Island Casino Monday Night football

In a very talented AFC, the Steelers are starting to be overlooked a little bit, but they have gotten off to a good start, despite having to compete for air time with the Patriots and Colts in the same division.  The Steelers will have a chance to move to 4-0 at home as the Baltimore Ravens come to town for Monday Night Football. 

Once again, as expected, the Ravens have a solid defensive unit.  They are ranked eight against the pass and second against rushing.  But, offensively they are around the middle of the pack in every major category.  The struggle in the offensive department comes from the injuries to Steve McNair.  McNair seems to be coming around now, and hopefully for fans sake he can start putting together some solid drives.  Their one consistent offensive threat has been Willis McGahee.  While McGahee has only found the end zone twice, he is averaging 4.4 yards per carry.  He is also coming off his second 100 yard rushing performance of the year, when he ran for 114 against the Buffalo Bills.  McGahee has also caught 24 passes, for a clip of six yards per catch.  McGahee is battling some injuries himself, but he is listed has probable on the team injury report.  Also listed as probable on the injury report is their main receiving target, Derrick Mason.  Mason has caught 54 balls with two touchdowns.  He has been one of the team’s most consistent performers, usually, averaging 70-80 yards per game.

The Steelers actually have a statistically better defense then the Ravens. They have only given up 91 points on the season, compared to the 119 by the Ravens.  They are sixth against the pass and fourth against the run.  Ben Rothlisberger is enjoying a return to form, after an off year thanks to injuries last year.  “Big Ben” has passed for 15 touchdowns on just six interceptions while completing 64.6 percent of his passes.  Santonio Holmes is quickly emerging as Rothlisberger’s favorite target this year.  Holmes has four touchdowns on 26 catches.  He is also averaging 16.4 yards per catch.  Heath Miller is also becoming one of the most reliable tight ends in the league.  On the year he has 24 catches, but four of them have come from touchdowns.  He is becoming safe target for “Big Ben.”  “Fast” Willie Parker is averaging 4.4 yards per carry, and has scored twice on the ground. 

With Pittsburgh’s offense and defense both being a little better, and them playing at home, you think the Ravens have the advantage in this one.  The Ravens have been inconsistent all year, while the Steelers look like they are primed to make another deep run into the playoffs.  The Ravens would like to some how find a victory here, and maybe Lee Suggs, Ed Reed, and Ray Lewis can find a way to shut down the Steelers offense that has been looking more and more reliable ever week.  I am picking Pittsburgh in this one in a fairly close defensive battle.  The Ravens offense can’t be trusted, especially against a defense like this one.  21-10 seems about right.