BALTIMORE -- The Steelers are off to their first 6-0 start since 1978, the only other such occasion in franchise history. But there's a certain segment of analysts -- and the fan base, to be perfectly honest -- that won't believe they're truly a Super Bowl contender this season until they beat the Ravens.
Since the start of the 2019 season, the Ravens are 18-3 with reigning MVP Lamar Jackson at quarterback. And though the current Ravens (5-1) trail the Steelers in the AFC North standings, the NFL's last unbeaten team is a four-point underdog for their game Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium.
In fact, the Steelers have been underdogs in each of their past two games despite their hot start. They were 1-point underdogs last week in a 27-24 win at previously unbeaten Tennessee.
This will mark the third consecutive week the Steelers will have faced a team with one or fewer losses. They've passed their previous two tests, beating the Browns and Titans. The game against the Ravens feels more like the midterm final as they return to play their prime AFC North rival.
"It’s AFC North ball. You know we like that. We respect it," Mike Tomlin said this week. "It’s cool to be in what we believe is the game of the week for the third week in a row. We are humbly honored to be in that."
They just hope the Ravens don't humble them. But they're also realistic enough to know that a game being played in the first half of the season isn't the be-all, end-all to the season. It's a lesson that served them well two weeks ago against the Browns, who spoke of the game against the Steelers like it would be the springboard for bigger and better things before losing 38-7, and the Titans in what was a battle of then-unbeaten teams.
The Steelers and Ravens have done this too many times before in the past to put too much pressure on themselves regarding a midseason game. In fact, with the playoffs expanded to seven teams this season, both know that this could be the first in what could be a three-game series this season. And the most meaningful game will be the one contested sometime in January.
Because of that, all of the talk back and forth between the two teams this week has been highly respectful.
"Their defensive line is great," Jackson said of the Steelers. "Their front four, those guys get off the ball and get after the quarterback. A lot of strip-sacks. "T.J. (Watt) and Bud (Dupree), they do a great job against the quarterback and the run game. I really feel our offensive line is going to be ready, and we're just going to go out there and play football."
It's a far cry from the days of Joey Porter challenging the entire Ravens team to a fight following a game at Heinz Field, or the Ravens reportedly putting a bounty out on Hines Ward.
The games for both against the Browns and Bengals are much more contentious, perhaps because both of those teams are trying to get to where the Steelers and Ravens are, contenders nearly every season. The Steelers and Ravens have been the obstacle in the other's way so often, it's just expected.
They'll play each other hard. They'll play each other tough. But for the most part, they'll also play each other cleanly and let the chips fall where they may.
The two teams respect the other so much because, largely, they're mirror images.
"It’s tough. It’s a physical one, it can be nasty at times," Ben Roethlisberger said. "But I’ve always felt — as much as my nose has been broken, we’ve had injuries, a close game — it’s always been football in its truest form in the sense that it’s never been dirty, it’s never been nasty. It’s just been hard-nosed football. This is one you always want your bye week to be after."
That won't be the case for either, though it was supposed to be the case. That was another not-so-subtle shot at Roethlisberger's displeasure with the NFL for moving the Steelers' bye, which was supposed to be this weekend, to Week 4 to accommodate the Titans, who had an outbreak of COVID-19 that week. So that gave the Steelers and Titans a bye in Week 4. This game against the Ravens was supposed to have been played last week, with both the Steelers and Ravens having their bye in Week 8.
Instead, the Ravens got their bye last week, meaning they've had extra time to prepare for this matchup. It also will be the first game at M&T Bank Stadium with fans in the seats -- albeit just over 5,000 -- after Maryland gave approval for that to happen beginning in November.
Without a big crowd, it won't have some of that nasty feel to it, for either team.
The Ravens swept the Steelers, who were without Roethlisberger in both of those games, knocking Mason Rudolph out of the first game on a hit by safety Earl Thomas that was penalized, holding on in overtime to beat Devlin Hodges, 26-23, then hammered Hodges and Steelers 28-10 in the regular season finale in a game that was 16-10 entering the fourth quarter.
"It's a rivalry game, and I like going to play them at Heinz Field more than playing them (here)," said Ravens linebacker Matthew Judon. "I know we have our fan support, but it's different. It's a different feel ... You know you hate it when you walk in there. You know you're disliked. You know your back is against the wall. And then, when you beat them at Heinz Field, it feels that much better."
That's what the Steelers are hoping to do in this case. They had beaten the Ravens in Baltimore in both 2017 and 2018. They won't be intimidated in this game. Neither team ever is.
This will be the 25th meeting between Tomlin and John Harbaugh, the most by two coaches in the NFL in the Super Bowl era. Harbaugh holds a slight edge, 13-11, in the series.
But none of that matters in this game. It's all about positioning for the second half of the season, when the stretch run starts.
"I think in moments like this or in the offseason and things of that nature, you get an opportunity, maybe, to appreciate it," Tomlin said of his rivalry with Harbaugh. "But I think, much like him, in the moment, they're nameless, gray faces on the other sideline. You're so caught up in the strategy or the decisions that need to be made. When you're playing good people, it's paramount that you play well."
THE ESSENTIALS
• Who: Steelers (6-0) vs. Ravens (5-1)
• When: 1:02 p.m.
• Where: M&T Bank Stadium
• Forecast: 67°, 20% chance rain
• TV: KDKA, CBS (national)
• Radio: 102.5 WDVE, ESPN Pittsburgh
• Streaming: Steelers Nation Radio
• Satellite: Sirius XM 387, Internet 826
• Boxscore: NFL Game Center
• Media notes: Steelers | Ravens
THE INJURY REPORT
Steelers: CB Mike Hilton (shoulder, questionable), FB Derek Watt (hamstring, questionable), S Jordan Dangerfield (quad, out), DE Chris Wormley (knee, out), LB Ulysees Gilbert (back, out)
Ravens: RB Mark Ingram (ankle, doubtful), CB Jimmy Smith (Achilles' tendon, questionable), DB Anthony Levine (abdomen, questionable)
THE KEY VARIABLE
Defending Jackson is, well, a chore.
The 2019 NFL MVP has thrown 46 touchdown passes and just eight interceptions in his 21 starts since the start of the 2019 season, as the Ravens have posted an 18-3 record in those games. He also has rushed for 1,552 yards and nine touchdowns in those games, including 1,206 last season, a record for a quarterback.
The one start Jackson missed last season came in the regular season finale against the Steelers. But he did play in their first meeting, and the Steelers forced him into his worst game of the regular season.
Jackson set career highs for sacks (5) and interceptions (3) in the game, as the Steelers held him to 161 passing yards in the overtime game. He did rush for 70 yards on 14 carries, but much of that came early in the game. The Steelers adjusted as the game wore on and held the Ravens, led the NFL in points per game a year ago at 33.2, to 23 points in regulation.
Can they take anything from that game?
"No, we lost," Cam Heyward said flatly to that question this past week.
But the Steelers might have given teams a blueprint on how to handle the multi-talented Jackson. They blitzed him -- as usual -- in that game and Jackson struggled.
Since, teams that have blitzed Jackson and pressed the receivers on the outside have caused him the most trouble. Jackson is completing just 57.4 percent of his passes with a 5.4 yards per attempt average against this blitz this season compared to 65.7 percent and 7.8 yards per attempt when he's not blitzed.
The Steelers blitz 44.3 percent of the time, second most in the NFL behind the Ravens (more on that later). That number is actually down from the first couple of weeks of the season when the Steelers were sending extra pass rushers more than 60 percent of the time. But you can probably expect that number to tick upward given Jackson's issues. The Steelers also made sure they had Watt and Dupree hit Jackson every time he ran the ball or pitched it to someone else.
"The Steelers pass rush, when you're preparing for them, it really starts there when you're throwing the football," said Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman. "They'll blitz. They'll rush five. And they have really good pass rushers, and they have guys who really push the pocket inside. So, we'll have to take that into account certainly every time we pass. But they're very good players, and we've got to be ready for that challenge. There are lot of different ways schematically you can help that out, but the bottom line is we have to execute, understand who we're playing and get ready to roll."
Amazingly enough the blitzes haven't gotten Jackson on the ground. Though he's being sacked at a higher rate this season than last -- he's already been taken down 15 times this season compared to 23 all of last season -- just four of those have come on blitzes.
The Ravens clearly miss the steadying hand of All-Pro guard Marshal Yanda, who retired at the end of the 2019 season. Bradley Bozeman has replaced him at left guard, but the interior of the offensive line is an issue.
And Jackson has been struggling with a knee injury that kept him out of practices earlier this year. But he should be more healthy coming out of the bye week. Because of that, he hasn't been running nearly as much as last season -- something the Steelers would like to see continue. Jackson's running just over eight times per game this season as opposed to the nearly 12 times he ran each game last season.
The Steelers not only boast the NFL's top pass rush with 26 sacks in their first six games, they're also second in rushing defense, allowing 68.8 yards per game. Despite Jackson running less -- and now Mark Ingram injured -- the Ravens still lead the league in rushing at 164.3 yards per game. But that's more than 40 yards less than what they averaged in 2019, when they set an NFL record with 3,296.
If the Steelers can continue to slam the door on the run and get after Jackson, they'll stand a good chance of winning. That's been the formula in their 6-0 start.
"We’ve been very aggressive defensively I think in terms of rushing five sometimes," Steelers defensive coordinator Keith Butler said. "Sometimes we rush four, but a lot of times we pressured the quarterback and trying to tackle the running back on the way trying to press the quarterback. I think that’s probably the biggest thing for us right now. They have to get rid of the ball fast. They don’t have time to go downfield a lot. We try to keep them from doing that. They try to go play action pass and go up on top, then they better fast."
Jackson is fast with his legs, but the third-year quarterback still isn't the quickest processor at the line of scrimmage, as his numbers against the blitz would suggest.
"He's one of those players you have to game plan around," said the Steelers' nose tackle, Tyson Alualu. "He can do it with his passing and his feet. His overall talent, his play speaks for itself. You have to worry so much about him escaping or extending plays, at the same time being able to throw those on-rhythm passes, especially to his tight end. We have to do a great job of eliminating the amount of explosive plays he gets."
THE HISTORY LESSON
In 2001, the Ravens were coming off a Super Bowl season and were considered the best team in football. The Steelers, they had been 9-7 the year before and had just missed the playoffs for the third consecutive season.
But after a season-opening 21-3 loss in Jacksonville, the Steelers rattled off five consecutive wins to take a 5-1 record into their first meeting that season with the defending champions in Baltimore Nov. 4, 2001.
The Ravens were finding life as the hunted a little difficult. They were 4-3 in the early going, having lost to the Bengals, Packers and Browns. Part of the issue was that Elvis Grbac, who had been brought in after letting Super Bowl quarterback Trent Dilfer go, had been in and out of the lineup with injuries. And his backup, veteran Randall Cunningham was struggling.
Grbac would miss this meeting with the Steelers, meaning Cunningham would get the start. Baltimore's defense would need to win this one. But they would face a ferocious Steelers defense, as well.
The rivalry was kicking off.
Having taken nose tackle Casey Hampton in the first round and linebacker Kendrell Bell in the second round of the draft, the Steelers had rebuilt themselves up the middle.
And this game would be all about the defenses -- and special teams.
The Steelers took a 3-0 lead on a 38-yard Kris Brown field goal in the first quarter, but the Ravens made it 7-3 on the first play of the second quarter as Cunningham tossed a 13-yard touchdown pass to Shannon Sharpe.
The Steelers drove to the Baltimore 21 on their ensuing possession, but Brown missed a 41-yard field goal to keep Baltimore's lead at 7-3.
Neither team did anything offensively for the rest of the quarter until the Steelers defense and special teams set them up to retake the lead. Josh Miller pinned the Ravens at their own 9 just after the two-minute warning, and Joey Porter sacked Cunningham back at the 3 to put the Ravens in a bad spot.
Things were made worse when Kyle Richardson shanked a punt out of the end zone just 30 yards, giving the ball to the Steelers at the Baltimore 32. And Kordell Stewart made them pay, tossing a 21-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress with 21 seconds remaining for a 10-7 lead.
That, however, would be the last time the Steelers led, as Brown continued to struggle. The Steelers took the opening possession of the second half from their own 23 to the Baltimore 15 when Brown attempted another field goal, this one from 33 yards out. But he missed that one, as well, keeping Pittsburgh's lead at just 10-7.
Brent Alexander intercepted Cunningham at midfield and returned the ball to the 41, but the Steelers gave it right back as Troy Edwards fumbled after a 10-yard completion and the Ravens recovered.
Baltimore drove to the Pittsburgh 7 and Matt Stover kicked a 25-yard field goal to tie the game at 10-10 on the first play of the fourth quarter.
The two teams traded punts, and the Steelers mounted one last effort to regain the lead midway through fourth quarter, driving to the Baltimore 30 with 4:32 remaining. But Brown missed his third field goal of the game, this one from 48 yards, setting the Ravens up with great field position, as well.
Cunningham found Sharpe for a 26-yard gain on the first play following the Brown miss, and the Ravens picked up one more first down after that to get the ball to the Pittsburgh 22 at the two-minute warning. That's when Brian Billick sent Stover out again, this time for a 39-yard field goal that gave the Ravens a 13-10 lead.
The Steelers had all three timeouts remaining and Edwards set them up nicely to potentially tie or win the game with a 28-yard return out to the 38.
Stewart completed three-straight passes to get the ball to the Baltimore 35 before using his first timeout.
The Steelers ran Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala for a two-yard gain on first down, then Stewart's pass to Fuamatu-Ma'afala on second down lost yardage and forced the Steelers to use their second timeout. But Stewart connected with Bobby Shaw for a 17-yard gain to the Baltimore 17 where he was tackled by Ray Lewis with Stewart then spiking the ball to stop the clock with 22 seconds remaining.
That wasted down would prove critical, as Stewart threw incomplete to Shaw and Hines Ward on back-to-back plays to bring up fourth down, and Bill Cowher sent Brown onto the field again.
This time, he missed from 35 yards and Cunningham took a knee to end the game, giving the Ravens a 13-10 victory in a game in which they had been outplayed.
The Steelers outgained the Ravens, 348-183, holding Baltimore to 41 rushing yards on 26 carries. And Baltimore was just 1-11 on third downs. But four missed field goals and two turnovers were killers for the Steelers.
Stewart had 236 yards passing and a touchdown, while Jerome Bettis had 91 yards on 23 rushing attempts. Ward finished with nine catches for 97 yards.
Porter recorded two of the Steelers' three sacks of Cunningham, who was 14 of 22 for 158 yards passing.
DKPS
Ben Roethlisberger checks out of a play in a 2018 meeting with the Ravens.
THE MAIN MATCHUP
Roethlisberger has long owned the AFC North since coming into the division in 2004. He is 59-18-1 as a starter against the AFC North.
But Roethlisberger is 13-10 in his career against the Ravens with 5,715 passing yards, 37 touchdown passes and 23 interceptions. He has, however, won four of his past five starts against Baltimore.
The Ravens are well aware of their troubles with Roethlisberger.
"He is getting the ball out pretty fast this year, and he's been in this league and seen a lot of defenses," said Judon. "(He's) played against a lot of great edge rushers and competitors, and he's still standing. So, all credit to Ben for what he's done so far, but we're going to get after him and continue to get after him until there are zeros on the clock."
Good luck with that.
The Ravens blitz almost 50 percent of the time because they trust their cornerbacks, Marlon Humphrey, Marcus Peters and Jimmy Smith, to be able to cover longer than the opposing team's offensive line can hold up. They'll even go zero blitz -- with no safeties deep -- 15 percent of the time.
But Roethlisberger is getting rid of the ball in 2.29 seconds this season -- the fastest in the NFL -- and he's been especially deadly against the blitz, completing 74.1 percent of his passes and averaging 9.4 yards per pass attempt with six touchdown passes when opponents send extra defenders at him.
"He has so many perspectives, so many opportunities to have seen it," Steelers offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner said. "There probably isn’t much he can see that is actually new in football that would be new to him. He can be surprised. Sometimes you get unique looks that challenge a protection scheme, but as a general rule, I think, self-preservation to some degree, you know he wants to get the ball out of his hands.
"He doesn’t want to hurt the team by taking sacks, potentially holding the ball a little too long. I just think that experience, he’s got so much of it. Again, you’re not going to fool him. You may beat someone individually and get pressure, but as a general rule, there isn’t pressure that puts him in a panic situation."
The Ravens added former Jaguars' All-Pro defensive lineman Calais Campbell in the offseason via a trade to help with their pass rush. Then, last week, they made a trade with the Vikings to add former Jaguars Pro Bowl linebacker Yannick Ngakoue. Ngakoue will play in his first game with the Ravens against the Steelers.
"(This) is a defense that brings guys from everywhere," Roethlisberger said. "They’ll show that all up (at the line). They will drop. They’ll show all up to the left, make you slide your protection that way, then they will drop. They will bring guys to the right. It’s going to be one of those games where we are going to have to be able to keep everybody in at times. Just because you’re keeping everybody in still doesn’t mean you have all day to throw it. The ball still has to get out of your hand in a timely manner. It’s not an easy thing to do. Sometimes you have to get lucky."
There is some luck involved with the Ravens defense. They lead the NFL in scoring defense at 17.3 points per game despite ranking ninth at 339.8 yards per game. The Steelers are one of seven teams averaging more than 30 points per game this season and have scored 26 or more points in all six of their games for the first time in their history.
Roethlisberger is spreading the ball around, as well. The Steelers have six players with 15 or more receptions. By comparison, the Ravens have two. That's helped the Steelers convert 51.1 percent of their third downs this season, third best in the NFL.
"I think it starts with Ben and the offensive line, then the playmakers he gets the ball to," said Martindale. "He's doing a nice job of spreading the ball around. So, it's definitely going to be a challenge to get off the field on third down."
THE TEN DATA POINTS
• The Ravens have led for 72.5 percent of their offensive snaps this season, the most in the NFL. The Steelers are fourth at 57.7 percent.
• Roethlisberger is averaging 8.8 yards per pass attempt on third downs, with 54 percent of his passes on third downs converting those plays into first downs. His conversion rate is second in the league. Conversely, he's averaging 5.8 yards per pass attempt on first and second down.
• In five career games against the Ravens, JuJu Smith-Schuster has 23 receptions for 266 yards and two touchdowns.
• The Ravens have allowed just three touchdown catches by opposing wide receivers this season.
• Baltimore tight end Mark Andrews is averaging 5.5 targets per game. The Steelers' Eric Ebron averages 5.3.
• The Steelers have scored 26 or more points in six consecutive games, just the second time in franchise history they have had such a streak. They also had a similar streak in 2015, going 5-1 in those games. The Steelers and Seahawks are the only teams in the league to score 26 or more points in all their games this season.
• In the three full games he's played this season, Diontae Johnson has gotten 38 targets in the passing game. That's been 32 percent of the team's targets in those games.
• The Ravens' 58 sacks of Roethlisberger are the most against him by any team.
• Ray-Ray McCloud leads the NFL in punt return average at 18.1 yards per attempt, 4.3 yards better than the next closest player. Johnson led the NFL in punt return average in 2019, becoming the first Steelers player since 1961 to do so.
• Vince Williams and Watt are tied for the league lead in tackles for a loss with 12 each, three more than the next closest player.
THE FANTASY CORNER
A very solid 174.78-point week last week as Joe Burrow, Tyler Boyd, Logan Thomas and the Washington defense were all very solid hits and all of my other plays were good with the lone exception of Chase Claypool. That got my lineup in the money. As I did last year, I'm going to build a fantasy lineup using Draft Kings and a $50,000 salary cap.
Quarterback: Carson Wentz, Eagles ($6,200) -- I'm paying up a bit for a quarterback this week because I want an Eagles stack against the Cowboys. This one could be ugly.
Running back: Le'Veon Bell, Chiefs ($4,600), Boston Scott ($6,000) -- Bell gets to face his former team, and the Chiefs are favored by 19 1/2 points. So, this could be a great game for Andy Reid to get his new running back plenty of touches. Scott, meanwhile, gets the nod against the Cowboys.
Wide receiver: Davante Adams, Packers ($8,800), Travis Fulgham, Eagles ($5,900), Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers, ($5,800) -- I'm paying up to get Adams, who should go off against a Vikings secondary that could be missing three of its top four corners. Fulgham completes my Eagles stack. And Aiyuk will get plenty of targets against a Seattle defense that can't stop anyone through the air.
Tight end: Jonnu Smith, Titans ($4,100) -- The Steelers shut Smith down last week, but I don't expect him to be quiet two weeks in a row, especially facing the Bengals.
Flex: Corey Davis, Titans (5,100) -- See above. William Jackson will probably travel with A.J. Brown. That should leave Davis alone for plenty of catches.
Defense: Eagles ($3,500) -- This completes my Eagles stack. Ben DiNucci will get the start for the Cowboys behind a very bad offensive line. Yes please.
Our football staff predicts the game:
Dale Lolley (6-0): This is an extremely tough game to pick because the Steelers have played so well at times you wonder if anyone can beat them. See their entire game against the Browns and the first half last week against the Titans. They'll most certainly be up for this game. But they're also not going to go 16-0. And the Ravens are clearly a good team, as well, even if they aren't quite as good as they were last season when they went 14-2. And when you start looking at the rest of the schedule, there aren't a lot of losses there. The Ravens are rested and could have some of their offensive issues solved. It will be a slugfest, but I'll favor the home team. Ravens, 26-24
Ramon Foster (6-0): I might've worried about the Ravens coming off a bye week last year. Not this year. These Steelers are a damned good football team. I'd take a second look at this Baltimore defense. In years past, that defense always found ways to close out games. I don't think that's the case this year. On the other side of the ball, I don't know that I'm trusting Lamar Jackson's passing game. Last year, I thought, they were more of a threat with three solid tight ends. This year, they've got one in Mark Andrews. The plan that you're seeing people around the NFL use now to contain that offense is a Mike Tomlin/Keith Butler plan, and they've been waiting to showcase it again. Steelers, 28-24
Chris Carter (6-0): The Steelers match up very well with the Ravens' strengths and weaknesses. What the Ravens do well in running the ball and targeting the tight end, the Steelers excel at stopping. For Jackson to beat the Steelers with his arm, he's going to either hope Andrews puts on a performance no tight end has this season against the Steelers or finally develop a chemistry hitting his receivers outside the numbers. The Steelers' run defense is second-best in the league and they have the personnel to contain mobile quarterbacks like Jackson. Meanwhile the Steelers are one of the most balanced offenses the Ravens' defense will have faced this season. Steelers, 31-23
Tom Reed (6-0): The Ravens cannot ask for a more favorable circumstance in COVID-19 times. They have the undefeated Steelers at home before a few thousand fans coming off a bye, while Pittsburgh needed to put a lot into last week's win in Nashville. The rivalry has a history of producing close games and I don't expect this one to be any different. This game feels a lot more important to Baltimore. Ravens, 21-20
Dejan Kovacevic (6-0): The Ravens will get after Ben like no other opponent, not even the Eagles. That's a problem. Because if Ben's counter is to keep releasing the ball within milliseconds of the snap, he'll never attack Baltimore's very real weaknesses beyond the front line, notably that they'll allow their corners to stay in solo coverage against Chase Claypool and James Washington deep downfield. I'd rather see the protection in place for Ben to take some shots, but I can't be sure it's there. Finally going the other way on this one. Ravens, 16-13