Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: Ground game is the key

The Baltimore Ravens rushing attack could be the biggest key in their battle with the Pittsburgh Steelers:

The only thing the Baltimore Ravens offense looks competent in is running the football. Even in their week 3 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Ravens racked up over 130 rushing yards. The Ravens rank fourth in the NFL in rushing yards per game. That just shows you how limited the passing attack has been in the three games this season. The Ravens are last in yards earned per game.

Obviously, the ground game is the lifeblood of the Baltimore offense. Stopping the run isn’t exactly a strength of the Steelers this season. The Steelers have given up an average of 123.3 yards per game which ranks 22nd in the NFL. That’s the good news in this match-up for the Ravens. The bad news is that the Steelers currently have the second best pass defense and are third in points allowed.

The Ravens have three running backs over 100 yards, which is impressive at this point of the season. Baltimore is getting the job done with a running back by committee approach. Buck Allen has 43 carries and 10 receptions. Terrance West has 33 carries and 2 grabs in the passing game. Alex Collins, who has shown the most burst, has 16 carries. 92 carries through three weeks is an impressive commitment to the running back position.

Joe Flacco only has 69 passing attempts. This shows two things. It first shows their confidence is going to the running game, not the passing attack. Secondly it shows that the mindset of this team is run first.