The Baltimore Ravens have road victories against the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals as they head into their week five matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers. A win on Sunday would mean three wins on the road in the division and a leg up on all of their competition. Talk about being in the driver's seat.
Still, every Baltimore Ravens fan knows that this means it will be a tough duel against the Steelers, a team known to play spoiler. What do the Ravens have to do to avoid heartbreak?
3. Lamar Jackson must play better against the Pittsburgh Steelers
Lamar Jackson has not played against the Pittsburgh Steelers very often. He missed three games due to injury, one game due to a positive COVID test, one game because the Ravens already clinched the division conference.
So, it has left him playing in just three games as a starter for the Ravens. Still, he is 1-2, which is disappointing. Jackson has just four touchdowns to six interceptions against the Steelers, too. Even in his win, he threw three interceptions, and the Ravens needed overtime and a turnover from Marlon Humphrey to walk away with a win.
On the flip side, Jackson is 14-3 against the Bengals and Browns, and that comes with 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He has more interceptions in three games against the Steelers than in nine games against the Bengals. There is something about this rivalry that brings out the fierceness, and Jackson has yet to show that he can beat the Steelers.
So, for the Ravens to knock off the Bengals and Browns is not a shocking development. A third division win being the Steelers, and it being Lamar Jackson getting the start to do it has been a harder feat.
2. The Baltimore Ravens must avoid splash plays
The Pittsburgh Steelers sit at 2-2, and you can argue that they are lucky to be there. Some of it has to do with the teams they were playing, as the Raiders and Browns got in their own way too often. At the same time, the Steelers seem to know exactly when to hit the timely play.
Against the Cleveland Browns, they scored three touchdowns. One was a pick-six by Alex Highsmith, one was a fumble return for a touchdown by T.J. Watt, and the other was a 71-yard touchdown by George Pickens. The Steelers did little besides rely on two key defensive plays and a splash play on offense. Against the Raiders, they leaned on a 72-yard touchdown by Calvin Austin. Without these game-changing plays, they do not have much to speak of when it comes to scoring points.
The Baltimore Ravens are good here, but they lost to the Indianapolis Colts in the same manner. A missed kick here and a fumble there gave the Colts just enough life. It also cost the Ravens just enough drives. This cannot be a consistent theme for this team, especially after we saw it already.
1. The Baltimore Ravens tackles will be vulnerable against the Pittsburgh Steelers
This is where the Baltimore Ravens have to be cautious to avoid the splash plays. They are going to enter the game with weaknesses at arguably the Steelers' greatest strengths. The Ravens are hoping to get Ronnie Stanley back, and he practiced on Wednesday.
However, the odds of Morgan Moses starting Sunday are low. So, either Patrick Mekari is at right tackle, and Ronnie Stanley is on the left side, or Mekari is on the left side, and Daniel Faalele will be on the right. No matter what, T.J. Watt is licking his chops, knowing that he will Mekari or Faalele.
Alex Highsmith will be getting one of Mekari or Stanley. Even if he gets Stanley, we have no idea what condition he will be in. T.J. Watt has won many games on his back before, and getting a backup in a must-win game for his team is awful timing by the Ravens. Highsmith is rising and may be in a good spot. He also not only had the pick-six against the Browns, he caused the fumble that Watt returned.
This duo is lethal, and the Ravens are weak when it comes to defending them. Do the Ravens call up Eric Tomlinson, the blocking tight end they signed, or do we see a ton of Patrick Ricard? How can they slow these two down?