The Steelers have struggled on the road recently, especially in Baltimore, where they’ve lost four straight times and five of their last six visits.
WHAT: Week Four vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
WHEN: 1 p.m. (ET); Sunday, October 1
WHERE: M&T Bank Stadium; Baltimore (71,008)
RECORDS: Steelers, 2-1; Ravens, 2-1
LIFETIME SERIES (regular season): Steelers lead, 22-20; Ravens lead at home, 12-9, with wins in four straight and five of last six meetings
TV: WJZ-TV (Channel 13) (Ian Eagle, Dan Fouts, booth; Evan Washburn, sidelines)
RADIO: WIYY-FM, 97.9 (Gerry Sandusky, Stan White, Dennis Pitta)
REFEREE: Walt Anderson
About the Steelers
—Historically, the Steelers franchise has had a contrasting dual identity. From 1933-1971 Pittsburgh had only eight winning seasons out of its first 39 with one playoff appearance. Since then, it has an additional 29 playoff appearances (the total of 30 is the league’s second-highest), with 22 division crowns, which is tied with Chicago for third-most. Since the AFC North was established in 2002, the Steelers have the most division titles (seven).
—Pittsburgh’s eight Super Bowl appearances are tied for the second-most all-time with Dallas and Denver, and one behind record-holder New England (nine). The Steelers’ six Super Bowl championships are tied with Dallas, San Francisco, and New England for the most since the Super Bowl. Pittsburgh has made 16 appearances in the conference title game, an AFC record and tied with Dallas for third-most all-time behind the New York Giants (19) and Green Bay (17).
—The Ravens and Steelers will meet again on a Sunday-night telecast (subject to flex scheduling) on Dec. 10 in Pittsburgh, marking the third time in four years that the return match will have been played at Heinz Field. Fourteen of the team’s 42 regular-season meetings have been shown in Prime Time. The Ravens have registered three sweeps of Pittsburgh (’06, ’11, ’15), while the Steelers have four sweeps (’97, ’98, ’02, ’08). There have been 14 splits and Pittsburgh has won three of four postseason meetings. However, Pittsburgh hasn’t scored more than 20 points in Baltimore since winning there in 2012.
—The Ravens and Steelers have played to one-score margins in 16 of their last 21 meetings, including in the playoffs. Since 2008, 12 of the last 18 regular-season meetings between these two teams have been decided by three or fewer points–the most by any pair of teams, outdistancing Dallas-Washington and San Francisco-St.Louis/Los Angeles (eight each).
—Eleven-year head coach Mike Tomlin is the 16th head coach in Steelers’ history, but only the third since 1969. He has an overall record of 113-64 (.638), the third-best percentage among active coaches, and his win total is just one behind Pete Carroll for sixth-most among the actives. He reached the playoffs four times in his first five seasons and became the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl (36) when his team beat Arizona in Super Bowl XLIII. He is known for going for two-point conversions; the Steelers converted a league-record-high eight of them in 2015.
—Last season, the Steelers got off to a 4-1 start before losing four straight, including a 21-14 defeat at Baltimore. Then the team reeled off seven straight wins, including a 31-27 home win over the Ravens on Christmas Night that sealed the division title. Pittsburgh won a home playoff game over Miami and a road Divisional win at Kansas City before falling at New England–one step short of the Super Bowl. This week, Pittsburgh is playing its third road game in the season’s first four weeks. The Steelers narrowly won at Cleveland and lost in OT at Chicago.
—The Ravens are coming off their first-ever game overseas (London). Meanwhile, the Steelers are slated to fly the least amount of miles in the league during the entire 2017 schedule (6694 miles). AFC North rival Cincinnati is scheduled to fly the second-fewest miles (7662).
—Through three weeks, Pittsburgh is ranked 22nd in total offense (tied for 29th rushing, 15th passing, and tied for 16th scoring) and second in total defense (22nd vs. rush, second vs. pass, and third in scoring). The Steelers have allowed only 16.7 points per game this season, and have yielded a mere 17 second-half points this season.
–The Steelers have a modest plus-1 turnover ratio through three games, having thrown just one interception while losing two fumbles on offense. With 29 penalties–one more than Baltimore–Pittsburgh is tied for the league’s second-most. Its four unnecessary-roughness flags are tied with Detroit and Oakland for the league high, and its six holding penalties are tied with Minnesota for second-most.
—Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (125-61 as a starter, third-best among active quarterbacks) will face the Ravens for the 19th time in his career. He has missed seven possible starts due to injuries or suspensions and is 10-8 against Baltimore with a 59% completion rate, 31 TD, 21 INTs, and an 84.3 passer rating. The touchdown total and his 35 pass plays of 25 or more yards are the most any quarterback has had against the Ravens, but Terrell Suggs’ 16.5 sacks against him are the most by any opponent. Roethlisberger’s Week One win at Cleveland was his 50th career victory against an AFC North team.
—Running back Le’Veon Bell, who held out of training camp this year, has had 20 or more touches in five of seven career games against the Ravens. He has caught at least five passes in five of seven regular-season games against Baltimore but has rushed for over 100 yards only twice. He has averaged 108.1 yards from scrimmage against the Ravens, second-most by any opponent.
—Wideout Antonio Brown (26 catches, 354 yards, both league highs) has a touchdown in each of his last two games against the Ravens–after scoring only once in his first 11 games against them. He had a 62-yard catch in the pivotal Christmas Night game last year, including a goal-line stretch through three defenders that gave the Steelers the win and eliminated the Ravens from the playoff chase. He has 74 career catches against the Ravens–an average of 11.4 yards per reception.
—Tight end Jesse James leads the Steelers with two TD receptions and Martavis Bryant–back with the team after a one-year drug suspension–is averaging nearly 20 yards per reception. Bell has caught 13 passes out of the backfield and rookie Juju Smith-Schuster has five catches, including one for a touchdown.
—The Steelers’ offensive line has allowed only six sacks in 116 dropbacks, but it has had some injury problems. Right tackle Marcus Gilbert (hamstring) was inactive last week and left guard Ramon Foster (hand) got hurt in Chicago. Right guard David DeCastro has started 59 straight games, the third-longest active streak among NFL guards. Center Maurkice Pouncey, brother of Miami Dolphins center Mike, is in his eighth year. Left tackle Alejandro Villanueva is a third-year player.
—The Steelers continue to play a 3-4 defensive front that features both veteran and youthful talent. Fourth-year defensive end Stephon Tuitt got a rich contract extension before the season began, but he has been hampered by a biceps injury. Outside linebacker TJ Watt, brother of Texans standout JJ Watt, has two sacks and an interception, but he’s dealing with a groin injury. Kentucky product Bud Dupree starts opposite Watt. Standouts Ryan Shazier (team-high 26 tackles, two forced fumbles) and Vince Williams (second, at 16) are on the inside. Backup Anthony Chickillo, who started for Watt last week, has a team-high three of the team’s 11 sacks.
—Pittsburgh’s secondary has just one interception in three games (by backup safety and ex-Dallas Cowboy JJ Wilcox). Wilcox backs up nine-year man Mike Mitchell, who is paired with Sean Davis (Maryland) in the deep middle. The corners are second-year player and former first-round pick, Artie Burns, and ex-Cleveland Browns standout Joe Haden. Haden has picked off Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco five times. William Gay, who has played 163 consecutive games, which is the most among all active NFL defensive players, a backup cover man.
—Third-year kicker Chris Boswell has missed once in the 30-39-yard range, but is 5-for-6 on field goals. Punter Jordan Berry had three coffin-corner kicks last week, the seventh career game in which he has accomplished that feat. Rogers has taken over for Brown on punt returns, but is averaging less than six yards per runback. Smith-Schuster and Terrell Watson have run back two kickoffs each. Punt coverage is allowing 9.2 yards per runback, while the kick coverage team is permitting about 22 yards a return.
Prediction
The Steelers have struggled on the road in recent years, especially at Baltimore, where they have lost four straight times and five of their last six visits. Their running game has been victimized by a rusty Bell and injuries along the offensive line, and their defense is still young and unproven in spots.
On the other side of the ball, the Ravens have the league’s lowest-ranked offense and interior problems of their own. However, the parity-ridden NFL seems to even itself out on a week-to-week basis. That points to a bounce-back effort for the Ravens — in what should be another tough, entertaining game against their most bitter of rivals.
Ravens 23, Steelers 17
