Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Baltimore Ravens: Players to Watch
The Pittsburgh Steelers finally snapped their streak of alternating wins and losses after defeating the Indianapolis Colts. Halfway through the season the Steelers are 5-3. After winning two straight games, I think it’s time to use a quote from the great Lou Brown, “OK, we won a game yesterday. If we win today, it’s called “two in a row”. And if we win again tomorrow, it’s called a “winning streak”… It has happened before!” In week nine the Steelers finish their regular season rivalry with the 5-3 Baltimore Ravens. When these two teams met in week two it did not go the Steelers way, as they lost the on a Thursday night 26-6. Here are a few players to watch for on Sunday.
Ravens Cornerbacks
The Ravens are going to be without their number one cornerback Jimmy Smith on Sunday due to a foot injury. Smith leads the Ravens with eight passes defended and without him the Ravens have only three healthy corners on the roster. Lardarius Webb has been starting for the Ravens since 2011 but the Ravens other two corners are Dominique Franks and Chykie Brown. The Ravens pass defense has not been all that good this season even with Smith. They currently rank 27th in the league, having allowed an average of 256 yards per game. With Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers offense off a 500 yard passing game it seems like the Ravens secondary should be ripe for the picking but the NFL is unpredictable which the Steelers just proved after putting up 51 points against a Colts defense that was off a shutout.
Antwon Blake
Welp, Cortez Allen is bad. He played so bad against the Colts that he eventually got benched after allowing touchdowns passes to T.Y. Hilton and also Donte Moncrief. The $24 million dollar man has had an awful season but after the game, Mike Tomlin once again gave him a vote of confidence saying that Allen will be used and needed throughout the remainder of the season. While, I
Oct 26, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Antwon Blake (41) intercepts a pass intended for Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton (13) during the fourth quarter at Heinz Field. The Steelers won 51-34. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
know Cortez will be on the field again I think it’ll be very interesting to see if he or Antwon Blake plays more against the Ravens. Blake was substituted in against the Colts and came up with a late fourth quarter interception to secure the victory. Blake intercepted a pass intended for Hilton, somebody Allen had no chance of covering all game. The Ravens throw to two wide receivers most of the time. Steve Smith and Torrey Smith are the teams top yardage leaders, but after them the next wideout is sixth on the team with 113 yards. His name is Kamar Aiken. Against the Ravens in week two Joe Flacco only threw for 166 yards, but he had two touchdowns and no interceptions. It will be interesting to see who plays more between Blake, Allen, and even Brice McCain.
Ben Roethlisberger
Clearly Ben Roethlisberger is somebody you always watch every Sunday. However 500 yard passing games don’t happen too often. I wanted to see how recent quarterbacks have fared after their 500 yard games in recent history. The last seven players to throw for 500 yards are Tony Romo, Matt Schaub, Eli Manning, Matthew Stafford, Thomas Brady, Big Ben, and Drew Brees. Stafford’s 500 yard game came on the last day of the season but the other six all won their game the next week. Most of the quarterbacks played well also. Brady threw for 423 yards, Brees had 349, and Schaub threw for 315. Tony Romo got held to 170 yards but the Cowboys still won by 15 the following week. Big Ben and Eli both threw for over 200 yards in their victories. Interestingly enough, guess who the Steelers played the week following Ben’s first 500 yard passing game? You guessed it. The Ravens. Hopefully Ben can continue to streak of winning the week after a 500 yard game.
There you have it Steelers Nation. Who else should we keep an eye on during the Ravens game?