849 yards, 21 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. On the down side, McNair has guided the Ravens to only three touchdowns in 15 quarters and none in his past 13 series.
And McNair could be without one of his top threats: All-Pro tight end Todd Heap will be a game-time decision.
"The most exciting part is this is a love-hate relationship with the Steelers,' linebacker Ray Lewis said. "We respect them, but we don't sit well with Pittsburgh and they don't sit well with us. It's a nasty ballgame and that's why I said there's no better team to go in and do it the way we're going in to do it. All the pressure's on them.'
The lowdown: Baltimore's offense has scored just eight touchdowns this season, and the Ravens have lost four straight times on national television, but they have has won their last five games following the bye week. However, both of Baltimore's starting cornerbacks, Chris McAlister and Samari Rolle, could miss this game, which could open things up for Roethlisberger. So the Steelers, who haven't lost at home on Monday night since Oct. 14, 1991, will keep that streak alive and should cover against a struggling Baltimore offense.
No comments:
Post a Comment