The Steelers and Ravens will be a tough game, and here are the bold predictions for their matchup
This Sunday the Steelers will face arguably their toughest competitor of the season, as the Ravens are once again one of the top teams in the NFL. Aided by their strong rushing attack and a stout defense, the Ravens have logged an impressive 5-1 record. Despite the Steelers remaining undefeated, they still enter the game as underdogs. Even with their status of underdogs though, the game will likely be a competitive one.
On the Steelers side is that they actually did a good job of stopping reigning MVP Lamar Jackson last year when the two teams met. While the Steelers lost, it more due to their stagnate offense, as the defense held Jackson to under 200 total yards. This means they should have an idea of how to stop the Raven’s dynamic offensive weapon. That doesn’t mean this game will be easy though, as the Steelers have plenty of issues on their own.
More specifically, the Steelers have a secondary problem, as their passing defense has been mediocre at best through these first six games. While Jackson is a threat on the ground, he has a strong arm and good accuracy, meaning he could wreak havoc on the defensive backs this week. While stopping him as a runner will be key to giving the Steelers a shot, limiting him as a passer will likely give the Steelers the best shot at winning.
While the standard predictions for this bout will likely hold up, there are quite a few bold predictions that can be made. With all of this said, here are five bold predictions for the Steelers vs Ravens this week.
McFarland leads the way
James Conner has looked like his 2018 self so far this season, running hard, picking up tough yards, and contributing as a receiver. While his role as top dog in the Steelers running back group won’t go away unless an injury occurs, the team has also been regularly rotating the backups in to rest Conner. Benny Snell has become a prototypical short-yardage and goal-line back while Anthony McFarland has seen 3-6 touches a game.
The problem this week is that the Ravens have been good at shutting down bruising running backs. While Conner will be given ample opportunities to break that trend, it could be an explosive back like McFarland that ultimately has the most yards of the group. If McFarland can finally break off a long rush, he could very well end the game as the Steelers leading runner despite Conner out-touching him.
Thus, the prediction goes as follows, McFarland’s second touch of the game is a 75-yard sweep that he takes to the house. That, along with the other five touches he receives gives him 89 yards on the day. Conner touches the ball 18 times but only amounts to 73 total yards. McFarland looks ready to use his speed and given the Ravens run defense, this could be the week he finally takes one to the house.
Steelers can’t stop Brown
Marquise Brown isn’t known for tough combative catches or constant fantasy outings. What the former first-rounder is known for is his game-breaking speed and ability to go the distance anytime he touches the ball. While he has disappointed in his sophomore season, this week against the middling Steelers secondary could be a good time for him to remind the NFL why he was a worthy first-round choice.
While it would only be the second rush of his career, I think Brown takes an early game end-around 80 yards and into the end zone. As well, he catches a 62-yard bomb from Jackson for a score in the second. While he carries no notable plays beyond those two, it will certainly look good for Brown to produce in such a way. He was brought in to bring splash plays, but he hasn’t done that consistently enough.
In total, Brown logs just over 200 total yards and a pair of scores on the day. He looks like a human highlight real and allows for the Steelers secondary to receive more critiques. While he may not keep up that kind of pace for the rest of the year, he seems like a player that will give the Steelers fits. Ideally, the team has game-planned around his game-breaking ability, but if not, it could be another long day for this secondary.
Sutton isn’t going anywhere
All of Steelers nation held their breath earlier this week when Cameron Sutton posted some cryptic messages on social media. While it seems more like a troll than anything, there was concern that he was going to be sent to a different team. Considering he has arguably been the best coverage player in the secondary, losing him would have been a blow for an already weak defense.
This Sunday, Sutton shows everyone that he isn’t going anywhere. The Steelers opt to get a little more creative with him, allowing him to play a little more on the outside while still retaining his role in dime defense. This allows him to snag two of Jackson’s four interceptions on the day, with one of them coming late in the third in the Ravens red zone. Sutton shows that he is a player that is far too valuable to be traded, and in fact should receive more playing time going forward.
It is still mind-boggling that Sutton sees such little time on the defense, as the snaps he does play typically result in solid coverage. Given his ability and the injury hampering Mike Hilton, Sutton has yet another week to show the team the talent he has. After his dominant performance against the Ravens, he ascends into more of a full-time role and continues furthers his claim as the best Steelers defender in coverage.
Jackson can’t get it going
While he was the MVP a year ago, Jackson has certainly seen his share of struggles this year. While he is still the potent threat as a runner, he hasn’t been as strong of a passer as he was a year ago, which has caused this Ravens offense to become extremely one dimensional. As stated before though, the Steelers defense did a great job of shutting Jackson down last season, and they do it again in this first outing.
While he still gets off a few strong rushes, the top run defense limits him to only a minimal impact on the ground. The Steelers pass rush then becomes the issue, as Jackson sees constant pressure through most of the game. This leads to some sloppy plays and mistakes by way of four interceptions and three sacks.
While Jackson still has some splash plays, he is overall limited this week. Besides his deep connection to Brown, Jackson doesn’t muster much through the air. Once again, he is limited to under 200 total yards and his sloppy play ultimately costs the Ravens the win. The Steelers take this one in stride though, as they have seemingly found the kryptonite to combat Jackson’s talent.
Johnson cleans it up
Diontae Johnson returned last week, and while he still suffered from a few blunders that are becoming an unfortunate constant for him, he also displayed top-level route running and the ability to break out of tackles. His style of game is more akin to former Steelers Antonio Brown, where he may not have elite physical traits, but he can beat almost anyone in single coverage with sharp routes.
This should bode well against a Ravens defense does have strong outside corners, but they aren’t designed to cover a player like Johnson. They are bigger and physical which makes it harder to beat them deep but exposes them against a receiver like Johnson. While the Steelers bigger and more physical receivers like Chase Claypool and JuJu Smith-Schuster may struggle to beat Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters, Johnson has a chance to expose them.
Frankly, the Steelers should use Johnson just like they did last year. If they see him singled up, allow him to win on his route, get the ball in his hands, and let him play. He could very easily put up similar numbers to what he did last week, and if he does, that could lead to yet another big week. All of this said, if he can do this while minimizing his mistakes, Johnson may look like the true number one receiver many were expecting him to be this year.
In what will surely be a hard-fought matchup, the Steelers and Ravens will likely be determined by only a few plays. Consider these bold predictions above, as if any of them come true, it could ultimately determine who wins and loses this week.