Steelers (4-2-1) at Ravens (4-4)
W .......... Buffalo .......... 47-3 L ..... at Cincinnati ..... 34-23 W ......... Denver ......... 27-14 W ...atPittsburgh ...26-14 L .. at Cleveland .. 12-9 (OT) W ..... at Tennessee ..... 21-0 L ..... New Orleans ..... 24-23 L ...... at Carolina ...... 36-21 Nov. 4 ...... Pittsburgh ...... 1 Nov. 11 ............. Bye ............. Nov. 18 ...... Cincinnati ...... 1 Nov.25 ....... Oakland ....... 1 Dec. 2 ....... at Atlanta ....... 1 Dec. 9 ... at Kansas City ... 1 Dec. 16 ..... Tampa Bay ..... 1 Dec. 22/23 at Chargers TBD Dec. 30 ..... Cleveland ...... 1
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore
TV: CBS
Danny Sheridan’s line: Ravens by 3
Steelers’ keys to victory: The Steelers failed to create many bigyardage plays on offense in Week 4, allowing the Ravens to come up and make plays to get off the field. Converting on third downs would help wear out an older Ravens defense down the stretch. Defensively, getting to Ravens QB Joe Flacco is a must. The Steelers sacked Flacco only twice in the last matchup, letting him get into a rhythm and stay safe with the football, something a bad secondary can’t afford.
Ravens’ keys to victory: The Ravens have to get the ground game going. The Steelers are going to focus on the passing attack given their issues in the secondary, but good gains on first down on the ground would force the Steelers to have to move closer to the line of scrimmage. Jamming Pittsburgh’s wide receivers at the line of scrimmage will be important as well. Letting Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger get the ball out of his hands quickly would stymie the pass rush and set up big plays downfield.
Matchup to watch: Steelers WR Antonio Brown vs. Ravens CB Jimmy Smith. Smith was serving his four-game suspension the last time the teams met, when Brown caught five passes for 62 yards and a touchdown. If Smith can shut down Brown or at least limit him, it will allow the rest of the defense to focus on the run and WR JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Who wins? The Ravens are at home, where they’re a significantly better team. They beat the Steelers at Pittsburgh without Smith and need a win to go into their bye strong. They’ll get it.
Ravens, 24-21