Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Baltimore Ravens: Week 2 Game Preview
After losing to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1, the Baltimore Ravens are facing a must-win scenario in Week 2 when the Pittsburgh Steelers come to town.
The two AFC North rivals will square off on CBS' Thursday Night Football, and Baltimore needs to win to avoid an 0-2 start to their season.
According to Vinnie Iyer of Sporting News, "since the NFL went to 12 playoff teams in 1990, only 23 of 196 teams that started 0-2 (11.7 percent) went on to make the playoffs."
Not only would a loss to Pittsburgh mean an 0-2 overall record, but an 0-2 mark in divisional games as well. That would put the Ravens in an early hole in terms of winning the division, something they did in both the 2011 and 2012 seasons and hoped to do again in 2014.
Thursday's showdown with Pittsburgh will be a very competitive game that will likely be decided in the fourth quarter. Here is my preview of the game.
Week 1 Recap
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Baltimore held their home opener in Week 1 against Cincinnati. The Ravens had a horrendous start offensively as they fell behind, 15-0, heading into halftime.
Joe Flacco completed just 10 of 23 passes in the first half for 78 yards. Starting running back Bernard Pierce gained just 14 yards on six carries and fumbled the ball away to set the Bengals up for an easy field goal.
On defense, Baltimore gave up several big plays and long drives, but it kept holding Cincinnati to just a field goal. Once the second half began, Baltimore's offense got going.
Flacco was relied on to rally the Ravens, and he almost did, completing 25 of 39 passes for 277 yards and one score.
The one touchdown Flacco threw put Baltimore ahead late in the fourth quarter, as he hit Steve Smith for an 80-yard score to put the Ravens ahead, 16-15.
However, the defense could not hold the lead. Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton hit receiver A.J. Green for a 77-yard score to put Cincinnati back ahead, 23-16.
The Ravens had one last chance on offense to tie the game, but Flacco was sacked by Cincinnati safety Reggie Nelson on fourth down in Bengals territory, ending the game at 23-16 in favor of Cincinnati. That dropped Baltimore to 0-1 with a short week to prepare for Pittsburgh.
News and Notes
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Running Back Controversy?
With Ray Rice suspended at the time, that left Bernard Pierce and Justin Forsett to get most of the carries versus the Bengals.
Pierce got the start and carried the ball just six times for 14 yards and was benched after fumbling the ball in the first half, which led to a Bengals field goal.
Forsett got the majority of the touches in the second half. He finished with 11 carries for 70 yards and a score to go with five catches for 14 yards. Forsett entered the game as the second-string back, but he may have earned the starting job heading into the next game versus Pittsburgh.
John Harbaugh did nothing to dispel that notion with his comments following the game.
“No, it wasn't a health decision,” Harbaugh said of benching Pierce, via BaltimoreRavens.com. “He’s fine. He’s healthy. I guess you can extrapolate from there. We’re not too enamored with fumbles. It’s not what we’re looking for from our running backs.”
Baltimore has yet to name the starting running back versus the Steelers, but expect to at least see Forsett get double-digit touches again.
Life After Ray Rice
On Monday, Baltimore released Pro Bowl running back Ray Rice. Once viewed as one of the best backs in the NFL, Rice was coming off the worst season of his career in 2013. A hip injury and weight issues while playing behind a bad offensive line led to him rushing for a mere 660 yards and four touchdowns in 15 games.
Prior to last year, Rice rushed for over 1,100 yards in each of the previous four seasons while scoring a combined 39 touchdowns. Had he been able to return to his Pro Bowl form, Rice was going to be relied on heavily in Baltimore's offense this year.
That changed once Rice was charged with aggravated assault of his then-fiance and was later suspended indefinitely by the NFL.
Now that he's gone, Baltimore is without their leading rusher of the past five seasons, not to mention the No. 2 rusher in franchise history. How this offense moves on without him as the featured weapon remains to be seen.
Injury Report
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| Name | Position | Injury | Mon | Tue | Wed | Game Status |
| Lardarius Webb | CB | Back | Full Practice | Full Practice | -- | -- |
| Marshal Yanda | G | Foot | DNP | Full Practice | -- | -- |
Credit to BaltimoreRavens.com for the injury report.
The Ravens were without their top three cornerbacks for much of the preseason. Asa Jackson (ankle), Chykie Brown (chest) and Lardarius Webb (back) all missed multiple weeks during the preseason, but all three were expected to suit up versus the Bengals.
As it turned out, Webb didn't play, and the guy he would have been tasked with covering had a big day. AJ Green torched the Ravens secondary to the tune of 131 yards on six catches, and he caught the game-winning 77-yard touchdown to beat Baltimore.
Baltimore will need him back versus the Steelers to help contain receiver Antonio Brown. He caught five passes for 116 yards and a score against the Cleveland Browns in Week 1. Having Webb back to cover him could be a game-changer. Webb was able to practice fully on Monday and Tuesday.
Starting offensive guard Marshal Yanda returned to practice Tuesday after missing Monday due to a blister on his foot, per The Baltimore Sun's Aaron Wilson.
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Matchups and X-Factor to Watch
4 of 5Ravens Defense vs. Le'Veon Bell
Baltimore did a good job of containing Cincinnati's running backs in Week 1. They held the Bengals to 79 carries on 26 rushing attempts (3.0 yards per carry).
They'll need to play that well against Pittsburgh and dynamic running back Le'Veon Bell. The second-year back torched the Browns on the ground, and he even caught six passes for 88 yards.
Pro Football Focus singled out Bell as one of the top performers of Pittsburgh's matchup with Cleveland:
"He had 88 yards receiving on six catches, and complemented that with 109 yards rushing, which included 84 Yards After Contact. Besides his obvious elusiveness, he showed good vision at the line of scrimmage, sometimes finding holes that weren’t even there.
Signature Stat: He forced an astounding 11 combined missed tackles against Cleveland and his Elusive Rating surpassed even that of West (163.0).
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Bell's 197 total yardage was 40 percent of Pittsburgh's offense versus Cleveland. Keeping him contained will slow down the Steelers offense.
Marcus Gilbert vs. Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil
The Steelers will need to get better play out of starting right tackle Marcus Gilbert versus Baltimore's two Pro Bowl pass-rushers in Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil. They combine to form one of the league's best pass-rushing duos.
In 2013, those two combined for 19.5 sacks. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Dumervil notched 40 QB hurries and Suggs 37.
As for Gilbert, his negative-1.8 grade by Pro Football Focus was the worst of any Steeler in Week 1.
"Breakdown: After a very uneven performance last year, the Steelers were hoping for more consistency from Gilbert in 2014. Unfortunately, he got off on the wrong foot in the opener, allowing two sacks and a hurry, as well as being flagged for holding.
Signature Play: With 10:40 remaining in the fourth quarter, DE Paul Kruger took Gilbert straight back into Roethlisberger for the sack, forcing a field goal.
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It Gilbert plays that poorly again, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will be running for his life for much of the contest.
X-Factor: Joe Flacco
In Week 1, Baltimore chose to let Joe Flacco attempt 62 passes versus the Bengals compared to the 20 times the offense ran the ball. While there should be more offensive balance versus Pittsburgh, it's safe to assume Flacco will again air it out.
How well he does will determine how effective the Ravens offense is. In the first half versus Cincinnati, Flacco completed just 10 of 23 passes for 73 yards, and Baltimore failed to score a single point.
In the second half, Flacco was 25 of 39 passing for 273 yards, and the Ravens scored 16 straight points to nearly rally past the Bengals. However, it was a number of bad decisions that cost the Ravens the game.
At the end of the first half with just seven seconds left and Baltimore in field-goal range, Flacco dropped back to pass and could have thrown an incomplete pass to stop the clock, but he instead he took a sack, ending the half and preventing Baltimore from scoring. That cost the Ravens three points.
In the third quarter with Baltimore's offense in Cincinnati territory, Flacco threw an interception to Bengals linebacker Emmanuel Lamur, preventing a chance for the Ravens to score.
On the Ravens' final offensive possession of the game, Flacco took consecutive sacks to end the drive and allow Cincinnati to run out the clock and escape with the victory.
Had Flacco made just one or two fewer bad decisions, Baltimore would have won the game. He wasn't the only reason Baltimore lost, but his mistakes were more costly than his teammates'.
How well Flacco plays against Pittsburgh's defense will be crucial, especially if he's throwing 40 to 50 passes again. Simply put, he'll have more opportunities to make the costly mistake. If he avoids making those this week, Baltimore could escape with a close win.
Prediction
5 of 5The Ravens are coming off a debilitating loss to the Bengals while also having to rebound in just four days with this game being Thursday night.
That, combined with the distraction of cutting Ray Rice amid the new video of him hitting his then-fiancee (now wife) came out, will lead to Baltimore coming out flat and unfocused, similar to their effort in the first half of Sunday's game versus the Bengals.
Instead of focusing on the Steelers, Ravens players are having to deal with the repercussions of the team cutting Rice. It's a distraction, but it won't be the main reason Baltimore loses to Pittsburgh.
Watching both teams in Week 1, the Steelers simply looked like the better team overall. Ben Roethlisberger looked good while passing for 365 yards and a score versus the Browns, while Le'Veon Bell gashed Cleveland for 197 all-purpose yards.
That offense is too much for the Ravens to match. They do just enough to keep the game close but ultimately fall short and drop to 0-2 on the year.
Prediction: Pittsburgh Wins, 24-20
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