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3 things Baltimore Ravens must do against Pittsburgh Steelers

By Chris Schisler

PITTSBURGH, PA - OCTOBER 06: Marlon Humphrey #44 celebrates with Matt Judon #99 of the Baltimore Ravens after recovering a fumble during overtime against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field on October 6, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - OCTOBER 06: Marlon Humphrey #44 celebrates with Matt Judon #99 of the Baltimore Ravens after recovering a fumble during overtime against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field on October 6, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) /
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PITTSBURGH, PA – OCTOBER 06: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens in action during the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field on October 6, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – OCTOBER 06: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens in action during the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field on October 6, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) /

Here are the three things the Baltimore Ravens must do to topple the Pittsburgh Steelers:

1. Loosen up the defense and attack weakness of  the Steelers highly touted defense

The Pittsburgh Steelers are supposed to have one of the best defenses in the league. They have given up the sixth fewest points. They have the second best run defense in the NFL. In fact they give up just 68.8 yards per game on the ground. The fact that their defense is good  is objectively true it just doesn’t mean they are invincible.

The Steelers secondary is where the Ravens have to attack. With all due respect to Minkah Fitzpatrick, a true difference maker, the Steelers secondary is the one area they could use some improvement on, and their pass rush hides this a bit. The Steelers give up 217.5 yards through the air per game. That’s a pretty healthy number and it comfortably gives them a top 10 passing defense.

The Titans started off slow against the Steelers however Ryan Tannehill heated up. He led the Titans to a comeback that was thwarted by a missed field goal at the end. The Steelers gave up 153 receiving yards to A.J. Brown. In the season opener Daniel Jones had 279 yards and two touchdowns. Sure, he had the two costly interceptions, but Darius Slayton had 102 receiving yards. The Eagles got Travis Fulgham 10 receptions for 152 yards and a touchdown against Pittsburgh.

Match ups can give the Steelers fits. This has to be a day where Marquise Brown shows up. If Greg Roman calls this game right the speed the Ravens have at receiver will strip the powers from this super Pittsburgh defense. Get the ball to Hollywood. Get the ball to Duvernay. Speed may just be the way to beat this defense.

The problem here is that the Steelers strengths line up with that of the Ravens. The Ravens like to play a physical style based on the run game, that’s their comfort zone, even this year. If the Ravens can play out of their comfort zone a bit, they can stretch out the Steelers defense.

Baltimore can’t abandon the run, yet they can’t over depend on it either. This is a show me game for Lamar Jackson. He has to have an MVP caliber performance. He has to be the difference maker in this one. If the Ravens can hit some shots down the field, it can change the complexion of the game. Don’t have Jackson throw the ball 50 times, but you have to stretch the field against Pittsburgh.

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