Baltimore Ravens Week 8 Preview

The Baltimore Ravens will be back in action this week after their bye when they face off with their archrival Pittsburgh Steelers in an AFC North showdown at home.

For the first time in the 2020 season, there will be fans in stands at M&T Bank Stadium when the two bitter rivals take the field at 1 PM eastern standard time on CBS.

The Steelers escaped Nashville in Week Seven with a decisive 27-24 victory over the Tennessee Titans thanks to a missed field goal from kicker Stephen Gostkowski that would’ve sent the game into overtime where his team could’ve completed a comeback.

Here is a detailed breakdown of the matchup including potential X factors, who will likely be out with an injury for each team, and a final outcome prediction.

What’s at stake:

While this game will be played on the first day of November, it is going to have a late January playoff-like atmosphere. The Ravens have won three in a row and are 5-1 and the Steelers are the only undefeated team in the league with a perfect 6-0 record.

The victor of this game would have an early advantage in the race for the division crown until the second head-to-head matchup on Thanksgiving.

With a win, Baltimore would reclaim first place in the AFC North standings since suffering their first loss of the season. If Pittsburgh were to win, they would not only stay on top of the division standings but would continue to have the inside track on the No.1 overall seed and home-field advantage in the playoffs.

Who might not suit up:

The Ravens enter this matchup with their archrivals relatively healthy after a week off, but they could be without two of their key veterans, one on each side of the ball.

Starting running back Mark Ingram suffered a high ankle sprain in the first half of their Week Six win over Philadelphia Eagles. While Head Coach John Harbaugh was optimistic about his availability for this huge matchup heading into the bye, Ingram hasn’t practiced all week and is listed as doubtful to play on Sunday.

The Ravens have been using a heavy rotation at running back all season so it will fall on the shoulders of third-year pro Gus Edwards and rookie J.K. Dobbins to carry the load and perhaps second-year pro Justice Hill will not only be active but get his first offensive snaps of the year as well.

Baltimore really can’t afford to be without veteran defensive back Jimmy Smith who has been playing both safety and cornerback this season with Pittsburgh’s loaded group of pass-catchers, especially at the wide receiver position.

Smith is listed as questionable on the injury report with an Achilles injury that limited in practice on Wednesday, kept him out on Thursday, and limited him again on Friday.

Veteran defensive back/linebacker and special teams ace Anthony Levine is still dealing with an abdomen injury that has held him out of the Eagles game. He was a limited participant in practice all week and is listed as questionable for this game as well.

The third phase of the game hasn’t suffered in his absence with inside linebackers LJ Fort and Chris Board playing well on both defense and special teams.

The Steelers had several players, including starters and key role players, miss the first day of practice on Wednesday but had the majority of them return as full or limited participants on Thursday and Friday.

Pittsburgh will be without backup safety Jordan Dangerfield (Quads), linebacker Ulysees Gilbert III (Back), and former Ravens’ defensive tackle Chris Wormley (Knee) on Sunday after all three were declared out for this game following missing an entire week of practice.

The Steelers have two starters listed as questionable. Fullback Derek Watt was a full participant on Wednesday but was limited on Thursday and Friday with a lingering hamstring injury. Slot cornerback Mike Hilton did not practice on Wednesday and was limited on Thursday and Friday with a shoulder injury.

Potential X factors:

RB J.K. Dobbins

Oct 11, 2020; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back J.K. Dobbins (27) runs with the ball in the second quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

With Ingram likely out for Sunday’s game, the second-round pick out of Ohio State could be in store for the heaviest workload of his rookie season thus far which is something fans and pundits have been clamoring for all season.

Dobbins and Edwards will both be leaned on heavily but the rookie is the more explosive and elusive in the open field of the two and is the Ravens’ primary pass-catching back as well so he’ll be on the field for just about every third down.

Some predicted that he would have usurped Ingram as the lead back by now, but the Ravens have gone with the committee approach and haven’t shown any intentions of deviating from that plan.

If Dobbins has a strong showing on Sunday with more extensive opportunities, he could become even more of a staple in Baltimore’s offense.

Edwards had his best rushing performance in his only start of last season in Week 17 in the Ravens 28-10 win over Steelers at home with 130 yards on 21 carries.

However, after watching how Pittsburgh held reigning league rushing champion, Derrick Henry, to just 75 yards on 20 carries last, the odds of Baltimore’s bruising power back fairing much better are not high.

The Steelers have allowed the fewest rushing yards in the league this year with just 413 in six games, but they were gashed for 80 yards and two touchdowns by Eagles running back Miles Sanders on 11 carries.

Dobbins has a similar playing style to Sanders with the way he can make defenders miss in the open field and rip off big gains. Both players average over six yards per carry and since Pittsburgh’s stout defense has shown a proclivity to yield yards on the ground to this style of back, the odds for the Ravens dynamic rookie having success are higher in this matchup.

OLB Yannick Ngakoue

The newest addition to the team will get his first taste of the best rivalry in all of sports in his very first game in a Ravens’ uniform and he is expected to hit the ground running.

After getting traded to the team last Thursday from the Minnesota Vikings, the Maryland native already seems at home in Baltimore’s defense according to his new coaches and teammates.

Ngakoue is an explosive and dangerous presence on the edge who uses his length, quickness, and speed to get around offensive tackles. He has a relentless motor and will likely be on the field for every third and long and other obvious passing situations.

Even though there is already 2020 film on Ngakoue for the Steelers to study, there is still an element of surprise heading into this game in regard to him because there isn’t any tape on the Pro Bowl pass rusher in the Ravens scheme.

He recorded five sacks, two forced fumbles, and seven quarterback hits in six games with the Vikings. Ngakoue will likely be a situational pass rusher in his inaugural game as a Raven but given his history of success versus the Steelers with the Jacksonville Jaguars, expect for him to shine in his debut.

Recent history of the matchup:

The Steelers hold a narrow 28-24 lead in the all-time series between these two bitter rivals dating back to the Ravens inaugural season in 1996. However, Baltimore has three of the last four and 14 of the 27 matchups since Harbaugh was hired as the head coach in 2008.

These games have historically been low scoring defensive slugfest, especially during the heyday of the rivalry, where both teams had to fight and claw just to break through the double-digit point threshold.

Although, lately there have been more points scored when they face off. At least one team has scored 20 or more points dating back to the second meeting of the 2013 season.

When the Ravens and Steelers do battle it is almost always must-see TV and should be prime time every time they play. This game will mark the first time that reigning league MVP Lamar Jackson will square off with Steelers’ starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in this heated rivalry.

Jackson won his first career start versus the Steelers in Pittsburgh by the skin of his teeth in overtime in the first meeting last year and sat out the second because the Ravens had nothing to play for in the season finale. Roethlisberger injured his elbow and missed nearly the entire 2019 season including both games versus Baltimore.

Final prediction:

It’s a crying shame that most of the country will miss out on watching the first meeting of these two powerhouse teams and legitimate Superbowl contenders this year and will be subjected to watching two teams from the woefully underwhelming NFC Least on Sunday Night Football instead.

Nevertheless, I believe that the Ravens will show that they are the rightful Kings of the AFC North by handing the Steelers their first loss of the season, notch their first win over a team with a winning record since they dominated the Cleveland Browns in the season opener and beat a legit title contender for the first time this season.

I predict that we’ll see a much more efficient effort from Jackson in the passing game than we’ve seen for most of the season and that he’ll use his legs to extend plays as well as gash Pittsburgh on the ground.

I also predict that the defense will not only extend their streak of consecutive games with a turnover forced to 20 straight but I also believe that they will ground what has been a high flying Steelers aerial attack through the first half of the season and will be ranked the No.1 unit heading into next week.

Final outcome: Ravens beat Steelers 24-10

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