PITTSBURGH — One of the best rivalries in the NFL is renewed Saturday night as the Ravens meet the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Wild Card round.
After much discussion about the weather being a major factor in these teams’ first postseason meeting since the 2010 season, heavy rain subsided a few hours prior to kickoff and the updated Weather.com forecast calls for only a small chance of precipitation throughout the night with temperatures in the mid-40s and winds up to 12 miles per hour. The improved conditions likely aren’t good news for the Ravens as they had hoped heavy rain would hinder a Pittsburgh passing attack that ranked second in the NFL during the regular season.
The condition of the playing surface itself will remain a question, however, as the natural grass at Heinz Field typically doesn’t hold up late in the season. Tarps were covering the length of the field until they were removed a little less than three hours before kickoff.
Of course, the Steelers will be without Pro Bowl running back Le’Veon Bell, who was officially ruled out Friday with a hyperextended knee suffered against Cincinnati in Week 17. Not only will Pittsburgh be without the league’s second-leading rusher, but Bell’s ability as a receiver and in pass protection will be missed against a relentless Baltimore pass rush.
On the flip side, the Ravens are hurting on the offensive line with Eugene Monroe (ankle) out and starting right tackle Rick Wagner (foot) already on injured reserve. Rookie free agent James Hurst will face the difficult task of handling the left tackle position and trying to slow veteran rush specialist James Harrison. Fellow rookie John Urschel will start at right guard with four-time Pro Bowl selection Marshal Yanda shifting to right tackle.
There were no real surprises on the inactives list for Baltimore as defensive end Chris Canty (ankle/thigh) will start after missing the regular-season finale while rookie wide receiver Michael Campanaro is active for the second straight week. Second-year linebacker Arthur Brown was placed on injured reserve Friday with a hamstring injury.
Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor (shoulder/forearm) is inactive despite being listed as probable and participating fully in practices all week, but Pittsburgh safety Troy Polamalu (knee) is active after missing the final two games of the regular season.
The return of five-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Haloti Ngata will provide a major boost to the league’s fourth-ranked run defense as the Steelers figure to use a committee approach of rookies Josh Harris and Dri Archer as well as newly-signed veteran Ben Tate. Rookie defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan was ruled out on Friday after suffering a foot injury in the regular-season finale.
Head coach John Harbaugh and the Ravens will have some extra support at Heinz Field as his younger brother Jim will be in attendance after accepting the head job at the University of Michigan earlier this week.
The Ravens will be playing Pittsburgh for the fourth time in their playoff history as they have dropped all three of the previous postseason games played at Heinz Field. Baltimore is 17-21 against the Steelers in the all-time regular-season history and owns a 7-12 regular-season record in Pittsburgh. In the Harbaugh era, 11 of the 15 games — including the postseason — played between these teams have been decided by one score.
The referee for Sunday night’s wild-card game will be Clete Blakeman.
The Ravens will be wearing white jerseys with black pants for Saturday night’s game while Pittsburgh dons its black tops with yellow pants.
Below are the inactives for Saturday night:
BALTIMORE
OT Eugene Monroe
DT Timmy Jernigan
TE Phillip Supernaw
DT Casey Walker
DT Terrence Cody
DE Steven Means
CB Chris Greenwood
PITTSBURGH
QB Landry Jones
RB Le’Veon Bell
WR Lance Moore
OL Chris Hubbard
TE Michael Palmer
DE Clifton Geathers
CB Ike Taylor
