Ravens vs. Steelers: What's the Game Plan for Pittsburgh?

It seems like the Ravens-Steelers rivalry comes down to one thing every year: defense.

My, oh my, how things have changed in this rivalry.

Just a few short years ago, both defenses were feared units across the NFL. Now? The only thing that fears these two units might be themselves.

While that might be harsh on the Steelers defense considering the performances it's turned in the last two weeks, it's not hard to remember the two quarterbacks Pittsburgh faced in the last two weeks. Colin Kaepernick and Nick Foles aren't as threatening to many teams as, say, Tom Brady and Joe Flacco.

This will be a huge test for the Steelers defense taking on Flacco on a short week in prime time. That said, the Ravens offense has struggled to get going to start the year, especially Justin Forsett, Buck Allen and the running game.

Luckily for Baltimore, the weakness on the Steelers defense is the secondary, which hasn't been tested much through the air since Tom Brady torched it in Week 1.

Offensively, the Steelers seemed to be hitting their stride with the return of Le'Veon Bell, but the knee injury suffered by Ben Roethlisberger threatens to stall out a high-powered offense with Michael Vick under center.

The 15-year veteran quarterback didn't look prepared coming on in relief for Roethlisberger in the third quarter against St. Louis. His ball fakes weren't crisp, he stared down receivers and appeared eager to leave a clean pocket. With a short week to prepare as a starter against a division rival, it's hard to imagine his performance will get much better—at least this week.

What can offensive coordinator Todd Haley and the rest of the offense do to help Vick against Baltimore? Simplicity has to be the key, along with riding Bell, Antonio Brown and DeAngelo Williams for all they're worth.

Defensively, the Steelers have to ratchet up the pressure on Flacco, who has looked uncomfortable behind a shaky line early in the season. Knock him off his drop, force him out of the pocket and force him into mistakes.

He's prone to a few of those.

Offensive Game Plan

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Vick taking over for an injured Roethlisberger shouldn't be comforting to anyone in regard to the Steelers offense, which had aspirations of being the top offense in football in 2015. 

Against St. Louis, Haley and the Steelers tried to do the same things with Vick that they did with Roethlisberger. That simply won't work long term. In all fairness, Haley didn't plan for Vick to come in at any point this season, so he stuck with the game plan that he prepared for Roethlisberger.

This week, it's all about simplifying the offense and putting Vick into comfortable situations where he has the best chance at succeeding. That means the offensive line must get back to its dominant ways of running the football like it did in Week 1 and Week 2.

For Pittsburgh, asking Vick to do too much in this game could prove costly, so simplifying the offense and running plays Vick is comfortable with should go a long way on Thursday.

Make no mistake, the Steelers won't reinvent the wheel for Vick against the Ravens. Expect some deep shots as Vick still has an incredibly strong arm, but don't expect the Steelers to ask Vick to air it out 30-plus times a game. Keeping the lefty in the ballpark of 20-25 simple throws in his first start will allow him to get comfortable without asking him to do too much.

The Steelers will ask for a lot offensively from Bell and Brown, who undoubtedly will extend his streak of five catches for 50 yards to 36 straight games.

Last week against St. Louis, Bell and Brown combined for 37 touches. Is it fair to ask for those two to increase that number to 45 against Baltimore? It's not unreasonable.

If the Steelers can establish a running game against Baltimore using their powers, counters and simple zone-read runs with Bell and Williams, who should see an increased workload, then Pittsburgh should be able to control the game for all four quarters.

However, the way to beat Baltimore this year is to air it out. Derek Carr and Andy Dalton shredded the Ravens secondary, so there is hope for Vick to complete a few big passes, should he have time.

Along with Vick, Marcus Gilbert is a big question mark coming into this prime-time showdown. He'll serve as the blindside protector for Vick, which he struggles with. That's without mentioning the fact that Gilbert has to block Elvis Dumervil, who has owned Gilbert since the offensive tackle came into the NFL.

Expect the Steelers to try to get the ball out of Vick's hand quickly in this one. Getting him out on the edge on designed rollouts will allow him to throw on the run, something he's comfortable doing. If the veteran QB tucks the ball and takes off, there could even be some classic Vick moments on Thursday.

Baltimore's secondary has given plenty of cushion to receivers in the past two weeks. To take advantage of that, the Steelers should deploy a lot of quick screens, five-yard curls and quick slants to get their playmakers in space.

There won't be any no-huddle with Roethlisberger out, so the Steelers should emphasize ball-control offense and try to grind out a win.

Defensive Game Plan

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It's really quite simple for the Steelers defense: get to Flacco. 

With no running game to speak of through three weeks, the Ravens have had to air it out to stay in games.

That's been tough to do with the lack of weapons Flacco has at his disposal outside of Crockett Gillmore—who's out with a calf injury—and Steve Smith Sr.

Add into the mix the fact that the Ravens have struggled to protect Flacco to start the year, and Pittsburgh's recipe for success is to put as much pressure on Flacco early and often.

Left tackle Eugene Monroe will miss his third straight game, meaning James Hurst will make another start protecting Flacco's blind side.

That's where James Harrison and Jarvis Jones will have to come up big, along with Stephon Tuitt, Cameron Heyward and Steve McLendon in the trenches.

Opposite of Hurst, Rick Wagner struggles with speed-rushers, and Bud Dupree and Arthur Moats bring plenty of speed off the edge.

There will be plenty of opportunities for Steelers edge-rushers to put heat on Flacco and force him into the heart of the pocket, leaving him vulnerable to plenty of sacks from the interior rushers. 

Against the run, Pittsburgh has to continue to be disruptive up front, led by Tuitt. The second-year defensive end has been one of the Steelers' best three players so far this season. That's likely to continue against Baltimore. He's become almost unblockable one-on-one, which has a lot to do with defensive coordinator Keith Butler allowing his 3-4 defensive ends to try to make plays.

Baltimore has struggled mightily to run the ball, averaging just 72.7 yards per game (3.3 yards per attempt) through three weeks. The zone-blocking system hasn't been working much, if at all, which has taken away a lot of what Forsett can do. Through three games, Javorius "Buck" Allen appears to be the better running back for Baltimore, but don't expect it to go away from Forsett anytime soon.

In the secondary, Pittsburgh will have to roll coverage toward the ageless Smith, who has destroyed his opponents the last two weeks, combining for 23 catches for 336 yards and two touchdowns.

The Steelers can't afford to gamble with Smith by trying to cover him one-on-one. With Antwon Blake likely matching up with Smith to start, expect Mike Mitchell or Will Allen to provide help over the top, trying to take away Flacco's favorite target.

Key Players and Matchups

James Harrison, Jarvis Jones vs. James Hurst

Harrison always steps up in big rivalry games against the Ravens. With no Monroe across from him, Harrison could be in line for a few sacks, QB hurries and maybe even a strip-sack.

Hurst has struggled to protect Flacco's blind side since taking over for the injured Monroe, and that should continue Thursday. To try to slow the pass rush, the Ravens have to somehow establish a running game against a top-10 rushing defense through three weeks.

Jones has been strong against the run to start the year, so that's another challenge for Hurst. He definitely has his hands full in both aspects of the game.

Marcus Gilbert vs. Elvis Dumervil

Ball security is a major issue with Vick, so it isn't comforting knowing that Gilbert will be protecting his blind side against a guy he's struggled with for much of his career. 

Dumervil was a menace in the wild-card loss back in January, but he's looked like a different pass-rusher without Terrell Suggs across from him. Luckily for the Steelers, they could bring added protection to Gilbert's side considering no other pass-rusher on the Ravens has stepped up in place of Suggs.

The strength of Gilbert happens to be in the running game. Getting him going downhill against Dumervil could wear out the veteran pass-rusher, making him ineffective rushing the passer.

Whoever wins this head-to-head matchup will play a major factor in the outcome of this game.

Prediction: Ravens 23, Steelers 20

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Thursday's prime-time showdown will be a low-scoring affair once again, but it won't be because of dominant defensive play.

Both offenses will struggle to put up points in this one, especially the Steelers with Vick directing the offense and not Roethlisberger.

Sure, the Steelers still have Bell and Brown offensively, but they don't have the services of the most important player in that offense.

Without Roethlisberger, the Ravens will have an easier time trying to take away Bell and Brown, meaning Vick will have to make a few big plays on his own—whether that's a deep throw to Sammie Coates or Darrius Heyward-Bey, or a big run when the QB decides to take off.

Vick could click for one or two touchdowns through the air, but the 35-year-old is turnover-prone, so he could easily turn the ball over once or twice in big spots that could derail the offense.

Defensively, Flacco loves the deep ball, so expect tons of shots against an inexperienced secondary. Smith will again look to prove everyone wrong (even though he has nothing to prove). A big day from Smith and some timely receptions down the seam from rookie tight end Maxx Williams will open things up offensively for the Ravens.

Establishing some resemblance of a running game will take pressure off Flacco and his receivers.

Like most Ravens-Steelers games, this one will come down to who has the ball last. Don't be surprised if Flacco comes through in the end once again at Heinz Field.