There are a few things that the Steelers nation should be concerned about regarding the upcoming Pittsburgh Steelers vs Baltimore Ravens AFC North championship game, scheduled to be played on Christmas day at Heinz Field. Even though the Steelers “came from behind” to defeat the Cincy “Bungles” 24-20, the game should not have even been that close. On a cold, windy and blustery day, the Steelers had to roll the dice and offer up a multitude of prayers to the “field goal” Gods and rely on the steady foot of placekicker Chris Boswell to come through in a “tundra-like” environment in order to make next Sundays game against the Ravens, a do or die scenario for the “dirty birds.”
Boswell seemed to been of the mindset that he was kicking on an early autumn Sunday afternoon with temperatures in the mid-70s with clear skies. Had Boswell not been successful, there is a distinct possibility that the Steelers would have been couch bound come playoff time.
Why?
Well the quarterback situation first and foremost. Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger is currently ranked #14 in the NFL. Roethlisberger has 304 pass completions out of 476 attempts, a 63.9 completion rate; he has passed for 3,540 yards, 7.44 yards per completion. On the other hand, Ravens QB Joe Flacco is ranked #5 in the league with 374 completions out of 579 attempts, a 64.6 completion rate for 3,788 yards with 6.54 per yards completion. When the QB play is that close, the Steelers are not going to be able to defeat the Ravens if Pittsburgh makes seven trips near or into the red zone and only scores a single touchdown. It simply won’t happen. However, Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger didn’t appear to be overly concerned with the underperformance of Steelers offense against the “retarded” and talented Bengals defense. Roethlisberger said he got; “a lot of satisfaction, an AFC North road win against a good football team. A tale of two half’s. Couldn’t do everything that we wanted to on offense.” Correction, Pittsburgh moved the ball but penalties, misfires and just plain ineptness seemed to be the albatross around the neck of the Steelers offense during the first half of the game.
However when it comes to Sundays matchup, the pass defense of the Ravens is ranked #10 and the pass defense of the Steelers is five rungs lower on the ladder at #15. When it comes to defending the run, Baltimore is ranked #2 and the Steelers are ranked #5. Those aforementioned statistics may void any “home field advantage” that the Steelers may theoretically have. This game is almost dead even. Even if the Steelers make to the red zone three or more times, Pittsburgh had more often than not be lining up to kick the extra points as opposed to 3 pointers. And another thing, I know that Pittsburgh running back LeVeon Bell has a patient wait until the hole opens running style, a slashing and dashing methodical approach, but he might be a bit better suited when it comes to this particular opponent just to see the hole, “hit it and quit it” as the late James Brown might say, because the holes are going to close a bit sooner when it comes to running against the bloodthirsty, headhunting, run stopping Ravens front seven. As far as the passing game goes five-seven step drops by Ben Roethlisberger coupled with getting rid of the ball in no more than 1.5-2.0 seconds, will almost function as a “alternate” running game, eating up the clock and certainly aiding Pittsburgh’s offense as far as time of possession goes, especially considering possible yards after the catch, while in the process keeping the chains moving. With the speed of the Ravens front seven and Baltimore’s more than capable secondary the Steelers should leave all of the trickery, experiments and chicanery at home in the laboratory because not only every series, every down will count. If Pittsburgh tries to get cute, it won’t be pretty because if the Ravens beat the Steelers and advance to the postseason, Dr. Frankenstein along with his partner-in-crime one of the Ravens secret aliases, Edgar Allan Poe might be sitting in a cheap sports bar, right outside of the Cheasepeake Bay area, watching the playoffs with the Steelers and the Steeler nation.
Aubrey Bruce can be reached at: abruce@newpittsburghcourier.com or 412.583.6741
Follow him on Twitter@ultrascribe
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