Pittsburgh –To determine who will win the AFC North, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens will square off. The Steelers, who have won four straight games, are riding high thanks to Russell Wilson and his offense, while Baltimore has suffered some unsettling setbacks to clubs like the Cleveland Browns and Las Vegas Raiders.
Lamar Jackson, who has +110 MVP odds on FanDuel, has missed the majority of the Steelers’ seven victories in their eight games versus the Ravens. Pittsburgh defeated the Steelers 17–10 at home when they played Jackson a year ago. However, Jackson found it difficult to overcome his team’s drops, and Baltimore’s receivers ended up losing the game.
Here are my predictions for the game this week:
Players on the spot: This game requires the Steelers’ cornerbacks to be present. They have always attacked Lamar Jackson with the same basic strategy: apply pressure by blitzing heavily with five-man surfaces from various alignments. Even though Jackson is creating blitzes more frequently than ever this season, that is probably going to be a significant component of the strategy because the Steelers have used it to their advantage in the past.
The problem is that it puts guys behind the pass rush in one-on-one situations.If Pittsburgh wants to induce turnovers against the Ravens, they must generate immediate wins and pressure. Can the cornerbacks, however, withstand players like Nelson Agholor, Diontae Johnson, Tylan Wallace, Zay Flowers, and Rashod Bateman? Not to mention attempting to slow down Isaiah Likely and Mark Andrews, that is still up in the air.
Players like Donte Jackson, Joey Porter Jr., and others standing on their heads will be the reason Pittsburgh wins this game.
You shouldn’t be shocked if…This game becomes one of these two teams’ unusual shootouts. To take advantage of the Steelers, the Ravens have the right kind of attack. Pittsburgh should give up points to an explosive passing game led by Jackson, even if Derrick Henry is neutralized and, to some extent, may not be on the ground.
On the other hand, a cold cannot be stopped by the Ravens’ pass defense. Although extra blitzes could complicate plans for the Steelers, Wilson has been quite good at slicing up man coverage. The Steelers may be able to find more running lanes and, more crucially, some space to get Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington cooking over the middle, even if the Ravens sit back in their two-high shells.
This game simply has the makings of one that will score more points than previous Steelers-Ravens contests.
I like the following prop bets:
Both teams scored more than 48.5 points (-108, FanDuel).
Over 275 passing yards (plus 230, FanDuel) for Lamar Jackson
Over 60 receiving yards (plus 500, according to DraftKings) for Pat Freiermuth
Every team must score a minimum of one field goal and one touchdown in each half (+1300, DraftKings).
PREDICTION: I believe both teams can raise the score in this game. With their ability to divide up man coverage, Jackson and the Ravens pose a serious threat to the Steelers. Jackson is outpacing everyone this season in terms of speed if the Steelers attempt to go zone. This is the top offensive in football right now, and he has advanced. However, Pittsburgh’s offense believes they can match Baltimore’s offensive output with explosive plays and drives. I’m taking Baltimore by a small margin because, although this may be the rare Steelers-Ravens shootout, I can’t get past the obvious drawbacks of the Steelers vs. Ravens game.Steelers 31, Ravens 34
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