BALTIMORE — As the Pittsburgh Steelers hope to punch their ticket to the playoffs on Sunday, the Ravens will feature their fourth starting quarterback in the last six weeks.
After being signed less than two weeks ago, fifth-year quarterback Ryan Mallett will start as the Ravens continue to evaluate him for 2016. General manager Ozzie Newsome signed Mallett through next season with visions of him serving as the backup behind a healthy Joe Flacco.
He will be backed up by Matt Schaub after Jimmy Clausen started each of the last two weeks for the Ravens and was deactivated for Sunday’s game. Schaub started the first two games after Flacco’s season-ending knee injury on Nov. 22, but the veteran had been sidelined with a chest injury the last two weeks.
The only other surprise among the Baltimore inactives was cornerback Jumal Rolle, who filled in as the No. 3 cornerback in the nickel package last week when Jimmy Smith exited with a hamstring injury. Smith is active after being listed as probable on the final injury report this week.
Linebacker Albert McClellan (ankle) will miss his second straight game after being listed as doubtful on the final injury report and missing practice all week. Newly-signed linebacker Chris Carter will make his Ravens debut and is expected to play special teams.
Former Ravens returner and wide receiver Jacoby Jones is inactive for Pittsburgh for the third straight game after being benched for fumbling concerns earlier this month. Jones visited with former teammates on the field a couple hours before kickoff.
These teams are meeting for the 40th time in the regular season with the Steelers leading 28-18 but holding a 9-10 record in Baltimore. However, the Ravens are looking for just the third season sweep of Pittsburgh in franchise history after previously doing it in 2006 and 2011.
John Harbaugh’s team is also trying to avoid its third straight loss at home. The Ravens have lost three straight home games only two other times — 1999 and 2007 — in their 20-year history. Baltimore lost four straight home contests in the midst of a nine-game losing streak in 2007, which was Brian Billick’s final season.
The forecast in Baltimore calls for mostly cloudy skies and temperatures reaching 70 degrees with a small chance for precipitation and winds up to 13 miles per hour, according to Weather.com.
Referee Craig Wrolstad and his crew will officiate Sunday’s game.
The Ravens are wearing black jerseys with white pants while Pittsburgh dons its white tops with yellow pants.
Here are Sunday’s inactives:
BALTIMORE
QB Jimmy Clausen
WR Marlon Brown
RB Terrence Magee
CB Jumal Rolle
CB Jermaine Whitehead
LB Albert McClellan
DE Kapron Lewis-Moore
PITTSBURGH
QB Mike Vick
OT Byron Stingily
DE L.T. Walton
RB Jordan Todman
WR Sammie Coates
LB Anthony Chickillo
WR Jacoby Jones
Luke Jones
Luke Jones is the Ravens and Orioles beat reporter for WNST BaltimorePositive.com and is a PFWA member. His mind is consumed with useless sports knowledge, pro wrestling promos, and movie quotes, but he often forgets where he put his phone. Luke's favorite sports memories include being one of the thousands of kids who waited for Cal Ripken's autograph after Orioles games in the summer of 1995, attending the Super Bowl XXXV victory parade with his dad in the pouring rain, and watching the Terps advance to the Final Four at the Carrier Dome in 2002. Follow him on social media @BaltimoreLuke or email him at Luke@wnst.net.
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