The Baltimore Ravens have lost four consecutive games to fall to 3-4, the season after they landed with a thump at 5-11. In other words, they have the Steelers right where they want them.
“We are anticipating a rough-and-tumble game,” Mike Tomlin said Tuesday. “One that’s kind of indicative of the history of these two teams.”
The Steelers coach should hope it’s not too indicative because the most recent history of this rivalry has not been good for his team.
Of those five victories the Ravens managed last season, two came against the Steelers, both upsets, both by three points. Those two losses kept the Steelers from a top postseason seed and the bye and home playoff game that goes with it.
That gave Baltimore three victories in a row against their AFC North Division rivals, five in the past six games and eight in the past 11, including a playoff win at Heinz Field in the 2014 season.
The first setback last season occurred at Heinz Field when Josh Scobee missed field goals from 49 and 41 yards and the Steelers lost in overtime, 23-20. The second came in the 15th game when they lost to a decimated Ravens team that was 4-10 and playing Ryan Mallett at quarterback. That 20-17 defeat nearly knocked them out of the playoff hunt.
Nevertheless, the Steelers today rest atop the AFC North at 4-3 and Baltimore desperately needs a victory to make it a race again.
“It’s going to be exciting football,’’ Tomlin promised. “Control of the AFC North is at stake.”
Yes it is, and the two teams arrived at this point through losing streaks, the Steelers’ having dropped their past two. An off week for them prompted Tomlin to declare, “It was a great week for us.”
It beat their previous two weeks, that’s for sure.
There might be nothing wrong with the Steelers or the Ravens that getting injured players back won’t cure. Baltimore has been hit with an inordinate number of injuries for the second consecutive season. Quarterback Joe Flacco is not on that list again after missing the first games of his nine-year career when he played in just 10 last season, but he is off to one of his worst starts.
Through seven games, he has thrown five touchdown passes and six interceptions. His passer rating of 75.4 would be the second lowest of his career if it stays that low.
Nevertheless, Tomlin declared that for the Baltimore offense, “It’s about Joe Flacco and pressuring and containing him and dealing with the things he does well. Quite frankly, he does just about everything well. His deep ball is still very exceptional.”
The problem for the Steelers comes in that need for pressure. Through seven games, they have generated little on quarterbacks. Their eight sacks are at the bottom of the NFL. Not coincidentally, their three interceptions are tied for next-to-last in the league.
“It is a concern,’’ Tomlin said. “Usually, it’s interrelated to the pressure or the lack of pressure. But, it’s also related to opportunities or opportunities missed, and we’ve missed some opportunities. We’ve had some significant plays and balls in our hands that should’ve been interceptions that haven’t been. And we’ve got to make those plays. Oftentimes, they change the climate in football games.”
What might help the Steelers pass rush Sunday is that Baltimore not only starts two rookies on the left side of their offensive line, but that injuries have also crippled them. As a result, Flacco has been sacked 15 times and the Ravens’ run game is not up to snuff, which should come as a relief to a beleaguered Steelers run defense.
Their secondary will have a familiar receiver to cover. Mike Wallace signed this year with the Ravens. He is second on the team with 35 receptions and leads them with 490 yards, a 14-yard average that is down from his years with the Steelers.
“You see him doing normal Mike Wallace things, in terms of stretching and getting behind the defense,” Tomlin said, “but you are also seeing him doing some new things, some things that I haven’t seen a lot of from Mike. Some route-running things. Some underneath coverage attacking things. He is quickly developing a nice rapport with Joe.”
But then, when Tomlin was asked what Wallace has gotten better at, he clarified that “I’m not acknowledging he’s gotten better at anything. I’m just acknowledging you’re seeing him do some things that I haven’t seen teams he’s been on ask him to do.”
Tomlin also will ask his players to do something Sunday they haven’t done much of over the past several years — beat the Baltimore Ravens.
Ed Bouchette: ebouchette@post-gazette.com and Twitter @EdBouchette.
First Published: November 2, 2016, 4:38 a.m.
