NFL Week 2: Predicting Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Baltimore Ravens

It was a slightly above-average week for me in terms of picking games. Many picks that seemed to be slam dunks turned out to be anything but as I put up a 9-7 record for my Week 1 selections.

It’s time to move past that as Week 2 marks a clean slate and an opportunity to do better. What better way to start redeeming myself with a Thursday night Steelers game?

Pittsburgh Steelers [1-0] @ Baltimore Ravens [0-1] Thursday, September 11, 8:20 PM CBS

The match-up:
Yes, it is only Week 2 of the season, but this game has turned into a must win for the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens are hosting their second consecutive game to start the season and already fell to the Cincinnati Bengals by a 23-16 score. The Steelers escaped with a 30-27 victory over a Cleveland Browns team that gave them everything they could handle in the second half.

Both teams showed some promise, but it comes down to who learned more from its week one result as well as which team can recover from the games that were played just four days prior.

Why Pittsburgh will win:
It comes down to whether Ben Roethlisberger can execute against a Ravens pass defense that allowed Andy Dalton to pass for 301 yards in Week 1. In my opinion among the AFC North quarterbacks, Dalton ranks behind Roethlisberger and the Ravens’ Joe Flacco.

The Ravens defense has been pretty consistent in stopping the run and that may halt the momentum that is Le’Veon Bell and LeGarrette Blount – a tandem which combined to rush for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Both may still reach the end zone, but the Ravens rarely if ever allow a 100 yard rusher.

More from Pittsburgh Steelers

• Pittsburgh Steelers: A Look Back at 2019
• Steelers: Need for QB of the Future is More Apparent than Ever
• Steelers: Defense Needs to Take Advantage of Inconsistent Bills Passing Attack
• Steelers: Devlin Hodges Has Chance to Make Lasting Impression in Week 14
• Steelers: James Washington’s Emergence Could Make Offense Dangerous

In addition, the Ravens not only are going through a short week, but also dealing with the aftermath of the Ray Rice situation. Not only is Baltimore dealing with resolving errors on the field, but also battling to escape the mistakes off it. Getting rid of Rice does somewhat resolve the pressure, but the media has continually asked Rice questions and obviously it is in the players’ minds.

Why Baltimore will win:
The Steelers defense may be faster than it has been in recent memory, but the second half of Sunday’s win showed flaws that the Ravens can expose. With Rice now officially out of the picture, the pressure is on Justin Forsett to perform. In Week 1, Forsett had 11 carries for 70 yards and a touchdown, making him the team’s leading rusher.

The Steelers defense allowed 187 rushing yards in week one which ranked 27th on the week. In simple terms, that’s not good and in a pass-happy league, it shows a weakness that the Ravens can exploit. The hurry-up offense the Browns implemented is something the Ravens certainly also have the potential to use and now with Steve Smith and Dennis Pitta (returning from injury) joining Torrey Smith, the Ravens offense could see a bounce back week.

Final score: Steelers 24, Ravens 18
There was some good and some bad from both teams in week one and with a short week, both will still have some kinks to work through. With that said, I just feel as though the Ravens will be too distracted to play a full 60-minute game.