Baltimore Ravens Gameday: 5 Keys to Victory

Its gameday and it did not take long for one of the NFL's best rivalries to get started, as the Pittsburgh Steelers visit M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore to take on the Ravens today.

If your an avid fan of the Ravens, Steelers, or the NFL, then you know about Baltimore-Pittsburgh football games. You know when both teams get together they play a put kids to bed, smash mouth, physical, trash talking affair.

The hate is not just between the players on the field but it also exists between the fan bases as well. It is a rivalry where the word hate, sounds comfortable when talking about these two teams on the field together.

The Ravens are 12-18 in 30 regular season affairs and 0-3 in the playoffs against their hated divisional rivals. What makes the rivalry and games so great is the fact that both teams are almost identical in build and the way they play.

Three points have decided the last four regular season meetings, and five of the past eight games between these two teams.  The Ravens and their fourth year quarterback, Joe Flacco, enter today's game with a 2-4 record against Pittsburgh in their last six regular season games.

Many in and around the football world are not picking the Ravens to win today's game, despite the fact the Ravens are playing at home. The reason is simple. While the Ravens have many familiar faces with players like Ray Lewis, they bring a completely different looking roster into today's game, than the one that lost to the Steelers in January.

The Ravens have 20 new players on their 53-man roster and the Steelers resigned 14 of their own free agents. Pittsburgh returns 20-starters from a team that lost to the Green Bay Packers in last year's Super Bowl.

Many feel the Ravens will need time to gel as a unit. There are question marks along the offensive line, in the secondary and with Joe Flacco. However, the Ravens can win this game today and they do not need to be perfect to do it.

Here are five specific keys to solid Ravens win.

No. 5 Limit Mistakes

The Ravens and their fans must realize, that at some point today, a turnover is inevitable. To say that the Ravens will win the football game if they do not turn the football over, would be stating the obvious. The problem is, not turning the ball over today, is not going to happen.

It has not happened under the Joe Flacco and John Harbaugh era, and with a brand spanking new offensive line, today's game would not likely present itself as a viable candidate for the first turnover-free game.

The Steelers are a perennial top five defense with playmakers that create turnovers at opportunistic times. If the Ravens do not turn the ball over while leading by seven points or less, in the fourth quarter, or behind by three points or less, they should win the game.

Baltimore only seems to self-destruct against the Steelers. The Ravens have turned the ball over the fewest three times in their history over the last three seasons, all under Head Coach John Harbaugh. However, against Pittsburgh, the Ravens are a turnover machine.

The Ravens have committed more than one turnover in six of their eight meetings with Pittsburgh since the 2008 season, and have a minus-7 turnover ratio (11 takeaways and 18 giveaways) in eight games against the Steelers.

Consequently, against the rest of the NFL, the Ravens are a plus-33 with 91 takeaways and 58 giveaways. Baltimore cannot be afraid to turn the ball over and can win against the Steelers when doing so. They did so last season when they won 17-14 in the "Burgh.”

Joe Flacco threw one interception and Willis McGahee lost a fumble, but neither led to Pittsburgh points. Actually, Steelers placekicker Jeff Reed, missed field goals after both turnovers.

Expect turnovers today, maybe even two of them. However, they cannot occur in the third quarter, on the Steelers 20-yard line, with the Ravens leading by three points.

If they do, we all know what Big Ben and the rest of the Pittsburgh offense is capable of doing with the games momentum, and that is not good news for Ravens fans.

No. 4 Joe Flacco Must Carry Offense Today

Many experts, Ravens fans, and for that matter, front office executives, like Baltimore GM Ozzie Newsome, want to see quarterback Joe Flacco put the Baltimore offense on his back, and carry his team when necessary.

That must begin today for Flacco. Not only has the fourth year signal caller from the University of Delaware heard the whispers within his own community, but also he has heard them loud and clear from the Steelers themselves.

Pittsburgh linebacker LaMarr Woodley said, Flacco wouldn't win a Super Bowl "in this lifetime." Flacco's response was, "At some level I don't care [what Woodley says] because what does that really mean? But there is another level where it does kind of piss you off a little bit."

"We just need to come up a little bigger than we have while playing those guys a couple of times," said Flacco. "I mean, come on. What does he think? That they're going to do it every year?"

Yes Joe, that is exactly what they think because you have yet to show them that you can personally beat them consistently. You showed only a glimpse of what your capable of against Pittsburgh when you hit TJ Houshmandzadeh.

Flacco has just two wins against the Steelers in eight career starts including the playoffs. He's tossed eight interceptions and coughed up an additional two fumbles to the Pittsburgh defense.

Today will be a huge challenge for Flacco. For the first time in his career, he will be without both of his receiving security blankets.

Tight end Todd Heap and wide receiver Derrick Mason were released in a salary cap purge following the lockout. The Ravens top two pass catchers in franchise history are responsible for 3,022 of Flacco's 7,235 passing yards over the past two regular seasons.

Flacco will also line-up behind an offensive line that did not play a snap together during the preseason and in fact, three of the five players lining up today, are doing so for the first time since last season in any type of game.

Make no mistake about it Ravens fans, if the Ravens win today, a big reason will be because of Joe Flacco's big arm. Joe Cool will not have to do this all season, just until the offense starts to gel with the new O-line.

Flacco must be ready to carry his team when called upon to do so, In other words, Flacco must do to the Steelers, what Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger (9-3 vs. Baltimore) has done to the Ravens; win the game by any means necessary.

We know the defense will keep it close, but whether or not Flacco can overcome these obstacles remains to be seen.

No. 3 Take a Chance John Harbaugh and Cam Cameron

The Pittsburgh Steelers used to be notorious for their gadget plays and most of the time they worked. The Ravens need to turn the tables today and pull out one, maybe two of their own.

A timely fake of a punt or a flea flicker could be the turning point in today's game. The Ravens have shown they are capable of faking a field goal. Remember the fake field goal by punter/holder Sam Koch in Dallas a few seasons back?

They also have the speedy Lee Evans on the outside, and Evans is capable of getting down field quickly in a flea flicker situation. Memo to Cam Cameron: please, no reverses, and no wildcat with Tyrod Taylor, the Steelers are way too fast on the perimeter for that.

Head coaches have the best feel for how their team stacks up against that week’s opponent, and John Harbaugh has to know that the Ravens still need a few games to gel. Running a gadget play, whether successful or unsuccessful, could take the pressure off his team in a big game.

If it fails, "Harbs" can take the blame, fall on the sword so to speak. Of course, if it succeeds, he looks like a genius.

Remember, while any game against the Steelers is a big game, it is just Week 1. If they Ravens lose and are still 11-5 in December, will you remember an unsuccessful attempt of a gadget play from September? In fact, if they win or lose today, and are playoff bound, will you really remember this game at all.

No. 2 Ed Reed, Not Troy Polamalu, Must Be the Best Defensive Player Today

Despite their youth and inexperience at the cornerback position, Ravens defensive coordinator, Chuck Pagano, will go after Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger with blitzes early and often today. That might sound like good news to Ravens fans, but remember if the Ravens fail to bring Big Ben down then trouble is on the horizon.

Everyone in the Ravens secondary will be counted on. The Steelers have quietly built a very solid and speedy receiving corps that can spread teams out and score quickly.

When the Steelers go three, or four-wide, Cary Williams, Jimmy Smith, Chris Carr and Domonique Foxworth will all need to come up big if one of them is blitzing. Ben Roethlisberger is 6-0 vs. Baltimore as he always finds a way to make a big play down the field. Ed Reed must find a way to stop that today.

Reed will need to carry the secondary and that is something that Reed has not done against Pittsburgh in his career. While Reed has 18 combined regular season picks against the Browns and Bengals, he has just three against the Steelers.

Reed will need to find a way to bait Roethlisberger. The Steelers have Antonio (3rd-and-19) Brown, Emmanuel Sanders and Mike Wallace. Wallace led the NFL with seven 100-yard receiving games last season.

All of them are a threat to score every time they touch the ball. They still have Hines Ward, and part of his job will be to get into Reed's head today as he has been known to in the past.

During the offseason, Pittsburgh signed Jericho Cotchery from the Jets, further boosting an already promising set of receivers.

Reed must stay focused today, he can ill-afford to go dancing with Ward trading trash talk. Reed must be his young corners security blanket today and allow them to play with the speed they possess. Oh, by the way, picking off the Steelers for the fourth and fifth time of his career would not be bad either.

No. 1 Ravens Need to Score First

The Ravens have 20 players that were not around for the loss in January. For the 33 that remain from last season, one has to wonder if their confidence is not a bit damaged after allowing the Steelers two consecutive come from behind victories. Especially their QB's.

Those losses were playoff killers. One cost the Ravens the AFC North and the other cost Baltimore their Super Bowl hopes.

Yes, there are a ton of keys to today’s game, and yes Bryant McKinnie and Michael Oher's ability to keep James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley off their QB is huge. However, the Ravens need a confidence boost against Pittsburgh and scoring first could go a long way to doing that.

An early touchdown by the offense could do wonders for Joe Flacco and his confidence against the Steelers defense. The Ravens need to score to first, and if they do, they will win the game.

Final prediction:

Ravens 20, Steelers 10