Thursday Night Football Week 4: TV Schedule, Live Stream for Ravens vs. Steelers

An AFC North Thursday Night Football showdown between the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers stands as one of the most important games of the season for all the wrong reasons.

As the Cincinnati Bengals pull away at 3-0, the Ravens sit winless and the Steelers sit 2-1 but are without their star quarterback.

Baltimore has looked nothing like past iterations of the successful franchise thanks to sloppy, flag-filled play. Pittsburgh, already dealing with a rebuilding defense, will trot out Michael Vick under center in place of the injured Ben Roethlisberger.

Despite the issues, this figures to be a hotly contested divisional battle. Here's everything to know.

Viewing Info

When: Thursday, October 1, 8:25 p.m. ET

Where: Heinz Field in Pittsburgh

Television: CBS, NFL Network

Live Stream: NFL Game Pass

Tickets: ScoreBig.com

Betting Lines (via Odds Shark):

• Over/Under: 43.5

• Spread: Baltimore (-3)

Team Injury Reports

Player	Position	Status
Breshad Perriman	WR	Out
Crockett Gillmore	TE	Out
Eugene Monroe	OT	Out

Player	Position	Status
Cortez Allen	CB	Questionable
James Harrison	LB	Probable
Ryan Shazier	LB	Out
Ben Roethlisberger	QB	Out

Injury reports via ESPN.com.

Finding Balance

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

The Ravens just don't look like their usual selves through three games.

Baltimore lost in Denver to the Broncos, 19-13, to start the season, an acceptable hiccup. Then Joe Flacco and Co. went and laid an egg in Oakland against the Raiders, 37-33, all before losing late against the Bengals, 28-24.

The issues aren't hard to figure out. Flacco has tried to keep things balanced on offense, but as a whole, the team has rushed for just 3.3 yards per carry and one score on the ground. It's hurt his ability to keep things moving through the air, where he has four touchdowns and four interceptions.

The biggest issue of all, though? Penalties. The Ravens own 23 over the course of the last two games alone.

To top it all off, as the injury report shows, the offense will miss key contributors on the offensive line and players who can stretch the defense deep to open things up. These factors have plagued the team through its first three losses already, so a short turnaround in a tough environment doesn't figure to bode well.

Still, desperation can be a great motivator. If the Ravens lose, the season's over. Look for Baltimore to come out aggressive against a backup quarterback.

Holding it Down 

The injury to Big Ben doesn't change the fact that Pittsburgh sits in a good situation.

After all, the Steelers looked like one of the league's top offenses, understanding that a prolific attack was the only way to compensate for a porous defense. The approach has the Steelers in second place in the division.

With Roethlisberger down, the onus of production seems to spread equally going into a situation the team doesn't fare well in historically, per ESPN's Ed Werder:

"I won't put it all on my shoulders," Vick said, per ESPN.com. "I'll take sole responsibility of everything that happens, but I'm just going to prepare myself and get myself in the position to help this football team."

Translation: At this stage of his career, Vick is more game manager than changer.

Which is just fine. The connections might not be as precise, but Vick will still be able to hit Antonio Brown, owner of 29 catches for 436 yards and two scores. Lead back Le'Veon Bell will look to find room after rushing for 62 yards and a score in his season debut last week. 

In theory, Vick should be able to lean on the weapons around him at home and still do enough to make up for a struggling defense. Really, on a short turnaround, the team doesn't have any other options. 

Prediction 

Road encounter or not, Werder's note bodes well for the Ravens.

So long as the Ravens cut down on the flags, the offense should be able to move the ball well through wideout Steve Smith, who had 186 yards and two scores against a strong Cincinnati defense just days earlier.

Vick won't be able to post as many points as Big Ben no matter who the weapons are around him, a problem considering his defense shrunk in its one true test of the season to date.

Look for the Ravens and tackle Brandon Williams to fluster Vick into mistakes while the Pittsburgh defense has no answer for Smith. Baltimore can pull away late, provided the yellow laundry stays off the field.

Prediction: Ravens 28, Steelers 23

Statistics courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise specified.