Thursday 11 September 2014 16:11, UK
The Baltimore Ravens have been all over the news this week for all the wrong reasons, but they better not take their eye off what’s happening on the field as fierce rivals Pittsburgh come to town for Thursday night.
Baltimore parting ways with troubled star running back Ray Rice has been the main talking point, but the team have to put that behind them as they gear up for the latest chapter in one of the most heated rivalries in the NFL.
It’s a second straight AFC North clash for these two after they also opened up the season on Sunday with divisional encounters, with the Steelers surviving a second-half comeback by Cleveland while the Ravens went down in Cincinnati.
It means that even as early as week two, it’s a crucial clash. If the Ravens lose they slip to 0-2 in their division and already struggling in the race for the playoffs, while a 2-0 mark for Pittsburgh would be an ideal start.
These two teams are so evenly matched in so many ways, their hard-hitting defensive styles make for fierce, bone-crunching battles time after time, reflecting their no-nonsense, straight-talking head coaches – and Thursday night will be no different.
Replacing Rice
Baltimore had planned for playing without Rice for the first two weeks of the season, but now he’s gone for good they’ll have to start re-jigging a running attack that struggled early on last week. Bernard Pierce started the game but was benched after a second-quarter fumble, leaving Justin Forsett to lead the line. He’s not really got the build of a starter though and Pierce will be given another chance, but don’t be surprised to see a dose of rookie Lorenzo Taliaferro added to the mix as well.
Rivalry
It’s one of the toughest rivalries in the league, and even if both of these teams missed the playoffs last year don’t think for a second it won’t be just as brutal this time around. Both will be desperate to get back into the post season, and both will want to lay down an early marker against the old foes. It’s almost always a thrillingly close encounter as well, the last five games and 10 of the last 12 have been settled by three points or less, so expect a late night (or early morning!) if you’re staying up for this one.
QB comparison
Not a lot in the week one stats between Joe Flacco and Ben Roethlisberger apart from the win column, but Big Ben definitely looked more assured and had better help from his receivers, with Steve Smith’s 80-yard TD padding out Flacco’s numbers. Ravens wideouts also dropped six passes so with their running game in transition they’ll have to improve that statistic to get any joy out of this game. Flacco has won four out of the last six v the Steelers though and has a formidable home record (39-10) at M&T Bank Stadium despite losing last week's opener.
Steelers D rattled
Pittsburgh amazingly almost blew a 24-point lead last week as Cleveland had the once-vaunted Steelers defence on the run – scoring on four straight possessions in the second half. Brian Hoyer and the Browns got all their joy when using the no-huddle offence, and although the Ravens didn’t use much of that against the Bengals they’ll be scheming to use a hurry-up offence a lot more given the problems the Steelers had when trying to make adjustments against Cleveland.
Quotes
"We dropped all the gimmies, but we caught all the hard ones. Things can happen and you've got to take responsibility. This receiver group has a lot of opportunities to be great, and I think we overthought things and ran before we had the ball. We've just got to play better,” Ravens receiver Torrey Smith.
"I can't wait to get to Baltimore and see what these guys are really about. They are going to play tough. They know what we like to do, we know what they like to do. Both teams are similar. It's going to be a good game,” Steelers running back LeVeon Bell
"Thursday Night Football, primetime, and at our rival's home field. You don't need any extra motivation. It's Baltimore versus Pittsburgh. The fans are excited for it. We are excited for it,” Steelers cornerback William Gay.
Watch the Baltimore Ravens take on the Pittsburgh Steelers live on Sky Sports 2 HD from 1:25am on Friday.
