With the Ravens aiming to improve to 9-4 in their first AFC North road game of the season against rival Pittsburgh on Sunday afternoon, I’ve offered a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less:
1. It’s not lost on the Ravens that they’ve lost four straight to Pittsburgh, the longest drought against their biggest rival since dropping five in a row from 2001-2003. Marlon Humphrey said, “Hopefully, that’s motivating everybody. This is a team that it feels really good to win at their place.”
2. Tyler Huntley is a good backup who always gives you a chance to win, but he averaged just 5.8 yards per pass attempt against Denver, matching his average from last season. Regardless of who’s at quarterback, this Ravens offense must find ways to push the ball downfield more.
3. Ronnie Stanley is practicing for a second straight week and seems like a decent bet to return. Though this offense was playing at its best before Stanley made his season debut in Week 5, it’s interesting to note the Ravens are 5-1 when he plays and 3-3 when he doesn’t.
4. According to Sharp Football, the Ravens scored a touchdown on just 17.1% of their drives without Lamar Jackson on the field in 2021, which would have ranked 28th in the league over a full season. The offensive line is better now, but the wide receivers certainly aren’t.
5. Justin Tucker is one point and three field goals shy of tying Matt Stover’s career franchise records. Considering Tucker has gone 24-for-25 on field goals and hit two game-winners at the place formerly known as Heinz Field, it’d be fitting for him to eclipse both marks Sunday.
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6. Kenny Pickett is playing better and taking care of the football in recent weeks, but the Pittsburgh running game is averaging 157.8 yards per game and 4.8 yards per carry over the last five games. Meanwhile, the Ravens have allowed 2.7 yards per carry dating back to Week 8.
7. Though the individual impact of T.J. Watt hasn’t shown up on the stat sheet, Pittsburgh ranks seventh in defensive efficiency since his Week 10 return, per Football Outsiders. It helps that fellow edge rusher Alex Highsmith has continued a breakout campaign with 10 sacks.
8. Baltimore has averaged 4.08 yards per carry since the bye and could really use a spark from a healthy J.K. Dobbins. Greg Roman said, “I really think that time off and what he was able to take care of is going to make a big impact on his effectiveness.”
9. How important is a fast start? Pittsburgh is 5-0 when scoring first and 0-7 in games when the opponent scores first, which Sharp Football says is the only remaining team in the NFL with a completely correlated split. The Ravens have failed to score first only twice all season.
10. It could be a long day for both team’s wide receivers, but the Ravens rank 22nd in Football Outsiders’ coverage efficiency against tight ends and Pat Freiermuth leads the Steelers in receiving yards. Pittsburgh is 26th in coverage efficiency against running backs, which could help Huntley against the pass rush.
11. Per the Ravens, Sunday marks the 32nd overall meeting between John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin, which moves them into sole possession of second place in the head-to-head coaching matchups list. That’s remarkable in the modern era as they trail only Curly Lambeau and George Halas, whose teams met 49 times.
12. When was the last time a Ravens-Steelers game played in Pittsburgh didn’t feature at least one of Ben Roethlisberger, Joe Flacco, or Jackson? You have to go back to the 2003 season opener when Tommy Maddox faced off against Baltimore rookie Kyle Boller. Pickett and Huntley were both 5.
