The Steelers' offensive stars finally played to their potential when it mattered most

By Mark Madden

http://www.timesonline.com/sports/steelers/

December 26, 2016

Le'Veon Bell #26 of the Pittsburgh Steelers leaps into the end zone in front of Eric Weddle #32 of the Baltimore Ravens for a 7 yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter during the game at Heinz Field on December 25, 2016 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.(Joe Sargent/Getty Images)

A whole lot of credibility was on the line when Baltimore held a 20-10 lead over the Steelers early in the fourth quarter at Heinz Field Sunday.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had gifted the Ravens 10 points with two interceptions.

Receiver Antonio Brown and running back Le’Veon Bell were less than 15 minutes away from further cementing their reputations as great players on teams that don’t win enough. If you’re not the solution, you become part of that problem.

Coach Mike Tomlin, freshly clowned as a “cheerleader” by ex-Steelers QB Terry Bradshaw, was about to see his resume stretch to six straight seasons of mostly underachieving, despite a plethora of weaponry. Offensive coordinator Todd Haley was deservedly going to get splattered with some of that.

But the aforementioned weaponry suddenly executed like it hadn’t all season.

The Steelers were suddenly AFC North champions in a year where that really needed to happen.

Had the Steelers lost, the stink would have understandably hit the fan. Roethlisberger, Brown and Bell have been on the Steelers at the same time, amid much hoopla, since 2013. But before Monday, the result had been bupkus: Just one division title and only one win in a playoff game (that was gifted by Cincinnati last season).

Haley’s game plan fooled the opposition some days. It fooled himself on others. Haley milked stats, but not enough victories.

But in Sunday’s fourth quarter, the Steelers’ gang of three coalesced with such ferocity that the Ravens never really had a chance, especially when Styx’s “Renegade” was played not once, but twice. The jig is up, the news is out…

Three drives, 21 points. When the Ravens responded to the first two Steelers scores with seven points of their own, Roethlisberger and Co. didn’t flinch. Ten plays, 75 yards, 69 seconds. Brown posts the winning score by reaching the ball across the goal line from amidst a crowd of Ravens with nine seconds left.

Sure, the ball could have been knocked loose. If Brown’s lunge fails, time might run out before the Steelers can run (or kick) another play.

No matter. Big players make big plays, and Brown has never made bigger.

In the fourth quarter, Roethlisberger was 14 for 17 (including two spikes) for 164 yards and two touchdowns. He was clinical, almost flawless. Brown had five catches for 67 yards and a score. Bell got two touchdowns.

It’s all very praiseworthy, to say nothing of timely. But it’s also what players of that ability and pay grade are supposed to do. Roethlisberger has an abundance of such moments. Brown and Bell badly needed theirs.

Tomlin needed Sunday, too. Bradshaw’s criticism resonated. Since losing Super Bowl XLV in 2011, the Steelers haven’t done nearly as well as high expectations dictated. Does that make Tomlin a “cheerleader,” like Bradshaw said?

Uh, it might. But results are what matter. They don’t ask how, they ask how many. Up ‘til Sunday, Tomlin’s recent answer was, “Not enough.”

Now, the Steelers are seeded third in the American Football Conference. Winning a wild-card game at home against Miami is no lock given the Dolphins’ 30-15 win over the Steelers on Oct. 16. But Miami quarterback Ryan Tannehill is recovering from a sprained knee. Oakland QB Derek Carr is out for the season with a broken leg. The Steelers are lined up to visit the Raiders in the divisional round.

The Steelers lost four straight. Now they’ve won six straight. Will the real Pittsburgh Steelers please stand up?

Perhaps, in yesterday’s fourth quarter, they did.

Mark Madden hosts a radio show 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WXDX-FM (105.9).

Ben Roethlisberger's brilliance saves Steelers' season

Jeremy FowlerESPN Staff Writerhttp://www.espn.com/blog/pittsburgh-steelers/December 25, 2016

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, center, completes a pass despite being presuured by Ravens' Terrell Suggs, left, and Elivis Dumervil during the eventual game-winning drive in the fourth quarter. The Steelers defeated the Ravens by score of 31 to 27 at Heinz Field.(Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun)

PITTSBURGH -- That's how you craft a legacy win.

QB Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers' offense were staring at a 20-10 deficit, with Big Ben throwing two ghastly interceptions and the Baltimore Ravens closing in on a fifth straight win over their chief rival.

That's when things got weird. The Steelers' offense got rolling. And Roethlisberger got the best of a defense that has tormented him with an unbelievable 75-yard drive to seal the playoff-bound Steelers' 31-27 win in the final seconds Sunday.

The Steelers' fourth quarter was better than any script could deliver. As receiver Antonio Brown stretched over the goal line for a 4-yard touchdown, with Ravens safety Eric Weddle draped across his chest, the Steelers capped a fourth quarter that produced 240 yards of offense and three touchdowns.

Man, Ravens-Steelers never disappoints. Best rivalry in the game.

And the Steelers just slayed a Ravens dragon that has been breathing fire in their backyard for years -- clinching the AFC North and the No. 3 seed in the process.

"I have to get the ball in -- I have to get the ball in," Brown said of Roethlisberger trusting him on a delayed cut toward the middle. Brown caught the ball at the 1 and fought for the final yard.

"I know I'm going to take some contact," Brown said, "and I knew after that I was going to be able to get the ball in."

The Steelers stayed cool throughout, especially when they received the kickoff with 1:18 left after the Ravens scored a touchdown to go ahead 27-24. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was even joking with players that their remaining two timeouts were more than the one timeout they get during two-minute-drill sessions in practice. The result was five different Steelers catching a pass, and Roethlisberger completing all eight attempts (not counting two spikes).

"We were confident," said running back Le'Veon Bell, who finished with 122 rushing yards and two touchdowns total. "Before the drive started, I told AB [Brown], 'Watch, you're going to get the game-winning touchdown, man.' If you don't get it, I'm going to get it. ... You've got to speak it into existence."

Let's be honest, this was shaping up to be a costly résumé loss for the Steelers. Losing a fifth straight game to the Ravens, the latest all but knocking the Steelers out of the playoffs, would have lingered for a long time. For as great as Roethlisberger's career has been, his seven interceptions in the past four meetings against Baltimore was a black mark -- one that he just smudged with a gold Sharpie.

The difference was an explosion of offense over 5 minutes and 5 seconds of game clock early in the fourth quarter. From Ravens kicker Justin Tucker's field goal with 14:21 left in the fourth quarter to about the 7:16 mark, the Steelers boomed 165 yards of total offense against the Ravens' stout front. Brown was suddenly getting open and Roethlisberger shrugged off the two picks, working the middle of the field to a bevy of playmakers, from Jesse James to Eli Rogersto Demarcus Ayers in his rookie game-action debut.

Roethlisberger said the offense went into "attack mode, we went all no-huddle" in the fourth, and it worked perfectly on a day when eight Steelers caught a pass.

After Bell's second touchdown, the Steelers left you wondering where that offense had been for much of the previous 30 minutes. Between a brilliant 87-yard opening drive to early in the fourth quarter, the Steelers got nothing on offense and let the Ravens dictate the pace. Bell was great throughout, but Baltimore was imposing its will on Pittsburgh for much of the first three quarters, despite the defense's best efforts.

The Steelers' final score offset the Ravens' impressive 14-play, 75-yard scoring drive for that short-lived 27-24 lead.

In the final seconds, Brown said the Steelers were thinking touchdown, not field goal. If he hadn't crossed the goal line after taking the short pass from Roethlisberger, the Steelers would have had nine seconds to get off a snap and spike it.

"We had to stay positive," Brown said. "We've got a great quarterback. Don't blink."

What you need to know in the NFL

• Playoff picture: Giants secure No. 5 seed
• NFL Playoff Machine
• Complete 2016 schedule
• Statistics
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• Standings

This game was much bigger than the playoff implications. The Steelers had a Ravens problem. But no longer.

In a rivalry this heated, it's nearly impossible to overcome miscues like this, but the Steelers somehow overcame these:

• * Missed tackles on Ravens fullbackKyle Juszczyk allowed a 10-yard touchdown run that gave Baltimore the 27-24 lead.
• 
  
• * When a tired defense needed help late, Roethlisberger threw into double coverage and Ravens linebacker C.J. Mosley nabbed an interception, giving the Ravens prime field position yet again.
• 
  
• * Steelers place-kicker Chris Boswell had two kickoffs go out of bounds.
• 
  
• * Ravens QB Joe Flacco picked apart the middle of the field early, completing 13 of his first 18 pass attempts for 139 yards and a touchdown between the numbers.
• 
  
• * On third-and-1 with 6:59 left in the third quarter, the Steelers' defense had Kenneth Dixon stopped behind the line of scrimmage, but his second effort got the first down and chewed more clock. 
• 
  
• * Time of possession heavily favored the Ravens, about 1.5-to-1 at one point.
• 
  
• * To begin the second half, Roethlisberger threw to seldom-used tight end David Johnson, who watched the ball sail over his head for a pick.
• 
  
• * Steelers safety Sean Davis had a clear shot at Flacco on a blitz but went right around him.
• After all that, what's left is cushy playoff positioning and eyes on a potential seventh Super Bowl win.
  "We showed some resolve," said Roethlisberger, who threw for 166 of his 279 yards in the fourth quarter. "That showed some fight, no quit. You never heard anything from the defense [after the second interception], you never saw them get down. ... We can only stick together."

The Ravens’ lack of star power showed against the flashy Steelers

Mike Preston

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/

December 25, 2016

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown (84) reaches the ball across the goal line for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Dec. 25, 2016. The Steelers won 31-27.(Fred Vuich/AP)

The Ravens' 2016 season ended for all intents and purposes Sunday with a 31-27 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the year has gone as expected.

After finishing 5-11 last season and missing the playoffs for the second time in three years, the Ravens improved enough to challenge for a playoff position this season, but not enough to be serious contenders.

They just don't have enough playmakers at the skill positions or in the defensive secondary to challenge for a Super Bowl title.

It showed against Oakland, Dallas and New England, and it was never more glaring than Sunday against Pittsburgh. Throughout the game, and especially in crunch time, the Steelers relied on quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, running back Le'Veon Bell and receiver Antonio Brown.

The Ravens can hang with a lot of NFL teams sheer hustle and heart, but those will only take a team so far. In the final four minutes of games, superstars have to make plays, and the Ravens are lacking.

The Ravens had a 20-10 lead after a field goal with 14:18 left, but then Pittsburgh went to a no-huddle offense, Roethlisberger, Bell and Brown took over the game.

The Steelers had three drives in the fourth quarter, all resulting in touchdowns. The drives went 75, 90 and 75 yards, and combined they lasted less than seven minutes. Bell had a 7-yard catch to finish one drive and a 7-yard run to finish another. Brown made a great catch for the winning touchdown with nine seconds left.

"They made big plays and got the ball in the end zone," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "Obviously that was the difference in the game. We are very close to being a very good football team. We can be a great football team, but we're not there yet."

The Ravens' need for playmakers has to be the focus during the offseason. Quarterback Joe Flacco is a notch below Roethlisberger, and he doesn't have a Bell or a Brown.

He has receiver Steve Smith Sr., who is 37 and might retire after one more game. He has receivers Breshad Perriman and Darren Waller, both of whom dropped passes in the fourth quarter. Perriman appears to be afraid of getting hit and Waller just lacks focus.

The Ravens have two tough running backs in Kenneth Dixon and Terrance West, but they aren't in close to the same class as Bell, who had 122 yards on 20 carries.

Dixon and West combined for 84 yards on 22 carries. They run hard, but they don't have breakaway ability. All good teams have great players. Dallas has running back Ezekiel Elliott and receiver Dez Bryant. Oakland had quarterback Derek Carr and receivers Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper.

The only team in a similar situation as the Ravens is the Patriots, and they have quarterback Tom Brady, who turns no-name targets into productive players. Flacco is no Brady.

"They are great players in the NFL," Ravens inside linebacker C. J. Mosley said of the Steelers. "It is what it is."

The age of some of the Ravens veterans started to show in this game. The Ravens entered the game with the No. 2-ranked defense, but that was misleading because they have played one of the weakest schedules in the league.

They haven't played good run defense in the past three weeks against New England, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Their two top pass rushers, Terrell Suggs, 34, and Elvis Dumervil, 32, have disappeared in big games the past two seasons while battling injuries.

The Ravens don't have a cornerback who can match up with Brown. With or without the often-injured Jimmy Smith, there isn't a shutdown cornerback on the roster.

Over the next few days we'll see or hear the complaints about the Ravens, and there will be demands to fire Harbaugh and general manager Ozzie Newsome. That's just silly. In the league's current state, the Ravens aren't that far away from being serious contenders.

Their effort Sunday was outstanding. They played hard in a great football game. If they had won, it would have breathed some life into a team that was on the verge of falling apart last week. But this team has now been out of the playoffs three of the past four years. They can't keep making the same mistakes and now they know they need to get younger and faster.

Even more importantly, they need playmakers at the skill positions, not experiments like Perriman and Waller. Those guys can't deliver in crunch time.

"We just went into attack mode," Roethlisberger said about the no-huddle offense in the fourth quarter. "We were throwing it up and just making things happen. You know, guys made plays and I just threw it to the right guys."

The Ravens don't have a lot of those types of guys on either side of the ball.

mike.preston@baltsun.com

twitter.com/MikePrestonSun

Crosby scores 24th, Penguins top struggling Devils 4-1

By Will Graves, Associated Press

http://www.espn.com/nhl/

December 23, 2016

Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby skates around New Jersey Devils defenseman Andy Greene during the first period of the Penguins' 4-1 win on Friday, Nov. 23, 2016, in Pittsburgh. (Fred Vuich/AP)

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins haven't lost consecutive games in regulation for more than a year. Coach Mike Sullivan has a pretty good theory about one of the reasons why: He happens to have the best player on the planet at his disposal in star center Sidney Crosby.

"I don't know if you guys noticed but we tend to start him a fair amount," Sullivan joked. "One of the reasons we do is he usually wins the opening faceoff and we grab momentum right off the bat."

Crosby was at it again Friday night, picking up his NHL-leading 24th goal as the Penguins bounced back from one of their worst performances of the season with a 4-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils.

Chad Ruhwedel added the first goal of his career for Pittsburgh. Eric Fehr and Patric Hornqvist also scored, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 22 saves to win for the first time in three starts.

The Penguins improved to 8-0-1 in their last nine home games while providing an immediate response after getting crushed 7-1 in Columbus on Thursday.

"It was a rough one (Thursday) night," Fleury said. "It was good that we got to play right away and not spend Christmas thinking about it."

Kyle Palmieri scored for the Devils, who lost for the eighth time in nine games.Cory Schneider stopped 35 shots but received little help in front of him.

"I don't mind the shots," Schneider said. "In fact, for me, I like more shots. Sometimes, even if they outshoot you, you have to find a way to win 3-2, 2-1. That's where we're not at. We haven't been able to win a game that maybe we're not supposed to. So, I think it's about time that we do that."

Pittsburgh's surge to the top of the Metropolitan Division came to an abrupt halt against the streaking Blue Jackets, who overwhelmed the Penguins over the final two periods and handed the defending Stanley Cup champions their second six-goal loss of the season.

Barely 24 hours later and back home in front of the team's 450th consecutive sellout crowd, Pittsburgh took control early and didn't let up.

Crosby, as he's done repeatedly this season, got the Penguins started, taking a feed from Justin Schultz and ripping a one-timer from the top of the right circle over Schneider's glove for his NHL-best ninth power-play goal 11 minutes into the first. It was also the eighth time Crosby scored the opening goal of the game, also tops in the league.

"He finds a way to put it in the net every night," Fleury said. "That's pretty amazing."

New Jersey, which snapped a seven-game slide with a shutout victory over Philadelphia on Thursday, managed just two shots in the opening period and one of them was a rink-long clear that made its way on net.

The Devils fell behind 2-0 when defenseman Jon Merrill's attempted clear in front of Schneider bounced in off Fehr at the side of the net 4:13 into the second. It marked Fehr's first goal since the veteran forward spent five games as a healthy scratch earlier this month.

The Devils squandered a 5-on-3 power play -- highlighted by a post-to-post save by Fleury -- but briefly got back in it when Palmieri slid a rebound underneath a sprawled Fleury 13:24 into the second.

Pittsburgh restored its two-goal advantage when Chris Kunitz chased down a loose puck, raced into the New Jersey zone and then dropped it to Ruhwedel at the point. The defenseman, who played 33 games across five seasons with Buffalo and was called up earlier this week by the Penguins after injuries to Kris Letang and Trevor Daley, sent a shot through a screen and by Schneider with 38 seconds left in the second.

"We played well at times, but we have to play better for longer periods of time to be able to come away with the end result that we had (against Philadelphia)," Devils coach John Hynes said.

Game notes
Pittsburgh made struggling D Derrick Pouliot a healthy scratch. His replacement, Steve Oleksy, earned a 5-minute fighting major after trading haymakers with New Jersey's Miles Wood. ... The Devils went 0 for 3 on the power play. The Penguins were 1 for 4 with the man advantage. ... Evgeni Malkin had two assists. His 29 points at home are tops in the NHL.

UP NEXT

The teams continue their home-and-home set when they meet in New Jersey next Tuesday. The Devils are 5-1-1 at home in their last seven games against the Penguins.

Instead of stockings, Ravens want to stuff Steelers' rushing attack Christmas Day

Edward Lee

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bs-sp-ravens-steelers-1224-20161223-story.html

December 23, 2016

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell rushes the ball against Baltimore Ravens inside linebacker Zach Orr in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2016, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

After the euphoria of Sunday's 27-26 home win against the Philadelphia Eagles had passed, the Ravens defense settled in to review film of the game. And the viewing was cringeworthy.

Defensive linemen getting pushed aside. Linebackers missing tackles. Players either not staying in their gaps or jumping into ones that were not theirs to fill.

Those errors contributed to Philadelphia's Ryan Mathews rushing for 128 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries and the Eagles gaining 169 yards and two scores on 38 attempts. It also led to a disconcerting feeling among the defensive players.

"Honestly, after talking to everybody, it kind of felt like we had lost," rookie defensive tackle Michael Pierce said. "Just the pride we take in stopping teams in the run and not letting people score all those points, we were definitely disappointed. It was a tough two days, but we put everything behind us, and that's something we definitely don't want to have and can't have."

The Ravens have built a long-standing, well-documented tradition of stopping the run. It started with standouts such as Ray Lewis, Sam Adams and Tony Siragusa and has continued with current players such as Zachary Orr, Eric Weddle and C.J. Mosley.

Since 2012, when Dean Pees succeededChuck Pagano as the defensive coordinator, only 13 out of 78 running backs have cracked the 100-yard mark against the Ravens. That is part of the reason why the players are not sounding the alarm.

"It doesn't matter, but don't think that what happened on Sunday, we're going, 'Damn, I don't know what's going to happen on Sunday. I don't know what's going to happen with the run defense,'" nose tackle Brandon Williams said. "No, it's not one of those things. We've been stopping the run all year. It was just one team that got a little bit of the best of us. It doesn't mean it's all, 'Abandon ship.' We're good. That's not going to happen. We're not worried about it. Stuff like that, it's like, 'Crap, that happened. Let's fix it,' and we're onto the next one."

That next challenge for the defense is significant. On Christmas Day, the Ravens (8-6) will attempt to take one step closer to capturing their third AFC North title under coach John Harbaugh by defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers (9-5) at Heinz Field. And to do that, the unit must concentrate on stopping running back Le'Veon Bell.

Although he missed the first three games of the season for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy, Bell has wasted little time reasserting himself as one of the top running backs in the league.

He leads the NFL in yards from scrimmage per game (158.8), ranks second in rushing yards per game (104.2) and total receptions by a running back (72), and third in total rushing yards (1,146) and yards from scrimmage (1,747).

In his past five starts, Bell has averaged 142.6 yards and has scored five touchdowns. He has also averaged 5.4 catches and 48.2 receiving yards and is one of several catalysts in Pittsburgh's five-game winning streak.

"It has been great being able to be a balanced offense," quarterback Ben Roethlisbergersaid of Bell's value. "Teams have been doing a lot of two-high [safeties] stuff, taking away the pass, taking away A.B. [wide receiver Antonio Brown], the big plays. They are giving us the underneath stuff, and that is running the ball and short passes. For him to be able to do what he has been able to do has just really helped us."

Perhaps surprisingly, Bell has not fared well against the Ravens, who have allowed him to reach 100 yards just once in six meetings and the end zone only twice. In the Ravens' 21-14 win Nov. 6, Bell managed just 32 yards on 14 carries and 38 yards on six receptions.

Pees said Bell is unlike any opposing running back he has coached against in 38 years of experience.

"Teams get in trouble because he's such a patient runner and when he does those stutter steps, he's a unique, unique running back," Pees said. "There's really nobody that has his style that I've ever seen. When he does that, he's just so patient and all of a sudden, when a guy just jumps off a block, he's got great vision, and he hits it. You've got to rely on everybody being where they're supposed to be. Don't lie to the guy next to you. If a linebacker's supposed to be here and you're supposed to be here, don't all of a sudden get inside and now both of you are inside, and he's going outside. Everybody's got to do their job on this one."

Neither Pees nor the players were willing to share what they addressed since Sunday to fix the running lanes that Mathews and the Eagles found. ("Like I'd tell you if we did anything," Pees said with a smirk.) But defensive end Lawrence Guy is confident that the run defense that shows up Christmas Day won't be in the mood to offer gifts to Bell or any other Steelers running back.

"He's a challenging running back, one of the best running backs in the league," Guy said. "So when you go against an opponent like that, you've got to figure out, 'What can you do to help?' In Game 1 when we played them, we figured it out. We know they're going to attack us a little bit differently. So we're going to come out there and play good fundamental football."

edward.lee@baltsun.com

twitter.com/EdwardLeeSun

Who I like, Steelers vs. Ravens

By Dale Lolley

http://www.observer-reporter.com/

December 23, 2016

(Baltimore Ravens)

The Pittsburgh Steelers are due to beat the Baltimore Ravens. There, I wrote it.

It’s a simple reason why I feel the Steelers will beat the Ravens Sunday, but it is true, nonetheless.

The way this series has gone, because these are two teams built to complete against each other, there hasn’t been a lot of one-sided play. But Baltimore comes into this game having won the past four meetings and six of the past seven.

For two teams as close in talent as these organizations have been, that’s too much.

What made this a great rivalry in the past was that both teams were good and you never knew which was going to get the better of the play when they got together.

But I feel the Steelers got a little too finesse-oriented, particularly on defense, in previous seasons. They just weren’t very stout up front and there wasn’t a lot of nastiness to the defense.

That has begun to change this year.

Now, they have a defense capable of matching the Ravens big play for big play.

And that could be the difference in this game.

That, and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger is 100 percent healthy for this game. And, at home, Roethlisberger might be the best QB in the NFL. In five home starts this season, he has 17 touchdown passes and three interceptions.

He’s been phenomenal at Heinz Field.

And, despite the fact the Steelers won’t have Ladarius Green or Sammie Coates in this game, they will still have Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell.

I heard a radio talking head who obviously doesn’t, you know, do any homework, say Friday that Bell never has a good game against the Ravens. That’s timply not true.

In 2013, his first Pittsburgh-Baltimore game, he had 93 yards on 19 carries. The next game, he had 73 yards and a touchdown on 16 attempts, adding seven catches for 63 yards in the rematch that season.

He had 129 yards rushing and a touchdown on 22 carries with Mike Vick at quarterback against Baltimore last season.

So he has had some success. In fact, in his career, he averages 4.4 yards per carry against the Ravens.

With Green and Coates out and Darrius Heywayrd-Bey still a question mark, I expect the Steelers to use Bell as a receiver a little more often, getting DeAngelo Williams, who will make his return in this game, in the backfield.

And I expect the Steelers to attack Baltimore’s secondary, which will be without corner Jimmy Smith, with some quick passes to Eli Rogers and Bell.

The Steelers need to come out, play fast and get a lead to force the Ravens into a similar mode. Baltimore just isn’t built to do that.

The Ravens are 2-4 on the road this season and Flacco has five touchdown passes and seven interceptions in those games.

If the Steelers can do that and force Flacco to beat them, they should be OK.

One player the Steelers need to do a good job of controling is rookie running back Kenneth Dixon. He’s become more of a factor in recent weeks and Flacco loves to checkdown, much to the chagrin of his receivers.

Defensive end Stephon Tuitt will likely be a game-time decision for the Steelers in this one, which hurts, but defensive coordinator Keith Butler has done a masterful job of patching holes with his unit. They’ll find a way to get it done at home.

The Steelers are 5-point favorites to win this game and I like the home team.

Take the Steelers to win, 24-17.