The Baltimore Ravens (6-5) were able to squeeze out an overtime win against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but it was much closer than the Ravens wanted.  The Steelers were without Ben Roethlisberger and their number two quarterback Charlie Batch, so they started the very inexperience Dennis Dixon.  Dixon had only thrown one pass in his career going into this game, but Dixon preformed pretty well on the big stage.  The Ravens defense seemed almost surprise that Dixon was so effective, but in the end they got the better of the young quarterback and intercepted him in overtime to set up their game winning field goal.  The Ravens can’t be very happy with how successful a 3rd string quarterback was against them, as he had 145 yards passing with a touchdown and 27 yards rushing with a touchdown.  They were not able to pressure him enough, getting zero sacks and only 2 QB hits.

The Ravens offense played well, but they put the ball on the turf too often.  They fumbled the ball 3 times, and lost 2 of them.  Joe Flacco lost one and Mark Clayton the other.  Flacco had a solid game though, going 23/35 for 289 yards and a touchdown.  The Ravens ran the ball great, with Ray Rice leading the way.  Rice rushed for 88 yards on 19 carries, while Le’Ron McClain and Willis McGahee combined for 46 yards and a touchdown on 9 carries.  Billy Cundiff nailed 29-yard field goal in overtime, with Paul Kruger the one getting the interception that led to the game-winner.  Ravens fans would have liked to see the defense do a better job against a third-stringer, but they got it done when it mattered most.

The Baltimore Ravens (5-5) are hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-4) Sunday and they are still waiting to hear whether or not Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is going to play.  Roethlisberger has a pretty bad concussion last week, but was expected to play this week until reports surfaced Friday that their is a good chance that he will sit out for precautionary measures.  This would be great news for the Ravens and their defense, because that would mean that the inexperienced Dennis Dixon would start.  If Dixon does start, it will really limit the Steelers’ offense and the Ravens defense will be able to pressure the young quarterback into a lot of mistakes.  The Steelers will probably limit Dixon and that means the Ravens can key in on Rashard Mendenhall and Willie Parker.  They are holding opponents to 92 rushing yards per game, and if Dixon starts they should be able to keep the Steelers under that.

On offense, Joe Flacco needs to step it up for the Ravens.  The Ravens have lost two of their last three, and Flacco is one of the main reasons why.  He has not thrown a touchdown pass in those three games and has three interceptions.  The Steelers’ run-defense is one of the best in the league (69 rushing yards per game), so the Ravens really need Flacco to get the offense going.  If Roethlisberger starts, the Ravens may be in trouble.  If Dixon starts, it should be a definite win.  Either way, I’m going to go with the the Ravens in a close win.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Baltimore Ravens 20, Pittsburgh Steelers 13

Last season 24-year old fullback Le’Ron McClain got a lot of action running the football but he’s back to his old blocking duties this year with Ray Rice and Willis McGahee getting almost all of the carries.  Last year, McClain played in all 16 games for the Ravens and he carried the ball 232 times for 902 yards (3.9 ypc) with 10 TD runs.  He also added 19 catches for 123 yards (6.5 avg) with a TD grab.  This season though has been different for McClain and it probably bothers him some.  He has played in 10 games for the Ravens this season and he has carried the ball 26 times for 92 yards (3.5 ypc) with 1 TD run and he has caught 18 passes for 124 yards (6.9 avg).  Only a injury to Rice or McGahee would likely lead to McClain getting the ball more this year.

The Ravens have lost back up RB Matt Lawrence for the season due to a severe knee injury.  The 24-year old Lawrence played in 8 games for the Ravens this season and he carried the ball 4 times for 0 yards (0.0 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 4 yards.  Where the Ravens will likely miss Lawrence is on special teams as he had 8 tackles this year.  The Ravens have signed 25-year old fullback Charles Ali to replace Lawrence.  Ali played in 15 games for the Browns last season and he caught 4 passes for 13 yards (3.3 ypc).  Ali also made 2 tackles last season.

The Ravens have lost starting CB Fabian Washington for the season due to a torn ACL.  He played in 10 games for the Ravens this season and he had 36 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss and he defensed 6 passes.  The Ravens will start rookie CB Lardarius Webb in Washington’s place and the defense shouldn’t miss a beat.  Webb has played in 10 games for the Ravens so far this season and he has 17 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 pass defensed.  He has also really excelled on kickoff returns as he has 21 of them for 589 yards (28.0 avg) with 1 TD return.