The Ravens’ defense held up their end of the bargain yesterday in Pittsburgh.  Too bad the offense didn’t show up.  The Ravens sacked Ben Roethlisberger six times yesterday as they were in his face most of the game.  Safety Dawan Landry led the way for the Ravens on D yesterday with 10 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1/2 sack, 1 pass defensed and 1 QB hit.  LB Ray Lewis pitched in with 9 tackles last night.  OLB Terrell Suggs was a beast yesterday as he had 6 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 QB hits and a forced fumble (which was returned by Cory Redding for a TD).  Safety Ed Reed (fumble recovery) and DT Cory Redding (13-yard fumble recovery for a TD) also made huge plays in this game for the Ravens’ D.  The Steelers finished up with 71 yards rushing on 31 carries (2.3 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 32 passes for 192 yards.

The offense was pathetic for the Ravens last night.  Joe Flacco completed 16 of 30 passes for 125 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT yesterday.  Ray Rice carried the ball 12 times for 32 yards (2.7  ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 7 passes for 32 yards (4.6 avg).  Willis McGahee pitched in with 4 carries for 4 yards (1.0 avg) and 2 receptions for 14 yards (7.0 avg) yesterday.  TE Todd Heap led the way in the passing game for the Ravens last night with 3 catches for 43 yards with a TD grab.  WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh is one of the goats for the Ravens in this game as he caught 3 passes for 38 yards, but he dropped a sure first down pass on a 4th and 18 on the Ravens’ last play of the game!  The Ravens finished up with 35 yards rushing on 18 carries (1.9 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 30 passes for 91 yards as they only had the ball for 25:32 in this game.  It has to really hurt the Ravens to have the Steelers knock them out of the playoffs!

These two teams absolutely hate each other.  Forget about the Jets/Patriots game, this is going to be the hardest hitting game of the weekend without a doubt.  The Ravens and Steelers split this season which each team winning by a field goal on the other teams’ homefield.  The Ravens beat the Steelers 17-14 on 10/3 at Heinz Field but the Steelers didn’t have “Little Ben” for that game.  In the second matchup, the Ravens broke “Little Ben’s” nose on the first play of the game but the Steelers prevailed 13-10 on 12/5 in Baltimore.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Ravens have the ball:  The Ravens are not intimidated by the Steelers’ run defense so expect Ray Rice and Willis McGahee to get their fair share of touches in this game.  The key players for the Ravens are going to be OTs Marshal Yanda and Michael Oher as they are going to be responsible for keeping OLBs LaMarr Woodley & James Harrison out of the backfield.  If the OTs give Joe Flacco time to throw the ball, he’s going to make some plays down the field against the vastly overrated Steelers’ secondary.  WRs Anquan Boldin, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Derrick Mason and TE Todd Heap are going to give the Steelers’ D a lot of headaches in this game.

When the Steelers have the ball:  The front seven will be responsible for stopping Rashard Mendenhall and getting to Ben Roethlisberger.  The Ravens should have little problem in dealing with Mendenhall who rushed for 124 combined yards and only 2.8 yards per carry against them this year.  The Steelers OTs have had issues with pass rushers this year so look for the Ravens to turn loose both Terrell Suggs & Jarret Johnson against Flozell Adams and Jonathan Scott.  The Steelers will likely have to settle for shorter passes so the Ravens should get up close and bump the WRs.  The Ravens must give help deep when Mike Wallace is running down the field but Ed Reed should be more than up for that challenge.

PREDICTION:  RAVENS 20, STEELERS 16

25-year old QB Joe Flacco played his best football for the Ravens this year.  He played in 16 games for the Ravens this year and he completed 306 of 489 passes (62.6%) for 3,622 yards with 25 TD passes and 10 INTs (93.6 QB Rating).  It was his third straight year that he improved his QB Rating.  Flacco also carried the ball 43 times for 84 yards (2.0 ypc) with 1 TD run this year.  Flacco has now played in 48 games in his first three years with the Ravens and he has completed 878 of 1,416 (62.0%) for 10,206 yards passing with 60 TD passes and 34 INTs (87.9 QB Rating).  Flacco has also carried the ball 130 times for 320 yards (2.5 ypc) with 3 TD runs so far in his NFL career.  Flacco is a QB on the rise and their is no reason to think he won’t improve next year.  But for now, his task is getting the Ravens back to the Super Bowl.

33-year old Marc Bulger was Flacco’s backup this year and he didn’t get into any games.  Bulger has played in 96 games in his NFL career and he has completed 1,969 of 3,171 passes (62.1%) for 22,814 yards with 122 TD passes and 93 INTs (84.4 QB Rating).  Bulger also has carried the ball 118 times for 300 yards (2.5 ypc) with 8 TD runs in his career.  Bulger is too good of a QB to come back to the Ravens next year and hold a clipboard again.

VERDICT:  Flacco is going to be the Ravens’ starting QB for a long, long time.  Marc Bulger is likely going to leave to try to get on a team where he can compete for a starting job like the Vikings or Cardinals, just to name a couple.  The Ravens will likely be in the market for a veteran QB to back Flacco up next year.

The Ravens looked they were going to be in for a fight in this game as they only led 10-7 at the half.  Then they just took over on both sides of the ball in the second half.  Joe Flacco was very solid as he completed 25 of 34 passes for 265 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 7 times for 26 yards (3.7 ypc) today.  Ray Rice was a solid weapon for the Ravens today with 57 yards rushing on 17 carries (3.4 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 42 yards (8.4 avg) with a TD grab.  Willis McGahee also had a decent game with 44 yards rushing on 10 carries (4.4 ypc) with a TD run.  He also caught 2 passes for 10 yards (5.0 avg) in this game.  TE Todd Heap (10 rec, 108 yards) and WR Anquan Boldin (5 rec, 64 yards, TD) led the way for the Ravens in the passing game today.  The Ravens finished up with 142 yards rushing on 40 carries (3.6 ypc) and they also completed 25 of 34 passes for 248 yards as they had possession of the football for a stunning 41:44!

The defense was incredible for the Ravens in this game as they forced 5 turnovers in this game!  LB Jameel McClain (6 tackles), safety Dawan Landry (5 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) and OLB Terrell Suggs (4 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 4 QB hits) led the way for the Ravens’ D in this game.  CB Chris Carr (fumble recovery), DT Brandon McKinney (fumble recovery), CB Josh Wilson (interception) and safety Haruki Nakamura (interception) also made huge contributions on D for the Ravens today.  The Chiefs finished up with 108 yards rushing on 19 carries (5.7 ypc) and they also completed 9 of 18 passes for 53 yards.  The Ravens earned a trip to Pittsburgh to deal with their old nemesis the Steelers who they have split games with this year.  The Ravens won on Heinz Field earlier this year.

The Baltimore Ravens are supremely confident going into this game on Sunday afternoon.  They have a lot more playoff experience than the Chiefs do and it could play a big role in this game.  The Chiefs are 7-1 at Arrowhead Stadium this year but they are an offensive team with a so-so D which the Ravens expect to exploit both on the ground and through the air.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Ravens have the ball:  The Ravens will likely come out running the ball in this game with Ray Rice & Willis McGahee attacking a Chiefs’ D that is allowing 110.3 yards rushing per game and 4.3 yards per carry so far this year.  The O-Line is going to have to keep Joe Flacco clean in this game to really excel on offense.  The Chiefs are giving up 219.9 yards passing per game so Flacco is likely going to make some plays down the field.  Anquan Boldin, T.J. Houshmandzadek, Derrick Mason and Todd Heap are likely all to see quite a few targets in this game.

When the Chiefs have the ball:  The Ravens are going to key on stopping Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones in this game forcing the Chiefs to throw the ball.  That will be easier said than done as the Chiefs are averaging 164.2 yards rushing per game and 4.7 yards per carry.  The Ravens will likely double Dwayne Bowe and force Matt Cassel to beat them by throwing to some else.  Safety Ed Reed will be ballhawking in this game as he has been outstanding since missing the first few games of he year due to injury.

PREDICTION:  RAVENS 23, CHIEFS 16

The Ravens just gave the Bengals enough rope to hang themselves yesterday….and that they did by turning the ball over five times!  LB Ray Lewis (11 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 2 fumble recoveries), safety Dawan Landry (11 tackles) and CB Lardarius Webb (9 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 QB hit) led the way for the Ravens’ on D in this game.  Safety Ed Reed (2 interceptions) and DT/DE Haloti Ngata (fumble recovery) also made huge game altering plays in the this game for the Ravens’ D.  The Bengals finished up with 90 yards rushing on 31 carries (2.9 ypc) and they also completed 32 of 45 passes for 305 yards.

Joe Flacco ran a very conservative offense for the Ravens yesterday as he completed 14 of 19 passes for 125 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT.  Ray Rice led the way on the ground with 77 yards rushing on 20 carries (3.9 ypc) with a TD run.  TE Todd Heap (3 rec, 53 yards) and WR Derrick Mason (3 rec, 34 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Ravens this year.  The Ravens finished up with 98 yards rushing on 27 carries (3.6 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 19  passes for 101 yards.  The Ravens finished the 2010 season with a 12-4 record which had them tied for first place in the AFC North.  They lost the tiebreaker with the Steelers and will be heading to Arrowhead Stadium this weekend to deal with the Chiefs.