Why the Steelers will beat the Ravens
The Steelers will face the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday for the third time this season. Only this time it’s a playoff game. It’s win or go home. So the Steelers MUST win. And win they shall.
I’ve been listening to all of the national sports talk shows, and most of them seem to feel that the Ravens are going to emerge victorious on Saturday. They keep saying things like “Joe Flacco is red hot right now”, or “The Ravens’ defense is just too good”, or “The Steelers can’t defend Todd Heap and Anquan Boldin”. Blah, blah, blah.
These are nice arguments. They almost make sense. Almost.
But the reality is that the Ravens are going to lose on Saturday. Just like they always do when they face the Steelers.
I can already hear the Ravens’ fans making the following argument; “We’ve beaten Pittsburgh twice in the last two years”. There’s only one problem with that argument. It’s a half truth. Yes, the Ravens did beat the Steelers twice in the last two years. But there was a common denominator in both of those Ravens wins; Big Ben didn’t play. That’s right, Ben Roethlisberger didn’t play in either of those games. The Ravens beat Dennis Dixon and Charlie Batch in those two games. And they just barely won even against our 2nd and 3rd string quarterbacks.
When Big Ben plays, the Ravens lose. It’s as simple as that.
Don’t get me wrong. The Ravens are a good team. But the Steelers are better.
Joe Flacco is a good quarterback. But Ben Roethlisberger is better.
The Ravens’ defense is good. But the Steelers’ defense is better.
Ed Reed is good. But Troy Polamalu is better.
Todd Heap is good. But Heath Miller is better.
The Ravens’ linebackers (Johnson, Lewis, McClain, and Suggs) are good. But the Steelers linebackers (Woodley, Timmons, Farrior, and Harrison) are better.
With 837 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns, Anquan Boldin is good. But with 1,257 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns, Mike Wallace is better.
Ray Rice’s 1,220 rushing yards is good. Rashard Mendenhall’s 1,273 rushing yards is better.
Are you starting to see the pattern? The Steelers are just……….better.
In their head-to-head battles, the Steelers lead the series. They’ve won more times in Pittsburgh. And they’ve won more times in Baltimore. And lest anyone forgets, this game is being played in Pittsburgh. That’s a huge advantage for the Steelers.
Finally, the Steelers want to keep a very specific streak going. They have never lost to the Ravens in the playoffs. NEVER. Not once. The Steelers know that, and I’m sure the Ravens know it too.
So let the talking heads and “experts” at ESPN say what they will. Go ahead and predict that the Ravens are going to win. But when the dust settles, the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to emerge from this game with a win. Because frankly, the Steelers are better than the Ravens.
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Ben always beats the Ravens. It’s almost always a low scoring game, but Ben finds a way.
1This statement is totally on hit! We have this one in the bag. Ben isn’t going to let the Ravens beat him in his own house!
2I will be a nervous wreck and forced to drink heavily, But I ain’t playing; Ben is. Our QB thrives in these pressure cooked situations. He is the 100 million dollar man for a reason.
I only urge the 70000 fans privileged to attend to be loud and nasty and don’t let up. Represent the 100 million Steeler fans who can’t be there with a noise so deafening that it will give Suggs the Armegeddon he predicted.
3It’s amazing how little you have to know about anything to be a national sports analyst. What most of these guys are doing is reacting to the KC game, which was a horrible matchup for the Chiefs even if they had been in the same class as Baltimore overall. I heard one announcer pick the Ravens because they have “so many weapons.” As if he never bothered to compare depth charts and see what you so ably pointed out, that for every Ravens playmaker the Steelers have one who is at least as good.
The biggest factor, and one that hasn’t really received a lot of attention is the importance of clock management and two-minute offense/defense. The conference championship in ’09 is the only time in the past three years that the final touchdown or field goal has not been the game winner. That means that six games out of the past seven have come down to who is the most clutch in the fourth quarter. Who can march their team down the field for a game winning drive and who can stop the other team from doing so (the one game that was not decided by the final TD/FG was when Troy’s pick 6 killed Baltimore’s attempt at a game winning drive).
That’s why Pittsburgh has had such success with Ben under center, and why it’s likely that the Black n’ Gold will win once again this Saturday. Because Ben Roethlisberger is a great quarterback who takes his game to an even higher level in the fourth quarter with the game on the line, and Joe Flacco is a good quarterback who will usually play just as well in the fourth quarter, although he will sometimes crack and throw the ball at the feet of a wide open receiver.
The Steelers have the better chance of winning because it is always dangerous to throw at Ed Reed, but it is always dangerous to throw at Troy Polamalu and especially dangerous to throw at him or even just have the ball at the end of a one score game. The Steelers have the better chance of winning because Terrell Suggs is a very good pass rusher, but Lamarr Woodley in the only player in NFL history to have at least two sacks in four consecutive playoff games.
Everything that can be said of the Ravens can also be said of the Steelers, but the Steelers have an ability to pull out clutch wins that the Ravens don’t. Plus, the Steelers are playing at home. That’s why it’s just dumb to pick the Ravens.
4Wow, that comment was a book. Sorry guys!
5The Steelers never seem to have a problem with Reed. And the Ravens do have a few weapons, but Cam Cameron (Ravens OC) doesn’t know how to use them half of the time.
6No need to apologize, Matthew. Your comments were dead on.
I love it when people have well thought out opinions and explain why they think what they do. IMO, there is no such thing as a comment that is too long.
7Dan,
8The Ravens definitely have some weapons. Hopefully I didn’t give the impression that they don’t. But I happen to think that our weapons are better than theirs.
Oh, they absolutely are. We’re better than the Ravens across the board. This game will be a low scoring game as usual, with the Steelers winning by a field goal.
9go steelers .we love you. another big win this sat. heading to the superbowl
10My prediction Steelers win 21-17
11Alright guys…….I’m predicting it will not be a real close game. Somebody will win by 10-13 points. Who will that be??????????????????
My prediction Ravens 13 Steelers 23
I know, I know….I’m supposed to keep predicting Steeler loses. But I believe we just may benefit from some early turnovers. We’ll see.
GO STEELERS!
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