Ravens vs. Steelers: Complete Wild Card Game Preview for Pittsburgh
For the third time in the last seven years and the fourth time this century, the rivalry between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens has become a trilogy.
The Ravens and Steelers square off for the third time this season Saturday night in an AFC Wild Card Game at Heinz Field (8:15 p.m. ET, NBC).
The Steelers have to find a way to win without running back Le'Veon Bell. According to Dale Lolley of the Observer-Reporter of Washington, Pennsylvania, Bell was ruled out with a hyperextended knee:
"Lev Bell declared out for Saturdays game by #Steelers
— Dale Lolley (@dlolleyor) January 2, 2015"
The Steelers voted Bell their Most Valuable Player this season. Since he was drafted in 2013, the Steelers are 19-10 with Bell in the lineup and 0-3 without him.
This will be the first time the Steelers will be without Bell against the Ravens.
Baltimore beat the Steelers 26-6 at Baltimore in Week 2. Then in eye-for-eye fashion, the Steelers (10-6) beat the Ravens (11-5) by 20 at Pittsburgh in Week 9, 43-23.
Now comes Ravens-Steelers III. Or maybe it could be dubbed Ravens-Steelers XVII, because the rivalry was ratcheted up a few notches in 2008 when Joe Flacco was drafted and immediately became the Ravens' franchise quarterback to counter Ben Roethlisberger.
The Steelers have won nine of the 16 games they've played against the Ravens since 2008, including an AFC Championship Game and an AFC Divisional Playoff Game.
The Ravens have had the upper hand, however, since the last time they met in the playoffs. They've beaten the Steelers five of eight times since 2011 and have won a Super Bowl since the last time the Steelers won a playoff game.
But the Ravens have never beaten the Steelers in a playoff game. That's the Steelers' last bastion of dominance in this series. If the third-seeded Steelers lose to the sixth-seeded Ravens Saturday, they might as well let Baltimore splash purple paint all over Heinz Field's yellow seats.
Roethlisberger is 8-4 against Flacco, including the playoffs. He's missed four games against the Ravens since 2008, and the Steelers are 1-3 in those games.
It's not Roethlisberger's absence the Steelers have to worry about Saturday.
While the Steelers will be without the guy who provided a franchise-record 2,215 yards from scrimmage, the Ravens will get a big reinforcement. Defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, a five-time Pro Bowler, returns from a four-game suspension for violating the league's policy against performance-enhancing drugs.
Don't expect the Ravens to show any sympathy. The feud between these teams is as contentious as it's ever been.
So many skirmishes broke out when they met in Week 9 that it looked like they were playing outside a dive bar at 2 a.m. Four Ravens and one Steeler, Vince Williams, were fined for their roles in the mayhem, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
A week later, the Steelers' three-game winning streak ended with a 20-13 loss to the New York Jets. The Ravens defeated Tennessee that day, and Ravens coach John Harbaugh took a shot at the Steelers in the locker room after the game, according to ESPN.com.
"That team beat us last week and then went and got their ass kicked this week," Harbaugh told his team.
Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweeted Mike Tomlin's only response:
"Tomlin: Has no comment on Harbaugh's comment. "If they choose to spend time thinking about us, so be it.''
— Ed Bouchette (@EdBouchette) November 11, 2014"
The Ravens have had no choice but to think about the Steelers this week.
Buckle up—this should be good.
Week 17 Recap
1 of 5
The 2014 AFC North title came down to Sunday's showdown against the Cincinnati Bengals at Heinz Field, and the Steelers prevailed 27-17.
Among the spoils of the division championship is a home playoff game. The Bengals have to go to Indianapolis to face the Colts in their Wild Card Game on Sunday.
The Steelers have home-field advantage against the Ravens, but they won't have Le'Veon Bell. He suffered a hyperextended knee after taking a hit from Bengals safety Reggie Nelson.
Antonio Brown returned a punt 71 yards for a touchdown to give the Steelers a 7-0 lead and also caught a 63-yard touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to provide the final margin of victory.
Antwon Blake set up that touchdown by forcing an A.J. Green fumble and recovering it at the Steelers' 30-yard line with four minutes left.
That was the biggest of three Steelers takeaways. They finished the regular season with 21, eclipsing the 20 they forced in both 2012 and 2013. They broke even in turnover differential after finishing in the minus for three straight years.
Roethlisberger finished with 4,952 passing yards for the season, tying Drew Brees for tops in the league. He had never finished higher than seventh in that category, according to Pro Football Reference.
Brown led the NFL with 129 receptions. Only Marvin Harrison in 2002 caught more passes in a single season (143). Brown also was first with 1,698 receiving yards.
Bell finished with 2,215 yards from scrimmage, becoming the first player in NFL history to surpass 2,200 scrimmage yards without fumbling, according to Pro Football Talk.
It all added up to the Steelers' sixth AFC North title.
The Steelers have won the AFC North more than any other team since the division was formed in 2002, but this was the first time they had done it since 2010. Before that, they had never gone more than a year without finishing first.
But for a franchise whose mission statement is winning Super Bowls, division titles are just a device to guarantee a home playoff game. It will ring hollow if the Steelers don't beat their most bitter division rival on Saturday.
News and Notes
2 of 5
Harris to Start in Bell's Place
Undrafted rookie Josh Harris will start in place of injured running back Le'Veon Bell, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The Steelers signed Harris to replace LeGarrette Blount, whom they released after he went to the locker room before the game was over at Tennessee. The 5'11", 210-pound Harris has run for 16 yards on nine carries this season, although he had a 59-yard run called back by a holding penalty Sunday against Cincinnati.
Harris ran for 2,195 yards with an average of 4.6 yards per carry in four years at Wake Forest, according to Sports Reference. His best season came in 2010, when he ran for 720 yards (5.7 yards per carry) and seven touchdowns as a freshman.
The Steelers also will need Dri Archer to provide some return on their investment of a third-round draft pick. The 5'8", 173-pounder has gained 40 yards on 10 carries this season and caught seven passes for 23 yards. He caught two passes for 19 yards Sunday against the Bengals.
Bell ran for a total of 79 yards on 21 carries in the Steelers' two games against the Ravens this season. He ran for 20 yards in the Steelers' Week 9 win. But he did catch five passes in both games, including a touchdown catch in the victory.
Even if Bell did play, it still would have been a challenge for the Steelers to run the ball on the Ravens, according to Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
"The Ravens have not allowed a 100-yard rusher in 26 consecutive games. They are 15-11 in that stretch, incl. 2-2 vs. the Steelers.
— Ray Fittipaldo (@rayfitt1) January 1, 2015"
Steelers Sign Tate
In the wake of Bell's injury, the Steelers bolstered their running back corps by signing Ben Tate, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
The Browns signed him as a free agent after he averaged 4.88 yards per carry in eight games as the Houston Texans' starting running back last season. Despite playing with broken ribs in all eight games, he gained 503 yards after taking over for an injured Arian Foster.
The 26-year-old gained 124 yards in the Browns' 29-28 win at Tennessee this season. The Browns came back from a 25-point deficit in that game, the largest deficit overcome by a road team.
However, Tate had only 333 yards in eight games with the Browns and 38 yards in three games with the Vikings. He's averaged 3.1 yards per carry this season.
Injury History Repeating Itself
Bell's injury is a repeat of history for the Steelers.
If they have to face the Ravens without Bell, it won't be the first time the Steelers have gone into a playoff game without their star running back.
Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier both were injured during the Steelers' 40-14 win over the Baltimore Colts in the 1976 AFC Divisional Round.
The Steelers were forced to start Reggie Harrison at running back in the AFC Championship Game and lost 24-7 at Oakland.
A quarter-century later, Jerome Bettis missed a divisional playoff game against the Ravens when a pregame shot for hip and groin injuries numbed his leg. The Steelers beat the Ravens 27-10 at home without him.
In 2007, Willie Parker was leading the NFL in rushing yards when he broke his leg in a Week 16 game at St. Louis. The Steelers turned to Najeh Davenport and lost at home to the Jacksonville Jaguars 31-29 in the Wild Card Round.
Bell's injury isn't nearly as serious as the one Parker suffered in 2007. There's a chance the Steelers will have Bell in Denver if they get past the Ravens.
Ngata Back for Ravens
The Steelers will be without their most valuable player just as the Ravens welcome back a cornerstone of their defense.
Defensive tackle Haloti Ngata will return from a four-game suspension for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing drugs.
The 6'4", 340-pound Ngata, a five-time Pro Bowler, had two sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and seven batted passes this season, according to ESPN.com.
Ngata, 30, tipped a Roethlisberger pass and intercepted it during the Ravens' Week 2 win over the Steelers, and he had a sack in their Week 9 meeting.
The Ravens went 3-1 without Ngata.
Steelers Plan Full Final Practice
The Steelers weren't going to take it easy in practice Friday just because it's a short week.
Aditi Kinkhabwala of the NFL Network shared this locker-room conversation:
"Steelers practice Friday. Me: Walkthrough, right? Mike Mitchell: No, PRACTICE. Me: Really? William Gay, from across room: It's Ravens week!
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) January 1, 2015"
Steelers Defense Getting Stingy
The Steelers defense might want to give blackjack a try, because it hasn't gone over 21 since November.
The Steelers have allowed 21 points or less in four straight games for the first time since 2012, when they accomplished the feat in Weeks 10-13. The streak ended with a 34-24 loss to the Chargers at Heinz Field, and that started a collapse that led to the first of two straight Januarys without Steelers football.
Steelers Better Against Playoff Teams
Much was made this season about the Steelers' struggles against inferior opponents.
They don't have to worry about playing down to that level in the playoffs. According to Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Steelers have fared far better against 2014 playoff teams than the Ravens have:
"Steelers are 5-1 vs. playoff teams; Ravens 2-4. Last playoff team Ravens faced? Steelers in Nov. Two wins vs. Steelers & Panthers (in Sept.)
— Ray Fittipaldo (@rayfitt1) January 1, 2015"
The Steelers' wins against playoff teams have come against the Ravens, Bengals (twice), Panthers and Colts. The Ravens have lost to the Bengals twice, Colts and Steelers.
History on Steelers' Side in Third Meetings
This is the 10th time in franchise history the Steelers are playing an opponent for the third time in the same season.
Here's how they've done the nine previous times, according to Ken Laird of TribLive Radio:
"The #Steelers are 9-0 in 3rd matchup of the year against a team: Oilers in 78, 79, & 89; Browns in 94 & 02; Bengals in 05; Ravens 01, 08, 10
— Ken Laird (@Ken_Laird) December 30, 2014"
Ravens Dangerous Wild-Card Team on Road
Since Joe Flacco became their starting quarterback in 2008, the Ravens are 4-0 in Wild Card Games, including 3-0 on the road.
In 2008, the Ravens were the No. 6 seed and won 27-9 at No. 3 Miami.
In 2009, the Ravens again were the No. 6 seed and won 33-14 at New England.
As the No. 5 seed in 2010, they won 30-7 at Kansas City. The Chiefs were coached by Todd Haley.
The Ravens were the No. 4 seed in 2012 and beat the Indianapolis Colts 24-9 at Baltimore in a Wild Card Game.
Steelers Add WR Coale to Practice Squad
The Steelers signed wide receiver Danny Coale to their practice squad and placed wide receiver Tim Benford on the reserve/injured list, according to Steelers public relations man Burt Lauten:
"Practice squad move: The @steelers have signed WR Danny Coale & placed WR Tim Benford on the PS Reserve/Injured List.
— Burt Lauten (@SteelersPRBurt) January 1, 2015"
Coale was in the Steelers' 2014 camp but released, according to Rotoworld. The Dallas Cowboys took him in the fifth round of the 2012 draft out of Virginia Tech.
Injury Report
3 of 5
| Player | Position | Injury Status (through Fri) |
| Le'Veon Bell | RB | Out (knee) |
| James Harrison | OLB | Probable (illness) |
| Landry Jones | QB | Probable (illness) |
| Mike Adams | OT | Probable (illness) |
| Steve McLendon | NT | Probable (shoulder) |
| Michael Palmer | TE | Probable (groin) |
| Troy Polamalu | S | Probable (knee) |
| Ike Taylor | CB | Probable (shoulder, forearm) |
Scott Brown of ESPN.com tweeted the Steelers' final injury report:
"All injured Steelers players are listed as probable for Saturday night. Le'Veon Bell, of course, is the exception. He is out.
— Scott Brown (@ScottBrown_ESPN) January 2, 2015"
The Ravens, by the way, will be without left tackle Eugene Monroe, according to Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
"Everyone else except Bell is probable for the Ravens game. Arthur Brown (thigh), Tim Jernigan (foot) and Eugene Monroe (ankle) are out 4 BLT
— Ray Fittipaldo (@rayfitt1) January 2, 2015 "
"Re last tweet, maybe not a bad thing for Ravens. Harrison had two sacks versus Monroe in the last game.
— Ray Fittipaldo (@rayfitt1) January 2, 2015"
Undrafted rookie James Hurst will start at left tackle for the Ravens, according to Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun. John Urschel, also a rookie, will start at right guard with Marshal Yanda moving from right guard to right tackle.
For the Steelers, the news hasn't been all bad on the injury front. Troy Polamalu is likely to be back in what could be his final home game.
The Steelers' venerable safety has missed two games. If the Steelers win, they go to Denver next week, and if they reach the conference title game, the only way they'll be home is if the Bengals or Colts knock off the top-seeded Patriots.
That means the 33-year-old Polamalu could be playing at home for the final time. He's under contract beyond this season, but he'll count $8.25 million against the salary cap next year, according to Spotrac. He's missed four games this season, broken up one pass and forced one fumble. The rest of his stat sheet is full of zeroes.
But on Saturday night, he'll be introduced last, according to Jim Wexell of Steel City Insider:
"“@dlolleyor: Troy Polamalu ... Last game at Heinz Field?” will be introduced last.
— James C Wexell (@jimwexell) January 1, 2015"
The Steelers have played perhaps their two best defensive games of the season without Polamalu. They allowed 12 points with no touchdowns against the Chiefs and 17 points against the Bengals. That's the second- and third-lowest point totals for a Steelers opponent this season. The Jaguars scored nine on them in Week 5.
Several Steelers scoffed at the notion that the defense is better without Polamalu, according to Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "That's absurd," fellow safety Mike Mitchell said. "It just shows the disrespect that some people have, and they have no clue about our game.”
Two of Polamalu's most memorable plays have come in big games against the Ravens. In the 2008 AFC Championship Game, he intercepted Joe Flacco and returned it for a touchdown to give the Steelers a nine-point lead with less than five minutes left. The Steelers won 23-14.
In 2010, he strip-sacked Flacco to set up the winning points in a 13-10 win that catapulted the Steelers to the AFC North title and paved their way to Super Bowl XLV.
Splash plays like that might be too much to ask of Polamalu at this stage of his career. But if it is his last game at Heinz Field, it's better to see him in uniform than in a knitted cap on the sidelines.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
X-Factor and Matchups to Watch
4 of 5
Antonio Brown vs. Lardarius Webb
The Ravens have allowed 248.7 passing yards per game, 23rd in the NFL. They allowed less than 200 passing yards in each of their last four games, but the opposing quarterbacks in those games were Ryan Tannehill, Blake Bortles, Case Keenum and Connor Shaw. None of them finished in the top 10 in passing yards.
Ben Roethlisberger, meanwhile, shared the passing yardage title with Drew Brees (4,952).
The Texans' DeAndre Hopkins was the most prolific receiver the Ravens faced in December in terms of yardage, but his 1,210 receiving yards were nowhere near the 1,698 that Antonio Brown compiled.
Lardarius Webb missed the first five games of the season with a back injury. He gave up five receptions against Brown on eight targets when the Steelers defeated the Ravens 43-23 in Week 9, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
PFF has graded Webb positively for five straight weeks, and he came up with his first interception of the season in Sunday's 20-10 win over the Cleveland Browns.
Brown led the NFL this season with 129 receptions, second-most all-time for a single season, and 1,698 yards. He also caught 13 touchdown passes. He's caught at least seven passes in 11 straight games, which is an NFL record, according to Pro Football Reference.
Vince Williams vs. Jacoby Jones
Vince Williams is the Steelers' leading special teams tackler with 18, according to PFF.
However, he was the first one blocked when Jacoby Jones returned a kickoff 108 yards for a touchdown at Pittsburgh in November. The touchdown narrowed the Steelers' lead to 29-17 early in the fourth quarter.
Much more costly was Jones' 63-yard punt-return touchdown at Heinz Field in 2012. It was the Ravens' only touchdown in a 13-10 win.
Then there was Jones' infamous 73-yard kickoff return at Baltimore last year that was re-routed by Mike Tomlin's foot.
Jones has returned five kickoffs for touchdowns—tied for eighth on the all-time career list—and four punts for scores.
Williams wasn't the only Steelers special teamer on the field when Jones scored on that kickoff in November. Darrius Heyward-Bey and Antwon Blake came close to him but were blocked, and Shamarko Thomas was the last Steeler with a chance to catch him, but he didn't have the speed.
It will be hard enough for the Steelers to win without Le'Veon Bell without giving up points on special teams.
Marcus Gilbert vs. Elvis Dumervil
If this game can be billed as Ravens-Steelers III, then Dumervil-Gilbert III is a matchup worth watching on the undercard.
Dumervil, an outside linebacker who was third in the NFL with 17 sacks during the regular season, had three of them against the Steelers. He schooled Gilbert for his two sacks in Week 2.
PFF gave Gilbert a worse pass-blocking grade in Week 9 than it gave him in Week 2, even though the right tackle allowed just one sack by Dumervil. That sack closed out a barrage of three sacks on three consecutive plays for the Ravens.
Gilbert has given up six sacks this season, four of them in the first two weeks. He's ranked 23rd among NFL offensive tackles, according to PFF. Left tackle Kelvin Beachum was ranked fifth.
The Steelers allowed just three sacks in the final five games. Roethlisberger was sacked 33 times this season and was protected well enough to play just the third 16-game season of his 11-year career.
The Ravens tied for second in the league with 49 sacks. Terrell Suggs complemented Dumervil with 12 sacks, tied for ninth in the league.
In four of their last five games, the Steelers faced the Saints, Bengals and Falcons. All those teams finished in the bottom fourth of the league in sacks. But the Steelers did hold the Chiefs to one sack, and the Chiefs were fifth with 46 of them.
Antwon Blake vs. Torrey Smith
The Steelers always have to keep an eye on Torrey Smith. He made the game-winning touchdown catch with eight seconds left when the Ravens defeated the Steelers 23-20 at Heinz Field in 2011. The Ravens completed a season sweep of the Steelers and essentially won the AFC North with that victory.
Smith caught a TD pass to give the Ravens a 7-0 lead over the Steelers in their 22-20 win at Baltimore last year, and he gave the Ravens a 7-0 lead at Pittsburgh this season.
The 6'0", 205-pound Smith caught a career-high 11 touchdown passes this year.
The 5'9", 198-pound Blake is a nickelback but figures to be on the field a lot against Joe Flacco, who likes to throw the deep ball. Blake allowed one completion for 13 yards on four targets while covering Smith in Week 9, according to PFF. Brice McCain gave up the touchdown.
Blake snatched the ball from Bengals receiver A.J. Green with four minutes left in Sunday night's game, foiling a potential game-tying or go-ahead drive with the Steelers leading 20-17.
That was the seventh fumble of Green's four-year career. He's lost three of them. Smith, who also joined the league in 2011, has fumbled just twice in his career, and neither became a turnover.
Steelers' X-Factor to Watch: Heath Miller
With Bell wearing sweats on the sidelines, there are two ways tight end Heath Miller can make up for his loss.
Bell's 83 receptions were second on the team behind Antonio Brown's 129. Now Miller becomes the Steelers' second-leading pass-catcher with 66.
Markus Wheaton was fourth on the team with 53 receptions but second among wide receivers. Martavis caught 26 passes, eight for touchdowns, since he suited up in Week 7.
Bell made up for the inconsistency behind Brown at the wide receiver position and essentially emerged as Roethlisberger's No. 2 receiving option. Against the Ravens, Miller will have to become a more prominent part of the offense than he has been this season. He caught four passes in Week 2 and lost a fumble. He was targeted just twice in Week 9 and had one catch.
Like Bell, Miller will have to get open for checkdowns if everyone else is covered.
Miller also could help with pass blocking. According to PFF, he's been a better run-blocker than pass-blocker this year. But without Bell, there will be a drop-off when it comes to run blocking.
If he's staying in to block, Miller probably won't put up huge receiving numbers. If he is a big part of the offense, he might not be doing much blitz pickup. Either way, the more Miller rises to the occasion, the less the Steelers will miss Bell.
Prediction
5 of 5
The Steelers have come a long way from the team that let a bad snap on a field-goal attempt snowball into a 21-point second quarter for the Cleveland Browns in their 31-10 loss in Week 6.
Since then, the Steelers have forged the mental toughness to overcome Le'Veon Bell's injury and muster one playoff win. They've won four in a row, including the last two at home. An improved defense playing in front of a crowd that hasn't seen a Steelers playoff game at Heinz Field in four years will provide enough electricity to keep Pittsburgh hot.
The Ravens' 2-4 record against 2014 playoff teams doesn't tell the entire story. Their only win against a team with a winning record came in Week 2 against the Steelers, and a lot in the NFL has changed since then.
Meanwhile, the Steelers beat six teams with winning records, including three in December.
The Steelers need Bell for a long playoff run, but they can exploit the Ravens' 23rd-ranked pass defense and earn a trip to Denver.
Prediction: Steelers 26, Ravens 23
NFL.com was used for statistics unless otherwise noted.
Follow @Steel_Tweets
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
