Pittsburgh Steelers: Why the Baltimore Ravens Loss Was a Good Thing

The Baltimore Ravens destroyed the Pittsburgh Steelers at home in Week 1 of the 2011 NFL season.

It wasn’t just your regular butt-whooping, either. It was a pounding from start to finish.

It was embarrassing, ugly and concerning to see how well the Ravens played compared to how poorly the Steelers played.

However, the way they lost—in that fashion—was the best thing that could happen to the Steelers. They needed it.

This isn’t 2010 anymore; things won’t fall perfectly into place en route to another Super Bowl without adversity. It’s tough to make it to back-to-back Super Bowls. Teams will meet several challenges throughout the course of the season and Pittsburgh are facing theirs now.

The question is, how will they respond to the adversity they are faced with?

The defense is being called old, Ben Roethlisberger has never received the respect he deserves and the motivation in Week 1 wasn’t there from top-to-bottom.

Better now than later in the season, though. It’s better to face this adversity in Week 1 than to face it in Week 10, when your team should be consistent.

Teams are searching for consistent play at this moment. Maybe this team wasn’t as aided by the lockout as many people thought. Give them a few weeks to find their rhythm.

The Steelers should defeat the Seattle Seahawks, even if they play a “C” type of game. There is no excuse for them to lose at home to one of the worst teams in the NFC this year.

Next would be at Indianapolis, against Kerry Collins and the Colts. Collins’ game does bode well for the Colts, but if the Steelers get their act together, they should be able to get after Collins with the below-average offensive line of the Colts.

However, the real challenge will come at Houston in Week 4. That is when we will see if the Steelers have improved dramatically, when they have to go up against Matt Schaub and a determined Texans team. That is the game that should be under the microscope to determine if the Steelers are ready to win another Super Bowl.

Pittsburgh was embarrassed last Sunday. However, believe it or not, the Steelers will benefit from the Baltimore beat down.