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PITTSBURGH
BALTIMORE |
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Final
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| 359 | PITTSBURGH | 35 | 36.5 | | 360 | BALTIMORE | -8 | -7 |
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| All Games | 6-5 | -0.7 | 4-6 | 4-7 | 21.0 | 12.3 | 340.0 | (5.4) | 1.8 | 19.1 | 10.4 | 257.2 | (4.7) | 0.9 | | Road Games | 2-4 | -3.7 | 2-4 | 4-2 | 22.5 | 12.5 | 358.5 | (5.6) | 2.7 | 24.7 | 13.0 | 269.8 | (4.9) | 1.0 | | Last 3 Games | 1-2 | -1.2 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 13.3 | 10.3 | 267.3 | (4.4) | 4.0 | 15.3 | 11.0 | 242.7 | (4.1) | 0.7 | | Division Games | 1-2 | -1.2 | 1-1 | 1-2 | 16.0 | 11.7 | 328.0 | (5.3) | 4.3 | 16.7 | 12.3 | 207.7 | (3.8) | 0.7 |
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| Offense (All Games) | 21.0 | 12.3 | 19.8 | 33:29 | 27-103 | (3.8) | 23-37 | 62.8% | 237 | (6.5) | 63-340 | (5.4) | (16.2) | | Opponents Defensive Avg. | 24.9 | 12.2 | 20.4 | 31:00 | 28-119 | (4.2) | 22-35 | 62.4% | 240 | (6.9) | 63-359 | (5.7) | (14.4) | | Offense Road Games | 22.5 | 12.5 | 19.8 | 33:25 | 25-93 | (3.7) | 25-38 | 64.9% | 265 | (6.9) | 64-358 | (5.6) | (15.9) | | Defense (All Games) | 19.1 | 10.4 | 16.2 | 26:36 | 25-91 | (3.7) | 17-30 | 56.0% | 166 | (5.5) | 55-257 | (4.7) | (13.5) | | Opponents Offensive Avg. | 22.4 | 10.5 | 19.6 | 30:33 | 27-115 | (4.3) | 21-35 | 60.7% | 234 | (6.6) | 62-350 | (5.6) | (15.6) | | Defense Road Games | 24.7 | 13.0 | 16.7 | 26:35 | 24-94 | (3.8) | 18-30 | 59.9% | 176 | (5.8) | 55-270 | (4.9) | (10.9) |
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| Stats For (All Games) | 0.7 | 1.1 | 1.8 | -0.9 | 14-7 | 45.3% | 1-0 | 45.5% | 3-68 | (25.9) | 3-20 | (7.7) | 7-65 | | Opponents Avg. Stats Against | 1 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 13-5 | 39.2% | 1-0 | 51.0% | 3-67 | (24.3) | 22-2 | (9.5) | 6-54 | | Stats For (Road Games) | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2.7 | -1.7 | 14-7 | 50.0% | 1-1 | 66.7% | 3-90 | (28.3) | 3-25 | (9) | 7-70 | | Stats Against (All Games) | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.9 | | 12-4 | 34.3% | 1-1 | 85.7% | 3-83 | (25.2) | 2-21 | (10.9) | 6-51 | | Opponents Avg. Stats For | 1 | 0.8 | 1.8 | | 13-5 | 36.6% | 1-1 | 56.2% | 3-77 | (24.3) | 22-2 | (9.8) | 6-54 | | Stats Against (Road Games) | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.0 | | 13-5 | 40.8% | 0-0 | 100.0% | 3-76 | (26.9) | 1-14 | (9.3) | 5-45 |
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| All Games | 9-2 | +7 | 5-5 | 5-5 | 25.7 | 11.9 | 348.2 | (5.7) | 0.8 | 19.9 | 11.1 | 373.0 | (5.4) | 1.9 | | Home Games | 5-0 | +5 | 2-3 | 4-1 | 36.8 | 16.8 | 421.2 | (7) | 0.6 | 21.6 | 11.4 | 395.6 | (5.5) | 1.6 | | Last 3 Games | 3-0 | +3 | 2-0 | 1-2 | 28.0 | 12.3 | 354.0 | (5.2) | 0.3 | 14.3 | 9.0 | 337.7 | (5.2) | 2.0 | | Turd Games | 5-0 | +5 | 2-3 | 4-1 | 36.8 | 16.8 | 421.2 | (7) | 0.6 | 21.6 | 11.4 | 395.6 | (5.5) | 1.6 | | Division Games | 4-0 | +4 | 2-1 | 1-3 | 26.2 | 12.5 | 337.5 | (5.5) | 0.2 | 13.5 | 8.2 | 320.0 | (4.8) | 2.2 |
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| Offense (All Games) | 25.7 | 11.9 | 19.7 | 27:55 | 25-102 | (4) | 22-36 | 60.1% | 247 | (6.8) | 61-348 | (5.7) | (13.5) | | Opponents Defensive Avg. | 23.5 | 11.3 | 19.3 | 30:41 | 27-110 | (4.1) | 21-34 | 61.7% | 232 | (6.8) | 61-342 | (5.6) | (14.5) | | Offense Home Games | 36.8 | 16.8 | 23.6 | 27:14 | 25-102 | (4) | 23-35 | 66.1% | 320 | (9) | 61-421 | (7) | (11.4) | | Defense (All Games) | 19.9 | 11.1 | 22.2 | 33:21 | 32-128 | (4) | 23-37 | 60.3% | 245 | (6.5) | 69-373 | (5.4) | (18.7) | | Opponents Offensive Avg. | 22.4 | 11.1 | 20.4 | 31:04 | 27-112 | (4.1) | 23-37 | 61.7% | 242 | (6.6) | 64-353 | (5.5) | (15.8) | | Defense Home Games | 21.6 | 11.4 | 24.4 | 32:46 | 29-110 | (3.8) | 26-42 | 60.8% | 286 | (6.7) | 71-396 | (5.5) | (18.3) |
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| Stats For (All Games) | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 13-5 | 37.0% | 1-0 | 40.0% | 3-98 | (29) | 2-24 | (9.8) | 7-68 | | Opponents Avg. Stats Against | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 13-5 | 37.2% | 1-0 | 50.0% | 3-71 | (23.6) | 23-2 | (10.3) | 6-55 | | Stats For (Home Games) | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 11-5 | 42.6% | 1-0 | 50.0% | 3-104 | (32.4) | 2-15 | (8.1) | 9-80 | | Stats Against (All Games) | 1.0 | 0.9 | 1.9 | | 15-6 | 37.9% | 1-1 | 50.0% | 2-52 | (22.7) | 3-20 | (7) | 7-61 | | Opponents Avg. Stats For | 0.9 | 0.7 | 1.6 | | 14-5 | 38.4% | 1-0 | 51.6% | 3-67 | (23.1) | 26-2 | (10.3) | 7-56 | | Stats Against (Home Games) | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.6 | | 16-6 | 38.5% | 2-1 | 50.0% | 2-57 | (23.7) | 2-19 | (9.4) | 9-75 |
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| | Average power rating of opponents played: PITTSBURGH 18.5, BALTIMORE 19.5 |
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| 10/7/2012 | PHILADELPHIA | 16-14 | W | -4 | L | 44 | U | 31-136 | 21-37-207 | 0 | 23-78 | 20-30-168 | 2 | | 10/11/2012 | @ TENNESSEE | 23-26 | L | -5.5 | L | 43 | O | 22-56 | 24-40-356 | 1 | 22-94 | 25-44-265 | 1 | | 10/21/2012 | @ CINCINNATI | 24-17 | W | -1 | W | 47 | U | 29-167 | 27-38-264 | 2 | 21-80 | 14-28-105 | 1 | | 10/28/2012 | WASHINGTON | 27-12 | W | -4.5 | W | 44.5 | U | 27-140 | 24-33-215 | 0 | 21-86 | 16-35-169 | 0 | | 11/4/2012 | @ NY GIANTS | 24-20 | W | 3 | W | 48.5 | U | 35-158 | 21-30-191 | 2 | 22-68 | 10-24-114 | 1 | | 11/12/2012 | KANSAS CITY | 16-13 | W | -12 | L | 39 | U | 29-95 | 16-32-154 | 1 | 35-142 | 11-26-148 | 1 | | 11/18/2012 | BALTIMORE | 10-13 | L | 3 | T | 41 | U | 27-134 | 18-39-177 | 3 | 23-47 | 20-32-153 | 0 | | 11/25/2012 | @ CLEVELAND | 14-20 | L | -1 | L | 32.5 | O | 20-49 | 20-34-193 | 8 | 34-108 | 17-26-130 | 1 | | 12/2/2012 | @ BALTIMORE | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 12/9/2012 | SAN DIEGO | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 12/16/2012 | @ DALLAS | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 12/23/2012 | CINCINNATI | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 12/30/2012 | CLEVELAND | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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| 10/7/2012 | @ KANSAS CITY | 9-6 | W | -6 | L | 46 | U | 24-133 | 13-27-165 | 2 | 50-214 | 12-18-124 | 4 | | 10/14/2012 | DALLAS | 31-29 | W | -3 | L | 45 | O | 22-86 | 17-26-230 | 0 | 42-227 | 25-36-254 | 1 | | 10/21/2012 | @ HOUSTON | 13-43 | L | 6.5 | L | 47 | O | 12-55 | 21-43-121 | 2 | 37-181 | 23-37-239 | 0 | | 11/4/2012 | @ CLEVELAND | 25-15 | W | -3 | W | 44.5 | U | 37-137 | 15-24-145 | 0 | 27-116 | 20-37-174 | 2 | | 11/11/2012 | OAKLAND | 55-20 | W | -7.5 | W | 48 | O | 28-78 | 21-34-341 | 1 | 24-72 | 29-46-350 | 3 | | 11/18/2012 | @ PITTSBURGH | 13-10 | W | -3 | T | 41 | U | 23-47 | 20-32-153 | 0 | 27-134 | 18-39-177 | 3 | | 11/25/2012 | @ SAN DIEGO | 16-13 | W | -1 | W | 47 | U | 35-127 | 30-51-316 | 0 | 23-91 | 23-36-189 | 0 | | 12/2/2012 | PITTSBURGH | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 12/9/2012 | @ WASHINGTON | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 12/16/2012 | DENVER | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 12/23/2012 | NY GIANTS | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 12/30/2012 | @ CINCINNATI | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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| |  | PITTSBURGH: Much was made about former coordinator Bruce Arians' aversion to the running game, and new offensive coordinator Todd Haley (who was the head coach of the run-heavy Chiefs) seems to have been brought in to correct that. The Steelers have a big, man-blocking line and Haley prefers the committee approach. With Rashard Mendenhall recovering from a torn ACL, Isaac Redman will get a heavy workload early in the season. Jonathan Dwyer figures to take a chunk of the early down reps. Redman can handle third down duties, though Baron Batch could push him for that role. Batch might have held that role a year ago had he not torn his ACL. Haley used to oversee the Cardinals' offense, so he's not lost in the passing game. Expect a lot of three-receiver sets and spread principles, with Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown on the outside and Emmanuel Sanders in the slot. Ben Roethlisberger's trademark is improvising and stretching out plays. Wallace might more often be the primary target, but Brown has shown more of an ability to shake open once the play breaks down. Sanders will be the primary target in the middle of the field. Tight end Heath Miller often stays in to protect. When the Steelers throw near the goal line, it's often play-action to someone in the middle of the field (Miller or the slot receiver, possibly Sanders now). Wallace's and Brown's roles are usually minimized once the Steelers drive deep into opponent territory, unless Roethlisberger is buying time on a broken play. The Steelers were tied for ninth in the league in sacks despite a rash of injuries to their linebackers. Although they forced an NFL-low 15 turnovers in 2011, Pittsburgh still led the league in scoring defense and yardage defense'the schedule is kind enough to allow for a repeat of these numbers. Lawrence Timmons' numbers were down last year because of a move to outside linebacker for about a third of the season. He'll play inside full time in 2012, and his numbers could revert closer to where they were in 2010. Troy Polamalu, meanwhile, looked a half-step slow by the end of last season due to all the nagging injuries he's been dealing with. He appears to finally be on the decline. | | BALTIMORE: The Ravens have slowly and successfully transitioned to a zone-blocking scheme over the past couple of seasons. They've steadily mixed in more and more zone stretch plays for Ray Rice and have had plenty of success doing it, especially now that their line heavily utilizes cut blocking. They still use a lot of two-back sets with Rice running behind Vonta Leach. Rice will take a very heavy load again; even with Ricky Williams on the roster last season, Rice played more than 75 percent of their offensive snaps, so expect rookie Bernard Pierce to be used sparingly. Baltimore keeps it very conservative in the red zone, running it more than half the time inside the 20, and nearly 60 percent of the time in goal-to-go situations last year. Rice takes pretty much all the red zone reps. Offensive coordinator Cam Cameron had always wanted to stretch the field but never had the receiver to do it until Torrey Smith emerged last season. Cameron has said he'll use more two tight end sets, as they did toward the end of last season. Dennis Pitta outperformed Ed Dickson in the second half of the year and is the one receiver Joe Flacco consistently looked for over the middle. Rice will also continue to have a huge role in the passing game, not only as a safety valve, but also on screens and in the slot to create mismatches. Anquan Boldin was a popular target in the end zone last year. The off-season Achilles' injury to reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Terrell Suggs could be enough to keep this from being an elite defense. Baltimore does have experience in veterans Ed Reed and Ray Lewis'neither of whom shows any significant signs of slowing down'and Haloti Ngata is one of the best interior linemen in the league. Cornerback Lardarius Webb capped his first year as a starter with three interceptions in the playoffs, and Bernard Pollard had 89 total tackles (62 solo) in 15 games (including playoffs) as a full-time player. |
| | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PA SPORTSTICKER PRO FOOTBALL PREVIEW (PITTSBURGH-BALTIMORE) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(UPDATES with Roethlisberger out)
*Steelers-Ravens Preview* =========================
By TAYLOR BECHTOLD STATS Writer
The Baltimore Ravens' banged-up defense has enjoyed a resurgence during the team's four-game winning streak.
That has a chance to continue against a Pittsburgh Steelers team that has struggled without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who will miss a third straight game.
The Ravens can clinch a playoff berth - and perhaps the AFC North title - on Sunday when they try to beat the Steelers for the second time in three weeks and extend their home winning streak to 17.
After escaping with a 16-13 overtime victory at San Diego on Sunday, Baltimore (9-2) remained one game behind Houston for the best record in the conference. The Ravens also took a major step toward a second straight North crown, which they can wrap up Sunday with a win over fading Pittsburgh (6-5) and a Cincinnati loss to the Chargers.
"The thing our guys have done is, as a team, they've positioned themselves really well to take advantage of an opportunity," coach John Harbaugh said. "Every game makes the next game that much more important."
Harbaugh's defense has bounced back after losing linebacker Ray Lewis and cornerback Lardarius Webb to midseason injuries.
While the Ravens allowed 43 points to the Texans in their first game without Lewis on Oct. 21, they've given up a total of 58 points (14.4 per game) during their four-game winning streak.
Baltimore had a season-high six sacks Sunday while allowing a season-low 280 yards in nearly five full quarters against the Chargers.
"We are improving on defense, and we improved throughout the course of the game," Harbaugh said.
Baltimore's offense has done just enough to help the team win six of its seven games decided by seven points or fewer.
Ray Rice finished with 97 yards on 22 carries at San Diego, but his biggest play was taking a short pass for a first down on fourth-and-29 with 1:37 left in regulation that helped send the game into overtime.
Joe Flacco completed 30 of 51 passes for 355 yards and a touchdown, a solid road game for a QB who is averaging just 5.7 yards per attempt and has a 70.2 passer rating this season away from Baltimore.
It's been a different story for Flacco at M&T Bank Stadium, where the Ravens have won 16 straight - including January's divisional round victory over Houston - since a 13-10 loss to Pittsburgh on Dec. 5, 2010.
Flacco has been especially good at home this season, averaging 322.4 yards with 10 scores and three picks there for a 108.3 passer rating. He's thrown five TDs without an interception in the Steelers' last three visits.
Flacco completed 20 of 32 for 164 yards without a TD in Baltimore's 13-10 victory at Pittsburgh on Nov. 18.
That was the Steelers' first game without Roethlisberger, who sprained his right shoulder and dislocated a rib against Kansas City six days earlier, with Byron Leftwich starting in his place.
Leftwich was hurt in that poor performance, leaving 15-year veteran Charlie Batch to face Cleveland last Sunday. The Steelers' offense struggled even more against the Browns, turning the ball over eight times in a 20-14 loss.
It was the first eight turnover game in the NFL since 2001.
"It's disgusting, and it's not something that we're all about here," said receiver Antonio Brown, who expects to return after missing three games with an ankle injury. "Hopefully, I can help bring back some order to this team."
Although Roethlisberger returned to practice Wednesday, he was ruled out Friday. Batch will make his second consecutive start.
Pittsburgh, though, could get a boost to its already formidable defense if five-time All-Pro safety Troy Polamalu can return from a right calf injury that has kept him out since Week 5. The Steelers lead the NFL in total defense at 257.2 yards per game and are tops in the AFC in scoring defense at 19.1 points.
As stout as the Steelers have been defensively, they have forced only 10 turnovers, tied for second fewest in the league.
In two weeks, Pittsburgh has gone from a team in the thick of the AFC North race to one tied with Cincinnati for the conference's second wild-card spot.
"We have to figure out what we need to do," Batch said. "In order for us to get to where we want to get to, we have to start winning."
The ground game has also fallen on hard times with the trio of Jonathan Dwyer, Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman rushing for 32 yards on 15 carries - losing three fumbles - Sunday.
Dwyer, who led Pittsburgh with 55 yards on 12 carries against the Ravens two weeks ago, will start in place of Mendenhall.
Game Notes: |
| | Last Updated: 4/19/2024 6:42:14 PM EST. |
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