The Steelers are final set to play the Ravens in Week 12. Here’s why Pittsburgh is favorited against Baltimore.
Most of us were hoping to plant ourselves on the couch on Thanksgiving and watch the Steelers face the Ravens in a heated primetime matchup. That obviously didn’t happen. The year 2020 has been unusual for a number of reasons, but we have never quite seen anything like the schedule adjustments we witnessed in just one week.
Pittsburgh went from being scheduled to play on Thursday night all the way until Wednesday of the following week. This insane stretch that included three separate postponements marked the longest single week the Steelers have had since their opening season back in 1933. Now, it looks like things are finally in order for Pittsburgh to kick off Week 12 on Wednesday afternoon at 3:40 PM ET.
This game has no doubt been a nightmare for oddsmakers, who originally listed the Steelers as just 4.5-point favorites to open the week. Now, that line has climbed all the way up to 10 points in favor of Pittsburgh as of Tuesday evening, courtesy of The Action Network.
Why the Steelers are heavy favorites
After the Baltimore Ravens had upwards of 18 names placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, oddsmakers tilted the scale even more in favor of Pittsburgh in recent days. The Ravens will be without a number of key players in this contest who tested positive for COVID-19 earlier in the week, including quarterback Lamar Jackson. This no doubt factors into what oddsmakers think of Baltimore’s chances this week, as Robert Griffin III will be asked to make just his second NFL start since he was a member of the Cleveland Browns back in 2016.
In his lone start last year against Pittsburgh in 2019, Griffin really struggled – completing just 11 of 21 passes for 96 and an interception (44.9 passer rating) in addition to being sacked 3 times, according to Pro Football Reference. Fortunately for Baltimore, they will potentially be getting back a few players who initially were on the Reserve/COVID-19 list this week.
Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Ravens running backs J.K. Dobbins and Mark Ingram are not allowed to fly on the team plane, but both will be permitted to play against Pittsburgh on Wednesday:
The #Ravens are slated to fly to Pittsburgh tonight, but RBs J.K. Dobbins and Mark Ingram aren’t allowed on the team plane because they’re still in COVID protocols, per source.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 1, 2020
As of now, the expectation is they’ll fly on game day. Both are eligible to play the #Steelers.
This has Steelers fans upset; and rightfully so. Just last week, the Denver Broncos were forced to play a game without a single quarterback on their roster. Yet, in a very similar situation that was mostly contained prior to Tuesday, the NFL elected to push the Steelers-Ravens game back one more day – leaving room for players like J.K. Dobbins and Mark Ingram to rejoin their team on Wednesday before the game.
Steelers running back James Conner has been ruled out for this game after recently testing positive for the virus just days ago. Meanwhile, it’s unclear whether or not players like Stephon Tuitt, Jerald Hawkins, or Isaiah Buggs (who were placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list on November 27th) could be eligible to play on Wednesday.
Even with the return of a few prominent Ravens players, the Steelers are still heavy favorites in this contest – at least for the time being. After all fiasco of Week 12 and the headache Baltimore has caused them, let’s hope Pittsburgh has the motivation to run away with the win on Wednesday afternoon.