Week 4: Steelers week; A Must Win for Ravens
You might have done a double take because it’s “only week 4” but I think this week’s match up vs the Steelers is a must win. This year’s Ravens team is not going to a for sure lock to secure a first round bye in the playoffs. With the way the offense has played through the first three weeks, and no signs of improving coming, we’re more than likely going to have to ride the defense to a 3-seed or lower.
Two things worked out in our favor on Sunday; the first thing being that no matter how much you lose by, it only counts as one loss in the standing. After the 44-7 nightmare in London against the Jaguars, it was hard to find any positives to take away from the game. The defense couldn’t stop a nose bleed and the offense was non existent. So I had to dig deeper, this was only our first loss of the season and it was against a non-division opponent. But after the 1:00 games I found another positive thanks to our buddies in the Midwest, the Chicago Bears. The Steelers blew what was supposed to be an easy win and also dropped to 2-1 which brings us to week 4.
No matter what X’s and O’s you put out there or what game plan you think is going to lead your team to victory in a Ravens-Steelers game, it always comes down to the final 5 minutes and who just seems to want it more. So while I might say that the Ravens must set the edge and stay discipline against the run, keep a safety over top of Antonio Brown, and stick to the run and short passes …. I know that it’s still going to take a little extra push at the end. I’ve been on record saying that the race for the AFC North crown would come down to week 17. A 3-1 record with three division wins would be a perfect way to end the first quarter of the season and would keep us on pace with the Steelers for what’s to come later in the season.
