Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Baltimore Ravens: Keys to Victory

The Pittsburgh Steelers look to make it three wins in a row on Sunday night when facing the hated rival Baltimore Ravens. The Steelers were beat soundly by the Ravens in Week 2, 26-6 in Baltimore. But, seven weeks later, the Steelers are coming off of their best offensive performance of the season in a win over Indianapolis and the Ravens are coming off of a frustrating loss in Cincinnati. This game can go in many different directions but here are a few things the Steelers can do to ensure victory on Sunday night.

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Don’t take the foot off of the gas

Ben Roethlisberger was on fire last Sunday, going 40-49 for 522 yards and six passing touchdowns, setting records, breaking records, and kicking ass. The offense was clicking on all parts and there’s no reason why the team can’t come into this game still riding that high and being offensively aggressive to get out to an early lead. In the last meeting between these two teams, the Steelers were kept out of the end zone entirely the whole game. That can’t happen again. Roethlisberger had the majority of his throws for those 522 yards last Sunday travel less than 10 yards in the air so being aggressive doesn’t mean he has to throw a deep ball on every possession, but with the protection, the running game, and being in sync with all the receivers, we saw just how great this offense can be. To have a chance to turn this into a winning streak, the Steelers offense needs to go full throttle from opening kickoff and don’t let up one bit.

Go after Flacco

The Steelers defense fed off of the offense last week and were able to be more aggressive, blitzing Andrew Luck 21 times which resulted in two sacks and seven quarterback hits. Those numbers don’t even do justice to the kind of pressure Luck was under the entire game from a defense that hasn’t had a pass rush to speak of so far this season. Sure, the big risk in being so aggressive with the blitz is being vulnerable to giving up big plays, which the Steelers did against Indy. But, with that risk you also increase your chances of making more defensive “splash” plays by constantly putting pressure on the quarterback. We’re going up against Joe Flacco, quite possibly the best deep-ball thrower in the NFL right now so it’s safe to assume that the Steelers defense were already going to get burned on a few plays either way. Better to put pressure on Flacco and force him into situations to disrupt his rhythm than to let him dictate the flow of the game. The defensive line is getting back Steve McLendon this week from a shoulder injury so Cam Thomas can just be banished to the locker room for all I care, keep Stephon Tuitt and Daniel McCullers in the rotation and put pressure on Flacco. For the Steelers to have a chance at victory, they’ll need to throw everything and the kitchen sink at Flacco on Sunday night.

Win the turnover, penalties battle

We’d all love for this game to be a blowout and the Steelers jump out to a 28-0 lead by halftime and we can all settle in and get to bed early on Sunday night. But this is Steelers vs. Ravens, and you just know it’s coming down to the last play one way or another. What the Steelers need to do to ensure victory is protect the ball every which way they can. They’ll need to protect it by not committing any turnovers and limiting penalties. They’re going up against a DPI-inducing machine in the Joe Flacco to Torrey Smith combo, so whether it’s Antwon Blake or William Gay covering the receivers, they’re going to have to pay attention to their hands and avoid drawing penalties. Same goes for the hands-to-the-face guys out there. Last week the Steelers saw a field goal turn into a touchdown thanks to a Colts offsides penalty on the field goal try. Those are just the kinds of stupid penalties the Steelers would fall victim to in the first half of the season but, are benefiting from now that they’re playing smarter. The Steelers did lose two fumbles last week by Darrius Heyward-Bey and LeGarrette Blount. But, on the other side of the ball, the Steelers defense picked off Luck twice, and forced a safety with an intentional grounding call. It’s way better being on the other side of the turnover battle. If the Steelers defense can get to Flacco, they can hopefully force mistakes out of him and/or the Ravens trio of running backs. Grab the turnovers and protect the ball and the Steelers might just find themselves on a winning streak.

What say you, Steeler Nation? What do you think the keys to victory against the Ravens will be?

Here we go Steelers! Here we go!