On paper, there is very little reason for anyone to believe the Pittsburgh Steelers can beat the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. But as we all know, games aren’t played on paper. Pittsburgh has an opportunity to take the lead in the AFC North on Sunday and go into the bye week and try to reset for the final 12 games. We remain cautiously optimistic this week and here’s why.
Mike Tomlin is king of the bounceback win
The Steelers are 11-2 under head coach Mike Tomlin coming off of a loss by 20 or more points. Discouraging they have had that many big losses but a positive for this week’s game.
The Steelers understand Lamar Jackson
Surprisingly, the Steelers have only faced Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson three times but the Steelers are 2-1 against him. The Steelers in particular know how to contain Jackson in the pocket and limit the damage he can do with his feet.
History favors the Steelers
Over the last six matchups, Pittsburgh holds a 5-1 record and every game has been decided by five points or less.
Fueled by negativity
Typically, when the media comes out strong against the Steelers, they use that as fuel to play harder. Playing harder is a must for the Steelers as effort has been lacking. This is hardly a scientific measure but we believe the Steelers will turn all this discontent into effort this week.
