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