NFL Preview: Baltimore Ravens vs Pittsburgh Steelers
Written By David Hess (Follow me on Twitter @DavidHess311)
When: 8:30 PM ET, Thursday, October 1, 2015
Where: Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pa
Televised: CBS/ NFL Network
Odds: The game started out as a pick, but money has come in on the Ravens and they are now 2.5 point favorites in the game. The OU line started at 46.5 and has been bet down to 43.5.
The Baltimore Ravens are still looking for their first win of the year as they have started out both 0-3 SU and ATS. The Ravens started out with a 19-13 loss at Denver and then were shocked in game 2 with a 37-33 loss at Oakland. Last week they lost 28-24 at home to the Bengals in a game that was very wild and saw 31 points scored in the last quarter of the game. The Ravens did take a 24-21 lead with 3;56 left in the game, but a 7 yards TD pass from Dalton to A.J. Green with 2:10 left I the game turnout to be the deciding score. The Ravens defense played well in their opener, but in their last two games the secondary has been shredded for 372 yards and 351 yards passing. That is not good, but hey will be catching a break here as they will not be facing Big Ben, but rather Michael Vick. The Ravens offense has picked it up of late as hey have put up 57 points in their last 2 games and they threw for 384 and 362 yards in the two games. Pittsburgh will have it’s hands full with this offense.
The Pittsburgh Steelers now have a dilemma as they will be without Big Ben for a few weeks. The Steelers have started at 2-1 on the year with their lone loss coming at New England on opening night. They then blasted San Francisco 43-18 in week 2 and then tragedy struck in the St Louis game when Big Ben got injured. The Pittsburgh offense really sputtered with Vick at QB as they scored just 12 points and put up just 259 yards of total offense. Leveon Bell did come back for that game, but was able to rush for just 62 yards. The Steelers have missed him so far as they are 22nd in the league in rushing, putting up just 93.3 ypg on the ground. Their passing offense so far ranks 3rd in the league, putting up 298.7 ypg so far. With Vick now at QB you can expect the Running game to pick up while the Passing game should diminish some.
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Free Pro Football Pick
[467] Pittsburgh +2.5 over Baltimore
Pittsburgh feels they will be fine with Vick at QB and i agree. Well at least in this first game. Michael didn’t do a whole lot last week vs the Rams, but I can see him having a better game in this one vs a porous Ravens secondary that has been torched the last 2 weeks. Getting torched by Andy Dalton is no big reason for concern, but getting torched by Carr and the Raiders is another matter altogether. I feel that Vick and this solid group of WR’s can do some damage in this game. It also helps that Bell now has a game under his belt and getting him going will just open up throwing lanes for Vick. The Steelers rate the better defense here, they are at home in primetime and Vick is getting another chance to shine. It all should add up to Pittsburgh winning this game outright.
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