Baltimore Ravens vs Pittsburgh Steelers: Game Preview

The Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers. When people hear those two names in the same sentence, they get excited, especially those that live in the Pittsburgh or Baltimore area.

This rivalry has been one of the most fierce in football over the last seven or eight years. Before every year, people always state how this rivalry is winding down and how it isn’t one of the premier ones in football anymore, yet every year, their games are extremely entertaining and produce high TV ratings.

And every year, they participate in at least one prime time game with one another. In fact, they received two prime time games this season against each other. The first one was on Thursday night in Week 2, a game in which the Ravens were victorious 26-6, and the second is coming this week on Sunday Night Football.

The Ravens and Steelers both hold records of 5-3, and the only reason that the Steelers hold that record is because of their quarterback. People tried to tell me before the season that the Steelers aren’t good anymore, and they won’t compete, and you know what I told them? As long as you got Big Ben, you got a shot.

Ben Roethlisberger is off to possibly the best start of his career in 2014, and that’s pretty scary for an 11-year veteran that has won two Super Bowls and has been getting hit and knocked around throughout his entire career. He is like Hulk. The more you hit him, the stronger he gets. There is no question that he was born with an advantage, but he is definitely taking advantage of those natural physical advantages (try saying that ten times fast).

Through the first eight games of this season, he has thrown for 2,380 yards through the air, 16 touchdowns and only three interceptions with a passer rating of 105.6 and a completion percentage of 68.4. If the season ended today, both of those last two stats would be career-highs for Big Ben.

He threw for 522 yards last week against the Indianapolis Colts, becoming the first player in NFL history to throw for 500 yards or more twice in their career. There is no question that those hits he has taken will eventually take a toll on his body, but they haven’t yet.

The Ravens’ secondary could have a brutally tough time covering star receiver Antonio Brown. He leads the league in receptions with 60, is second in the league in receiving yards with 852 and is fourth in the league in receiving touchdowns with seven. Those are what we call whopping numbers.

Without the presence of Jimmy Smith on the field for Baltimore, covering him will be an even greater challenge. The only question becomes this: Can the Ravens’ secondary contain Brown enough for them to have a good chance in this football game? They will not hold him without a catch, but that’s not what I ask of them. Just do your job, that’s all I ask.

It’s going to be a fun game, because when these two teams face off, it always is.