For those of you that love defense this will be the game for you.  The Ravens come into this game with the best defense in the NFL (161.5 yards per game) and the Steelers are #2 (234.0 yards per contest).  With that in mind this game will likely come down to which team makes the least mistakes.  The Ravens will try to run the football in this game against a Steelers’ defense that is only allowing 64.3 yards rushing per game and 2.8 yards per carry.  The Ravens’ offensive line has been outstanding this season paving the way for 190.0 yards rushing per game and rookie QB Joe Flacco has only been sacked one time this season.  The O-Line of the Ravens will be put to the test against a Steelers’ defense that has 10 sacks this season.

The Steelers enter this game without RB Willie Parker (263 yards rushing) and with a banged up Ben Roethlisberger.  Rookie RB Rashard Mendenhall will have to play well tomorrow night or the Steelers will be in trouble because Steelers’ QBs have already been sacked 13 times this season already.  You can bet the Ravens who have 7 sacks this season will be bringing the house in obvious passing situations.

PREDICTION:  PITTSBURGH STEELERS 9, BALTIMORE RAVENS 7

The Ravens have lost starting strong safety Dawan Landry for the next couple of weeks as he sustained a spinal chord concussion in last week’s game against the Cleveland Browns.  Landry was the Ravens’ leading tackler so far this season with 11 and the defense will miss him especially against the run.  Jim Leonhard will start in Landry’s spot for the Ravens.  He has 2 tackles, a sack and he has defended a pass this season for the Ravens.  Leonhard will do a decent job for the Ravens defense.  It will be interesting to see if they let him continue to return kicks now that he’s starting on defense.  He has returned 4 kickoffs for 92 yards (23.0 avg) and 1 punt for 21 yards so far this season.

Starting CB Samari Rolle will miss the Baltimore Ravens next football game on Monday Night against the Steelers.  He suffered a stinger (shoulder/neck injury) against the Browns last weekend.  He has 3 tackles, has defensed 2 passes and he has an interception this season.  Fabian Washington will replace him in the starting lineup and he hasn’t done anything for the Ravens yet this season.  But, he is a veteran player that has the speed to matchup with Steelers’ WRs.

The Baltimore Ravens outscored the Browns 21-0 in the third quarter and made it stand up to earn another win.  QB Joe Flacco didn’t play too well as he completed 13 of 19 passes for 129 yards with 2 interceptions.  The Ravens decided to keep the ball on the ground after Flacco’s rough first half.  Le’Ron McClain led the way for the Ravens’ running attack with 66 yards on 17 carries (3.9 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  Willis McGahee also had a solid game with 64 yards rushing on 15 carries (4.3 ypc) with a TD run.  Derrick Mason led the Ravens in receiving with 42 yards on 4 catches (10.5 avg).  The Ravens finished up with 151 yards rushing on 44 carries (3.4 ypc) and they also completed 13 of 19 passes for 122 yards.  The Ravens were ballhogs in this game as they possessed the football for 37:48 of this game.

The defense was outstanding for the Ravens last Sunday.  DE Terrell Suggs led the way for the defense with 3 tackles and 2 sacks.  Safety Ed Reed only had 2 tackles but he also intercepted a pass that he returned 32 yards for a TD.  CBs Chris McAllister and Samari Rolle each pitched in with a interception apiece.  The Browns finished up with 73 yards rushing on 15 carries (4.9 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 37 passes for 96 yards.  The Ravens now sit atop the AFC North with a 2-0 record heading into Monday Night’s Showdown with the 2nd place Steelers.

The games between these teams have a lot of meaning to the fans of Cleveland who are still bitter about Baltimore stealing their team.  The Browns made the fans happy sweeping the Ravens last season by a combined score of 60-43.  For the Browns to beat the Ravens again they need WR Braylon Edwards and TE Kellen Winslow to have huge games.  That will be easier said than done as the Ravens had little trouble shutting down Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the season opener.  The Browns must pass the ball early meaning that Derek Anderson must protect the football against a very aggressive defense.  If Anderson is effective that will open up some running lanes for Jamal Lewis who is also off to a slow start this season.

The Ravens will keep the ball on the ground with Willis McGahee, Le’Ron McClain and rookie Ray Rice against a Browns’ defense that is allowing 142.0 yards rushing per game and 4.6 ypc.  The Browns’ defense has also been pretty awful against the pass (242.0 yards per game) but the Ravens’ won’t likely take the training wheels off of rookie QB Joe Flacco in this game. 

PREDICTION:  CLEVELAND BROWNS 17, BALTIMORE RAVENS 13

The game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans has been postponed due to the damage caused by Hurricane Ike.  It will be replayed on November 9th in Houston.  The Texans and Ravens both had officially had their byes moved up to this week and that’s too early but the Texans refused to play the game anywhere but Houston.

The Ravens pulled a shocker in the home opener upending the Bengals last Sunday.  Rookie Joe Flacco had a solid NFL debut as he completed 15 of 29 passes for 129 yards and he also carried the ball 4 times for 37 yards (9.3 ypc) with a 38-yard TD run.  Fullback LeRon McClain had a huge game for the Ravens as he carried the ball 19 times for 86 yards (4.5 ypc) and he also added 2 catches for 24 yards.  Rookie Ray Rice carried the ball 22 times for 64 yards (2.9 ypc) and he caught 3 passes for 19 yards (6.3 avg).  But, not all was good for Rice in his NFL debut as he lost a fumble that Bengals’ CB Jonathan Joseph returned 65-yards for a TD.  WR Mark Clayton only caught 3 passes for 21 yards (7.0 avg) but he also ran the ball on a double reverse 42-yards for a TD.  The Ravens had possession of the football for an amazing 36:15 in this football game and that helped keep the Ravens’ Defense fresh.

The Ravens’ Defense was flying to the football in this game as they suffocated the Bengals’ offense last Sunday.  Linebacker Jarrett Johnson led the way for the Ravens’ D with 6 tackles and a sack.  CB Chris McAllister was the best defender on this day for the Ravens as he made 4 tackles, recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass.  The Bengals finished up with 229 yards rushing on 46 carries (5.0 ypc) and they also completed 10 of 25 passes for 89 yards.  The Ravens’ Defense will likely have to carry the team this season and they looked good against the Bengals.

The Ravens have signed 36-year old QB Todd Bouman.  Bouman played well in the preseason for the Jaguars this year completing 20 of 33 passes (60.6%) for 275 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 interceptions (107.5 QB Rating).  But, Bouman doesn’t have a lot of game experience on Sundays.  He has played in 42 games (6 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 129 of 230 passes (56.1%) for 1,683 yards with 11 TD passes and 11 interceptions (75.3 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 21 times for 86 yards (4.1 ypc) in his career.

The Bengals are only a 1.5 point favorite in the season opener but they feel very confident they will prevail.  Carson Palmer will be looking to attack a Ravens’ secondary that’s starting to look beat up already physically.  Chad Ocho Cinco and T.J. Houshmandzadeh could both have good games unless CBs Samari Rolle and Chris McAllister bring their A-games.  The Bengals must keep DEs Terrell Suggs and Trevor Pryce out of Palmer’s face if he’s going to attack the Ravens down the football field.  The secret weapon for the Bengals on offense in this football game will be TE Ben Utecht as Ed Reed is banged up and Dawan Landry is a little green yet.  The Bengals know that running the football will be hard against the Ravens due to DT Haloti Ngata and linebackers Ray Lewis and Bart Scott.  Still, Chris Perry and Kenny Watson will get the football put in their hands often to see if the Bengals’ brass made a good move in letting Rudi Johnson walk.

With rookie QB Joe Flacco making his NFL debut the Ravens will likely try to lean on the running game.  The problem with that is Willis McGahee is banged up right now.  That could mean that two rookies (RB Ray Rice and QB Joe Flacco) will have the weight of the offense on their shoulders and that might be too much to ask of them in their NFL debuts.  DT Domata Peko and MLB Dhani Jones will likely get challenged by the Ravens in the running game but the Ravens better keep their eyes on OLBs Keith Rivers and Darryl Blackstock who are up and coming players.  Strong safety Dexter Jackson will also help out against the run as he likes to bring the pain.  Jackson will also have his hands full with TE Todd Heap who might make Flacco look good as he usually catches anything he can get a finger on.  The Ravens will likely keep the passing game short with Heap and WRs Derrick Mason and Mark Clayton.  This will put pressure on talented young CBs Leon Hall and Jonathan Joseph. 

PREDICTION:  CINCINNATI BENGALS 24, BALTIMORE RAVENS 10

I don’t see any scenario where I think the Ravens will win more than seven games.  I would bet the ranch on the under as rookie QB Joe Flacco is being thrown into the fire without much support on offense.  The Ravens’ once great defense is starting to get long in tooth and could start falling apart at any time now.  Next April the Ravens will be drafting very, very high!