Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: Complete Week 9 Preview for Pittsburgh

There's nothing like a visit from the Baltimore Ravens to temper the Pittsburgh Steelers' euphoria after a historic victory last week.

The latest installment of this bitter AFC North rivalry takes place in Pittsburgh on Sunday Night Football at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

After last week's high-flying 51-34 win over the Indianapolis Colts, the Steelers (5-3) have to roll up their sleeves and get back to the grind of the division.

Not only must they salvage a split in their season series against the Ravens, but they also must avoid their third division loss. They lost 26-6 at Baltimore in Week 2 and 31-10 at Cleveland in Week 6. Since the current formation of the AFC North began in 2002, the Steelers have never made the playoffs with a division record of 3-3 or worse.

They have made the playoffs after going 0-2 against the Ravens. The last time it happened, it cost them the division in 2011. Both the Steelers and Ravens finished 12-4, but the Ravens won the AFC North on the tiebreaker. The Steelers had to settle for the wild card and travel to Denver, where they infamously were rubbed out by Tim Tebow and the 8-8 Broncos.

The Steelers haven't made the playoffs since, but they can put themselves in good position with a win over the Ravens (5-3), who lost 27-24 last week at Cincinnati. It was the Ravens' second loss to the Bengals, and the Steelers can saddle them with their third division loss on Sunday.

Cincinnati (4-2-1) would remain in first place with a win at home against Jacksonville. The Bengals would have a better winning percentage than whichever team improves to 6-3. If the Bengals lose their 1 p.m. game, however, the winner of Sunday night's game would move into first place in the AFC North.

The Ravens-Steelers winner at least will move into second place in the division. Considering the Steelers were in last place after losing at Cleveland three weeks ago, second place wouldn't be a bad spot for now.

Week 8 Recap

Don Wright/Associated Press

Ben Roethlisberger had the greatest single-game performance ever by a Steelers quarterback in a 51-34 win over the Indianapolis Colts at Heinz Field.

He set franchise records for touchdown passes (six), passing yards (522) and completions (40).

While Roethlisberger was making history, Colts quarterback Andrew Luck fell on his rear end, and that was the real turning point of the game.

The Colts had scored on two straight possessions to pare a 42-20 deficit to 42-34. Then LeGarrette Blount coughed up the ball on the Colts' 5-yard line early in the fourth quarter. The Colts seemed poised to score again, but Luck fell into the end zone and then intentionally grounded the ball. Since this was a penalty on the offense in the end zone, it was a safety. 

With the lead increased to 44-34, the Steelers took the ensuing free kick and eventually made it 51-34 when Roethlisberger threw his sixth touchdown pass of the game to Heath Miller for 11 yards on 4th-and-1. 

Just as they did two weeks ago against Houston, the Steelers did most of their damage in the second quarter. In Week 7, the Steelers rained 24 points on the Houston Texans in a three-minute stretch late in the second quarter to go up 24-13 at halftime, eventually winning 30-23. On Sunday, they scored 28 points in the second quarter and led 35-20 at halftime.

The Steelers are now 2-0 against the first two picks of the 2012 NFL draft. They beat Robert Griffin III and the Redskins 27-12 in 2012. Like Sunday's game, that game was played at Heinz Field in Week 8 with the Steelers wearing their bumblebee throwback jerseys.

While the Steelers have faced Luck and Griffin just once each, they're more than familiar with Joe Flacco. Luck has the most passing yards of any quarterback the Steelers have faced this season (2,731), but Flacco has the second most with 2,049 to go with his 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

News and Notes

Don Wright/Associated Press

Roethlisberger Named AFC Offensive Player of the Week

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week after throwing for six touchdowns, 522 yards and 40 completions, all franchise records, in the Steelers' 51-34 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.

He became the first quarterback with two 500-yard passing games in his career. He also threw for 503 yards in a 37-36 win over Green Bay in 2009. His 522 yards Sunday were the fourth-most in NFL history, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He was just 33 yards shy of Norm Van Brocklin's all-time record.

At the halfway point of the season, Roethlisberger has thrown for 2,380 yards with 16 touchdown passes and three interceptions. He's on pace to surpass his career high of 4,328 passing yards, which he set in 2009. He's also on track to tie the career-high 32 touchdown passes he threw in 2007. His career low for interceptions is five, but that came in 2010 when he was suspended for the first four games. If he maintains his clip of three interceptions through eight games, he'd have a career low for a full season.

Roethlisberger is completing 68.4 percent of his passes. His best season in that department was 2009, when he completed 66.6 percent.

Allen Must Fight to Stay Active

First, Steelers cornerback Cortez Allen lost his starting job. Then he was benched in Sunday's game against the Colts. Now, he might not even get a uniform Sunday, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Allen, who remains firmly entrenched as the worst of the league's 193 cornerbacks, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), was burned by T.Y. Hilton and Donte Moncrief for touchdowns on Sunday. Moncrief's touchdown cut the Steelers' lead to 42-34 in the third quarter after it had been 35-10. 

Antwon Blake replaced Allen and intercepted Andrew Luck in the end zone in the fourth quarter. Allen signed a five-year, $25 million contract before the season. Blake is playing the final year of a three-year, $1.44 million contract, according to Spotrac, but it seems likely he'll be used more than Allen on Sunday. After practice Wednesday, he told Alan Robinson of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that he expects to take over the slot cornerback role from Allen.

"From the looks of things right now, that's how it's going to be," Blake said.

Daniels a Game-Time Decision

Ravens tight end Owen Daniels, who caught two touchdown passes in the Week 2 win over the Steelers, missed last week's game against the Bengals after having arthroscopic knee surgery and will be a game-time decision Sunday, according to ESPN.com.

Terrell Suggs (neck) is probable. He's sacked Ben Roethlisberger 16.5 times, more than anyone else in the league.

Running back Justin Forsett (ankle) also is probable. The 5'8", 197-pounder, who is with his fifth team, is fourth in the NFL with 571 rushing yards. Le'Veon Bell is third with 691.

Steelers to Officially Retire Greene's No. 75

No Steeler has worn Mean Joe Greene's No. 75 since he retired. At halftime of Sunday's game, the Steelers will make it official when they formally retire his number, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Greene was Chuck Noll's first draft pick as head coach of the Steelers in 1969. He was chosen fourth overall. The 6'4", 275-pound defensive tackle was the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year and the AP Defensive Player of the Year in 1972 and 1974, according to Pro Football Reference.

The Hall of Famer is a 10-time Pro Bowler and five-time first-team All-Pro. More importantly, he brought a winning attitude to the franchise after nearly four decades of losing. Greene didn't tolerate losing. He was so angry during a loss at Philadelphia that he threw the football into the stands, according to the Altoona Mirror. Greene wasn't afraid to get in Dick Butkus' face after Butkus hit L.C. Greenwood in a game at Chicago.

The Steelers knew they had something special when Greene dominated veteran center Ray Mansfield during a drill on the first day of training camp in 1969. In "The Ones Who Hit the Hardest" by Chad Millman via ESPN.com, Steelers linebacker Andy Russell said of Greene, "He was the single most important player in the history of our success."

The Steelers went 1-13 in 1969, but with Greene leading the defense, they won four Super Bowls in the 1970s.

Even though no one wears Terry Bradshaw's No. 12, Franco Harris' No. 32, Mike Webster's No. 52 and Jack Lambert's No. 58, the only number the Steelers have officially retired is Ernie Stautner's 70. That number will have some company.

Stat Change Gives Harrison Another Sack

A sack originally credited to Troy Polamalu was given to James Harrison after an official stat change Wednesday, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. That means Harrison had both of the Steelers' sacks in Sunday's win over the Colts. He now has 66 career sacks as a Steeler, second only to Jason Gildon's 77.

Steelers Continue to Improve in Red Zone

The Steelers scored touchdowns on five of their six trips into the red zone against the Colts. They now have a 50 percent touchdown rate inside the 20 and have risen from 29th in that category to 23rd, according to TeamRankings.com.

Steelers Seek Seventh Straight Game with Takeaway

Turnovers have been hard to come by in recent seasons for the Steelers defense. After forcing 35 in 2010, when they went to Super Bowl XLV, they forced 15 in 2011 and 20 in each of the last two seasons. 

The Steelers had two takeaways against the Colts. After forcing no turnovers in the first two games, they have forced at least one in the last six games and have 11 at the halfway point of the season. If they force a turnover Sunday, they'll have a turnover in seven straight games for the first time since 2010.

A Series of Nail-Biters

Since the beginning of the 2008 season when Joe Flacco became a part of this rivalry, the Steelers and Ravens have played 15 times including in the postseason. The Steelers have won eight of those games. Eleven of the 15 games have been decided by four points or less. The outliers have been the two playoff games the Steelers have won (23-14 in 2008 and 31-24 in 2010) and Ravens' regular-season victories at Baltimore that came within the first two weeks of the season (35-7 in Week 1 of 2011 and 26-6 in Week 2 this season). 

Roethlisberger has missed four games against the Ravens during that time. He missed three with injuries and one because of his suspension in 2010. He is 7-4 against Joe Flacco all-time.

Unique Scores

The Steelers and Colts played the only 51-34 game in NFL history last week, according to Pro Football Reference. The Steelers also won the only 51-35 game played in the NFL. That came at Cleveland on Oct. 7, 1979.

Injury Report

Bob Leverone/Associated Press

Player	Position	Injury Status (Through Fri)
Marcus Gilbert	OT	Probable (Concussion)
Steve McLendon	NT	Probable (Shoulder)
Mike Mitchell	S	Probable (Groin)
Ryan Shazier	LB	Probable (Knee)
Matt Spaeth	TE	Probable (Hamstring)
Ike Taylor	CB	Out (Forearm)
Shamarko Thomas	S	Probable (Hamstring)
Ross Ventrone	S	Out (Hamstring)

Right tackle Marcus Gilbert is expected back after leaving the game with a concussion against Houston in Week 7 and missing last week's game. Mike Adams filled in for Gilbert last week, and the Steelers didn't allow a sack for the first time this season.

Steve McLendon is on track to return after missing two games, and Shamarko Thomas is probable for a return after a three-game absence.

Ike Taylor continues to work toward a return and was out on the practice field Thursday, according to Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

"

Ike Taylor was scout team safety on Thursday (Ike confirmed this after practice). Said he can play safety and it was just him fooling around

— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly_Trib) October 30, 2014"

It's highly unlikely Taylor will return Sunday.

Outside linebacker Jarvis Jones is on the injured reserve/designated to return list and could come back as early as Nov. 17 at Tennessee. The hard cast he's been wearing on his dislocated right wrist could be removed on Monday, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Injury report information is from Steelers.com.

X-Factor and Matchups to Watch

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

William Gay vs. Torrey Smith

Coverage assignments will be spread around. Steelers starting cornerbacks William Gay and Brice McCain both are likely to cover Torrey Smith and Steve Smith Sr. at different points during the game. The same goes for whoever wins the nickelback job between Antwon Blake and Cortez Allen.

Among receivers with at least 15 catches this season, Torrey Smith and Steve Smith Sr. are seventh and eighth, respectively, in yards per reception. Steve has 41 catches for 675 yards (16.5 per reception). Torrey Smith has 18 catches for 308 yards (17.1 per reception). Both have four touchdowns.

The Ravens might be banged up at cornerback, but the Steelers have had some turmoil at the position with Allen getting demoted from starter and now possibly not even wearing a uniform Sunday. 

Blake, with his limited experience, figures to be the most vulnerable to getting burned deep. But Steelers fans with any kind of memory will know why the Gay/Torrey Smith matchup is singled out here. 

Torrey beat Gay, even though Gay interfered with him, with eight seconds left for the game-winning touchdown when the Ravens defeated the Steelers 23-20 at Heinz Field in 2011. The Ravens completed a season sweep of the Steelers with that win. The Ravens and Steelers both finished 12-4 that year, but the Ravens won the AFC North on the tiebreaker.

Had the Steelers won that game, they would have been the top seed in the AFC playoffs. They would have been 13-3, the same record as the New England Patriots. But since they beat the Patriots that year, they would have had the tiebreaker over them.

Instead, the Steelers dropped to the No. 5 seed and had to go to Denver for the Wild Card Game. No one needs to be reminded what happened there.

Was the Steelers' demise in 2011 all Gay's fault? No. But the parallels are too eerie for Steelers fans not to get post-Halloween chills whenever Gay goes up against Torrey Smith Sunday night.

That Ravens victory in 2011 came in Week 9, just like Sunday's game. It was on a Sunday night at Heinz Field, just like Sunday's game. It came a week after the Steelers beat Tom Brady and the Patriots at Pittsburgh. Last week, the Steelers defeated Andrew Luck, who has since joined Brady in that elite quarterback fraternity.

If the Ravens need a touchdown with just seconds on the clock Sunday night and Gay is on Torrey Smith, don't be surprised if Flacco flips through his mental Rolodex and dials up a deep ball to Smith. If that happens, the Steelers' season could hinge on how Gay responds.

Antonio Brown vs. Thin Ravens Secondary

Jimmy Smith, the Ravens' top cornerback, according to Pro Football Focus, is out with a sprained foot. That leaves the Ravens with Lardarius Webb, Chykie Brown and Dominique Franks as their only active cornerbacks. Brown is the only one who played in the Ravens' 26-6 win over the Steelers in Week 2.

Webb and Franks are expected to start Sunday, according to the Baltimore Sun, with Brown playing in the nickel. Brown has been inactive for the past two games.

Antonio Brown leads the NFL with 60 receptions and is second in receiving yards (852) and receiving touchdowns (seven). He was covered primarily by Smith in Week 2. He caught two passes for six yards while being covered by Smith, according to PFF, and had seven catches for 90 yards in the game with no touchdowns.

Chykie Brown was targeted twice in that game. Both times he was covering Markus Wheaton, who caught one of those passes for 14 yards.

The Ravens have allowed 31 pass plays of at least 20 yards this season, third-most in the league, according to the Baltimore Sun. Roethlisberger didn't attempt any passes beyond 20 yards in Week 2, according to PFF. He'll have to air it out to take advantage of the Ravens' depleted secondary.

Jason Worilds vs. Ricky Wagner

Jason Worilds earned a $9.754 million salary this season under the transition tag, according to Spotrac, after breaking out for seven sacks in his last eight games last season.

Worilds has been a factor in the Steelers' pass rush this season even though he has just two sacks to show for it. According to Pro Football Focus, he's tied for first with two others, including the Ravens' Terrell Suggs, with 10 quarterback hits, and is tied for sixth with 16 quarterback hurries.

The Ravens have allowed just nine sacks this season, according to ESPN Stats and Info. That's the sixth fewest in the league. Since Worilds is the left outside linebacker, Ravens right tackle Ricky Wagner likely will be matched up against him. Wagner has been responsible for one sack this season, according to PFF.

Wagner earned the starting job this year after being taken in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL draft. Worilds has to win his share of battles with Wagner and at least disrupt Flacco.

Marcus Gilbert vs. Elvis Dumervil

Elvis Dumervil is tied for fifth in the NFL with seven sacks, and he ragdolled Marcus Gilbert for two of them in Week 2 at Baltimore.

Gilbert is likely to return to right tackle after missing last week and most of the previous game with a concussion, and he'll have to do a better job of keeping Dumervil away from Roethlisberger than he did last time.

Mike Adams, the Steelers' second-round pick in 2012, replaced Gilbert, their second-rounder in 2011, against the Colts last week. It was the first time this season that Roethlisberger wasn't sacked. 

Gilbert hasn't allowed a sack since the four he gave up in the first two weeks of the season, according to Pro Football Focus. He signed a five-year, $31 million contract before the season. It looked like a ripoff in the first two weeks, but he's come closer to earning that money since then. 

The midterm exam for Gilbert's 2014 season comes on Sunday when he tries to stand up to Dumervil, his Week 2 bully.

X-Factor to Watch: Ryan Shazier

Rookie inside linebacker Ryan Shazier saw limited action last week after returning from a knee injury that sidelined him for four weeks. He played in 30 out of a possible 67 snaps, according to PFF. He made three tackles and added a quarterback hurry.

C.J. Mosley, whom the Ravens chose two spots after Shazier in the first round of the draft, outshined Shazier in Week 2. He forced a Heath Miller fumble and recovered it. Mosley has taken off from there. He was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month for October, according to the Baltimore Sun. He made 38 tackles, third most in the league for the month, and leads the Ravens with 72 tackles this season. He also has two interceptions.

Mosley looks like a better pick than Shazier so far, but Eddie Lacy looked like a better pick than Le'Veon Bell when the Steelers and Packers met at Green Bay in Week 16 last year. Lacy, chosen 13 spots after Bell in the second round, had 1,028 rushing yards entering that game. Bell had 646. But Bell outgained Lacy 124-84, and the Steelers won 38-31. This year, Bell has 691 rushing yards, and Lacy has 428.

Even though Shazier and Mosley won't physically go up against each other, it would help the Steelers if Shazier can do what Bell did last year and compare favorably to the guy the Steelers passed on to draft him.

Prediction

Gene Puskar/Associated Press

Don't expect the Ravens and Steelers to put 85 points on the board like the Colts and Steelers did last week.

In the 15 games these teams have played since 2008, they've averaged 36.7 points. They combined for 32 points when the Ravens pounded the Steelers 26-6 in Week 2. There won't be many more points scored on Sunday.

Nine of the aforementioned 15 games were decided by three points. One was decided by four points, and one was decided by two points. Perhaps these teams are due to play a game decided by one point or five points.

Both teams had just three days to prepare for their Week 2 game on Thursday Night Football. But the Ravens were the home team, and the Steelers were coming off a draining game in which they blew a 24-point lead before pulling it out with a last-second field goal. Those conditions had to favor the Ravens.

This time, both teams have a full week to prepare. The Steelers are riding the high of a galvanizing win, and the Ravens suffered their second loss to Cincinnati, which could come back to haunt them in the fight for a playoff spot.

The Steelers have had a habit of playing down to the level of inferior competition in recent years as well as this year against Tampa Bay and Jacksonville, even though they got away with it against the Jaguars.

But the Steelers also have risen to challenges this season. They beat Carolina on the road when the Panthers were 2-0 and put enough points on the board to overcome the Colts' attack last week.

The Steelers team that showed up in Carolina and at Heinz Field last week is the one that will show up Sunday night, and it will be just enough for a win.

Prediction: Steelers 17, Ravens 16

NFL.com was used for statistics unless otherwise noted.

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