Baltimore Beatdown
Mapping a out a blueprint to success in this AFC North showdown.
The Baltimore Ravens will be back at home for their biggest game of the season thus far when the division-leading Pittsburgh Steelers come to town with first place in the AFC North on the line. They favored to prevail by at least a touchdown in this heated rivalry between two teams fighting for the same goal of winning the division and hosting at least one playoff game.
A win would not only improve the Ravens’ record to 10-5 but potentially put them in a tie with the Steelers for the top spot in the AFC North standings and snap a four-game losing streak to their rivals who have won eight of the last nine in the all-time series.
Here are five keys integral to the Ravens’ coming out on top in Week 16.
The first matchup between these two teams this season played out in a similar fashion to many of the Ravens’ losses during this rivalry that has been lopsided as of late. They not only lost the turnover battle 3-1 but part of the field where they gave the ball away on a pair of fumbles set the Steelers offense up with short fields and essentially spotted them six points after the defense only yielded short field goals both times. Baltimore went on to lose by less than a field goal 18-16.
On Wednesday, offensive coordinator Todd Monken reportedly got into a heated exchange with the wide receivers and assistant coach Greg Lewis during ball security drills during practice because he really wanted to emphasize the importance of taking care of the ball against this specific opponent. The Steelers’ 30 turnovers forced leads the league with a whopping 17 coming on forced fumbles and Monken doesn’t want his unit to add to their total on Saturday.
“I’ve been here for three games (vs. Pittsburgh) and we’ve turned it over eight times,” Monken said. “We’ve fumbled it seven times. If that doesn’t tell you it’s a priority, I don’t know what is.”
In addition to not turning the ball over, another big way to avoid unforced errors and self-inflicted wounds is to not give up free yardage via penalty to a Steelers offense that will be without its top weapon, wide receiver George Pickens. Baltimore leads the league in penalties and penalty yardage through 15 weeks despite having one week off with a bye.
The Ravens are coming off a game in which they were penalized a season-high 12 times for the 112 yards—also the most they’ve accrued this season. While it didn’t cost them dearly against the fledgling Giants, a repeat performance against the more savvy and experienced Steelers could keep the game closer than it should which could lead to some late-game drama where Mike Tomlin and Co. love to be in and often come out on top of, especially...
