Wild Card Round: Baltimore @ Pittsburgh Prediction Thread

[BwareDWare94 723]

Saturday, 8:15 ET, NBC

Baltimore Ravens @ Pittsburgh Steelers

 

Why Baltimore Will Win:

 

1. No Bell for Pittsburgh + Baltimore's Defense + Ngata

Offenses that rely heavily on the running game, or in Le'Veon Bell's case, the versatility of one running back, can run into trouble if they don't really have any preparation time if that running back has to be absent. Now, Bell may very well play on Saturday, but if he doesn't, the Steelers could be in trouble. Baltimore has had a pretty damn good defense these past two seasons, and it would have been a damn shame for their offense to hold that defense out for two consecutive years. Thankfully it didn't, and that Ravens defense is getting a major boost in the return of Haloti Ngata. All things considered, things are looking up for the dirty birds.

 

2. Fire-Breathing Flacco

For some strange reason, the past few playoff qualifying seasons for the Ravens have seen Joe Flacco morph into Elite mode. If that happens again, it's going to be very hard for this Pittsburgh team to stomp out the Ravens with or without Bell.

 

Why Baltimore Will Lose:

 

1. Antonio Brown

The Steelers wideout is a thorn in every defensive back's side, consistently finding any open space he can for Ben to get him the ball. Baltimore lacks a secondary piece that can hope to do much more than try and control Brown's YAC. If Baltimore can't keep Brown under wraps at all, it'll be a long day that Flacco, if he doesn't become playoff Flacco, can't recover from.

 

2. Big Ben in the Postseason

While Flacco does his little phone booth routine come playoff time, Ben Roethlisberger is arguably the best postseason quarterback of this generation. Time and time again, he makes clutch plays when they matter most with his durability, mobility, and smarts. It may not matter that Baltimore's defense is stout and impressive, Ben may be too much to overcome.

 

Why Pittsburgh Will Win:

 

1. Bell Might Play:

There's all this talk of new era triplets thanks the Ben, Bell, Brown, along with the trios in Dallas and Green Bay, but Pittsburgh's is, in my opinion, the best. Brown either had or still has that crazy streak of 5+ catches in games, which is incredibly valuable. Bell is the best all-around running back this league has seen in quite some time. He's an every down type of player, and as long as he has gas in the tank and remains fairly healthy, Pittsburgh has an incredible weapon.

 

2. Leadership on Defense

It's not likely to happen that the Steelers all of a sudden become a much better defensive unit, but if Pittsburgh can shorten games with drives and allow their defense to rest, the old horses on that side of the ball might be able to help their younger teammates keep things in perspective and come up with big plays and/or stops when they're needed. It wouldn't surprise me, as Pittsburgh has some great defensive pieces and are coached by the best Defensive Coordinator in league history.

 

Why Pittsburgh Will Lose:

 

1. No Bell

I can't see Harris filling Bell's role well enough not to throw Pittsburgh off the tracks, at least a little bit. Not only would Bell's absence affect the Steelers on the field, it'd put Todd Haley behind the eight ball and I simply would not trust Haley to come through. There are games when the Steelers simply can't do anything offensively, and that's mind boggling. It has to go back to the coordinator, in my opinion.

 

2. Defensive Collapse

While it's definitely possible that the Steeler defense rises to the challenge, it's also possible that they simply can't muster much resistance if the Ravens are clicking on all cylinders. I have a feeling this game could resemble the two matchups in the regular season--lopsided and over at halftime. Hopefully that isn't the case, but anything is possible.

 

Prediction: Steelers 27 Ravens 17

I don't think Flacco is going to morph into playoff mode, and I think Le'Veon Bell is going to play. That all adds up to a Steelers win, as they're simply the better team. Baltimore is trending up in the coming seasons, but this year is going to end at the hands of Pittsburgh's triplets.

 

Collateral Damage From This Game:

 

1. More key injuries--watch out for players being knocked out of the game due to the vicious hits in the cold weather.

 

2. Rumblings about which long standing coach loses. Neither of these teams seems to move on from coaching regimes too easily, but there will be whispers about whichever coach loses.

[Cherry 1,302]

Why Baltimore will win

- They have Flacco at QB in 4th quarter.

 

Why Baltimore will lose

- They have Flacco at QB for quarters 1-3.