The red hot Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Baltimore Ravens in this AFC Division rival meeting on Thanksgiving Day. Though both teams are playing poorly, both have a chance to inch closer to first place and make a run at the second AFC Wild Card spot, which is extremely tight. Who will win tonight? Check out these predictions as Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers go to work against the defending Super Bowl champions.
The Steelers are the favorite coming into this matchup. They are playing consistent football, winning three consecutive games, going 5-2 after their Bye Week in Week 5. They have defeated the likes of the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns and these very Ravens. One could argue that only the Lions are a truly competitive team, but the Ravens and Browns are in the division and those games are pretty big.
Speaking of big, Roehlisberger has played a huge role in those games the Steelers are victorious. In four of their last five victories, Roethlisberger has finished the game with the most passing yards. Now, Roethlisberger is no Peyton Manning, he will not have many 300-plus yard passing games, but this means their defense is creating havoc. Opponents are only averaging 224 passing yards, giving the Steelers' defense the 10th best total in the NFL. Meanwhile, Big Ben is posting the eighth highest average per game, throwing close to 262 passing yards per game.
The Ravens have a tough defense. They will surely get to pressure Big Ben, but the point will be to bring him down. Roethlisberger is creative and can run away from the pressure, making big plays when they matter most. The point here is; Big Ben over Joe Flacco any time of the day. Flacco has disappointed after getting paid this offseason. He is not the type of quarterback that can carry a team on his back, but he is earning money like a superstar quarterback.
So who will walk away with the victory?
The Steelers will have to take care of the ball and avoid turning it over. The run will be huge for Pittsburgh as they will need something to prevent Roethlisberger from having to carry the team throughout the game. Expect a low scoring affair as these teams will surely slug it out. The Steelers defeated the Ravens 19-16 in their Week 7 meeting. Expect it to be a lower scoring game.
Final Score Prediction: Steelers win 13-10.