The Pittsburgh Steelers hit the road tonight to take on the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday Night Football. The game is scheduled for an 8:25 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on CBS and the NFL Network. Currently the odds for the game have the Ravens favored at home in this one.
The Ray Rice era in Baltimore has come to an end. As the Ravens try to move on from having him on the squad and dealing with the negativity, they welcome in the rival Pittsburgh Steelers tonight. This AFC North battle is already an important matchup this early in the season.
Pittsburgh picked up a win over the Cleveland Browns in their opening game of the season, building a big lead and then holding on in the second half. Baltimore, on the other hand, lost to the Cincinnati Bengals in their opening week matchup. Another loss here for the Ravens would give them a pair of defeats to AFC North teams, something they don't want to happen.
Joe Flacco threw the football 62 times in the loss to the Bengals last week. Obviously without Rice on the team anymore the Ravens aren't going to have a sustained running attack every week until they can finalize Bernard Pierce or whoever they want at that position. Losing Rice is going to hurt the Ravens, as everybody knows — catching the football out of the backfield and being a bowling ball of a tailback is tough to replace. If Flacco continues to throw the ball 60 times per game the Ravens are more than likely looking forward to a tough season. Baltimore has to get back to the run game.
Nine of the last 10 meetings between these teams have been decided by a field goal. No surprise that the line on this one is right around three points in this one.
Ben Roethlisberger threw the ball 34 times in the Steelers' opening season win — completing 23 passes for 365 yards. Le'Veon Bell finished with 197 total yards in that game as well, averaging more than seven yards per touch in the win. Pittsburgh will have no problem lining up and running the ball in this one.
With two rivals going at it and Baltimore needing a win, this is going to be a good one. As close as the games have been over the last handful of years, expect nothing less in this one. The Ravens absolutely need to get it done tonight. If they fall two games behind in the division it's going to be tough for them to get back into it. The Ravens will win a close one here at home.
Free Pick: Baltimore 20, Pittsburgh 17
NFL Free Picks: Pittsburgh Steelers vs Baltimore Ravens Betting
What pro football bettors need to know about betting Pittsburgh Steelers vs Baltimore Ravens on Thursday (9/11/14) - a free pick from Pregame.com's Teddy Covers with added insight from Dave Malinsky.
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