Wild Card Predictions: Ravens-Steelers

I’m pretty 50/50 on this game right now. To me, this game will be determined by both offensive lines. In the first match-up the Ravens got the better of the Steelers. In the 2nd game, the Steelers dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. James Harrison looked like he was six years younger and was relentless going after Joe. On the other side of the ball, the pass rush was held in check after 3 sacks in a row.

This time, I’m thinking the Ravens get after Ben, holding the Steelers in check. The pass rush has really stepped up recently and I expect that to continue Saturday, but I expect Pittsburgh’s pass rush to come after Joe just as much. The game ends up as a low-scoring affair and the Ravens can’t muster a late-game scoring drive. They lose 16-13. ~Tyler Lombardi

I think the Ravens best chance to win, is if they can get a pass rush with their front 4 without bringing additional rushers. Drop additional defenders into coverage. Unless there is crazy wind tomorrow, I doubt that weather factors. Harrison is going to enjoy going against Hurst instead of Whitworth. Will be interesting to see if the Steelers go with a limited Bell, or a fresh Archer or newly signed Tate (EDIT: Bell is now officially out). It wouldn’t be shocking if a Harbaugh / Flacco team won another road Playoff game. To me, Flacco always gives you a punchers chance. Forsett looked better vs. Cleveland than he had for several weeks. Running on Pittsburgh (without Monroe, and obviously Wagner) will be more difficult though. It wouldn’t be shocking if this was a more typical Ravens / Steelers game (vs. the two regular season games this year)… but a Ravens win would be surprising.  Steelers 27-24. ~Chris Stoner

I have been optimistic all season. I have picked a Ravens win nearly every week. That is not being a homer, but when the Ravens play their best football, they are one of the best teams in football. Unfortunately we haven’t seen the Ravens play 4 (or even 3) quarters of their best football in a game in a long time. Bell being out for the Steelers helps the Ravens and the weather might help the Ravena as it could neutralize some of the passing game (helping the Ravens beat up secondary), but I just haven’t seen what I would like to see from the Ravens. I will root my heart out Saturday night for the purple and black, but since I have to make a prediction, I say 24-17 Steelers. ~Joe Polek

Baltimore thrives with their backs against the wall when it comes to playing in the postseason. With a mixed roster of players with postseason experience, the Ravens do enough to squeak by the Steelers in sloppy conditions 24-20. Playing on house money, Kubiak holds nothing back. Flacco tosses two red zone touchdown passes to Owen Daniels by halftime and seals the game with a long touchdown pass to Torrey Smith late in the 4th quarter. ~Brian Bower

With the Steelers on a roll and with the Ravens recent struggles, this game doesn’t look very promising for the Ravens. This game will likely come down to which Ravens offense shows up.  Will it be the mid-season balanced, aggressive offense that saw Joe Flacco looking better than he has at any point since the Super Bowl run or the offense of recent weeks that takes the first half off and never really seems to get into sync?

The loss of Bell for the Steelers and the expected poor weather conditions could help the Ravens, but the Ravens history of playoff games in Pittsburgh doesn’t bode well.

All that said, this is just the kind of game that the Ravens have seemed to thrive on come playoff time – the underdog, that few are giving a chance – and it is definitely time to end the Pittsburgh playoff hex.

Heart says:  Ravens 24 Steelers 20.

Head says: Steelers 30 Ravens 16 ~Brian McFarland

The two previous games this season were uncharacteristic of this rivalry, each team winning by 20 points. In game 2 the Steelers made a few adjustments on offense and the Ravens had no answers, failing to figure out Pittsburgh’s max protect blocking scheme. They will continue to struggle with it again in the wild card playoff game. The Ravens keep it close thanks to a Josh Harris fumble, but a late Martavis Bryant touchdown breaks hearts in Baltimore. Steelers 24, Ravens 20 ~Tony Lombardi

Prediction: Stress, anger, stress, anger, glimmer of hope, followed by more stress, anger, and despondency. There are 14 other teams and 15 other venues in the AFC. Why’s it gotta be this rag-tag bunch of lucky bums in THAT muddy, sloppy, towel-twirler-filled ode to high fructose corn syrup? Ugh. Also, I have a problem. ~Derek Arnold

I’m predicting what I told a friend of mine at work who’s a Steelers fan (Don’t say it – He’s not an east coast frontrunner, but born and bred in western PA. He can recite all the SB years and winning quarterbacks, so he gets it natural……).

It all depends on what Joe shows up. 

Flacco’s inconsistency is maddening;  He stunk for the entire Texans game and 3 quarters of the Browns game but we all saw what he did in the 4th quarter: 2 TDs, almost 200 yards passing, and a QB rating of 158.3.

I hate to hedge, but here goes:  Good Joe – Flacco plays a focused game and has his pre-snap thinking cap on.  Mixing Forsett runs with quick slant passes to the Smiths, he takes advantage of a Steelers defensive backfield that’s not a whole lot better than the Ravens.   The Ravens in a close one, 23-20.

Bad Joe shows up and the Steelers pass rush forces him into 2 picks and one fumble.  The game is over by the middle of the 3rd quarter.  Pittsburgh wins in a cake walk, 34-6. ~Fran Vojik

Weather and the return of Ngata prove to be all the Ravens need as they batter and bruise the Steelers for a surprising 17 to 16 win.~Ken Zalis

Le’Veon Bell’s absence aids Baltimore’s defensive efforts but an improved Pittsburgh offensive line neutralizes Baltimore’s potent pass rush. Ben Roethlisberger makes up for the lack of run game by totaling 300 yards and three touchdowns through the air. Joe Flacco will reach 200 passing yards with a touchdown, but will cough up a costly fumble in the fourth quarter. Baltimore’s offense will get the ball moving early but ultimately two rookie starting linemen will hold back the team. Steelers pull out a 24-16 win.~Kyle Casey

Le’Veon Bell’s absence is huge. So too is Antonio Brown’s talent. It should be a back and forth game, but when a team like the Ravens get a second chance in the 11th hour, they’re usually prone to performing very well in their next game. I like Baltimore’s pass rush and Flacco’s moxy to lead the Ravens to a 24-23 win. ~Mike Fast

• The Ravens solve the Steelers’ A-gap blocking and record record a minimum of 3 QHs from interior linemen and ILBs.
• The Ravens fail to win by the run and rush the ball fewer than 20 times.
• Hurst is wrong for the leverage of Harrison and we are left to wonder what might have happened with Yanda at LT and Hurst at RT. Harrison records at least 2 QHs personally.
• Flacco gets at least 1 play of 20+ yards with the bootleg.
• Bryant is largely held in check by Melvin.  He won’t catch more than 2 passes while covered by Rashaan. ~Ken McKusick

Everyone should be excited about the fact the Ravens made the playoffs, but you can’t be excited about the way they’ve played the last two weeks. Pittsburgh is a better team with or without Le’Veon Bell and it will show up on Saturday. The Ravens will keep it close in the first half, but a big 3rd quarter by Big Ben will make the difference. 2 TDs by Antonio Brown and the Ravens season ends with a 30-17 loss. I hope I’m wrong. ~ Ryan Jones

I’m just going to assume the two teams that finished the season are the two who are going to show up on
Saturday night in Pittsburgh.

There’s no REAL reason other than blind faith to think the Ravens are going to snap out of their offensive doldrums and there’s no reason to think Roethlisberger and those receivers aren’t going to have a field day. Sure, it’s going to rain. That’s why they have 14 footballs in a bag on each sideline, so they can throw dry ones in as often as they need to. Everyone points to things like the weather playing a factor when they’re grasping for reasons to believe when there’s really no reason to in the first place.

I’d like to see the Ravens run the ball a lot, but I doubt they will. I’d like to see Flacco and the offense go to the hurry up right from the jump, which always seems to bring out the best in our quarterback, but I can’t see them doing that, either.

I’d love to see the Ravens man-up and and give us a representative performance, but there’s nothing in their recent form that tells me that’s on the horizon.

Pittsburgh 29 – Ravens 17 ~ Drew Forrester