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Montagues vs. Capulets. Hatfields vs. McCoys. Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: some feuds just hit differently because of the deep-seated hatred shared between the two parties.
Now granted, heading into the 2024 NFL season, the Ravens and Steelers were expected to be very different teams. The Steelers went from having Kenny Pickett to Russell Wilson and then Justin Fields on their roster, and after the former leader of the Denver Broncos thoroughly won the team's summer QB competition, he landed on the bench with a calf injury that reinvigorated the drama in Pittsburgh.
Fast forward to Week 11, and the Steelers are 7-2, with Fields winning four of his first six starts of the season and Wilson going undefeated in his three starts from Weeks 8-10. Pittsburgh has allowed the second-fewest yards in the NFL, moved the ball pretty consistently on offense, and was rejuvenated with the midseason additions of Mike Williams and Preston Smith, even if the latter still hasn't played for his new team in 2024.
Fortunately, even if the Steelers are playing very well through the first ten weeks of the 2024 NFL season, it doesn't mean they're this unbeatable force that is destined to win the AFC North with ease. Why? Because the Ravens still have to be considered the cream of the division's drop, with the potential to further put the division crown in their grasp with another strong performance by Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, and company.
Will it be easy? No. Will every tackle hit a little bit harder? Every sack executed with just a little bit more malice? You bet, but when push comes to shove, when the chips are down, and quadruple zeros hit the scoreboard at the end of regulation, it should be the Ravens who have one more win on their resume, as they are the better team with some clear statistical advantages.
1. The Steelers' pass rush could be seriously altered in Week 11
As things presently stand, the Steelers have multiple key players who are either on IR, questionable, or out for Week 11, with Calvin Austin III, Donte Jackson, Alex Highsmith, Van Jefferson, Jaylen Warren, C.J. Henderson, and Cole Holcomb landing on the injury report for one ailment or another.
While some of these players could still end up playing in Week 11, one player who won't is Highsmith, who has already been ruled out with an ankle injury. Discussing his exit in an interview with reporters on Wednesday, Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken noted that he does have experience coaching against Preston Smith from his time in Green Bay and that his team will be ready for everything the Steelers throw his way.
“Well, we anticipate [Preston Smith] and [Nick] Herbig to play over there. He was playing over there before he got hurt, so we anticipate those guys will probably be rolling. No, we'll see how it goes,” Monken told reporters. “We did practice against Green Bay, so we do have some film against Preston, and he's an outstanding football player, so we'll have to be ready for both of them. They're different players in some ways – both physical – but again, they're built a little bit different.”
Unfortunately for Smith, the Steelers run a pretty complex 3-4 defensive front, with their outside linebackers tasked with far more than just rushing the passer. While this could limit Smith's snaps and force Herbig, who did some good things last season but isn't a star, into a larger role, it's clear Pittsburgh's pass rush and potentially defense as a whole will be without some key players, which is good news for the Ravens, as that optionality is a big reason why they were able to defeat the Washington Commanders in Week 10.
2. The Ravens' passing offense has been on a roll
Widely considered one of the premier rushing offenses in the NFL, the Ravens have actually been putting in work through the air. That's right, while they may be ranked first in rushing yards on the third-most rushing attempts through Week 10, the Ravens also rank third in passing yards, which is particularly impressive, considering the team has only attempted the 26th-most passes of any team in the NFL.
And the most impressive part, the Ravens are getting hot at the right time.
That's right, after a pair of light passing efforts in Weeks 3-4 against the Dallas Cowboys and the Buffalo Bills, the Ravens have put up at least 250 passing yards in each of the last six games, including a pair of 300-plus games against the Cincinnati Bengals and the Commanders.
With six different players who have recorded at least 200 passing yards on the season so far, plus Diontae Johnson, who was the lone bright spot on a Carolina Panthers team with nothing much going on, and you're left with a Ravens offense that is absolutely loaded with talent not just on the ground but also through the air.
The Steelers' passing defense, by contrast, has two secondary players on IR and two more who are questionable in Jackson and Henderson. While their dynamic safety duo of Minkah Fitzpatrick and DeShon Elliott have played well in 2024, Joey Porter Jr. and slot cornerback Beanie Bishop Jr. have been below average, or at least below the expectations of fans in the Steel City. Unless Mike Tomlin is able to rally and get his players in the right spots at the right time, the Ravens should be able to move the ball on the ground and through the air against a Steelers team that might finally show some cracks under pressure.
3. The Ravens run away to victory in Week 11
On paper, if there's one thing the Ravens and Steelers both do very well, it's run the ball.
Currently ranked first and eighth in rushing yards at 1,826 and 1,245, respectively, both the Ravens and the Steelers have built their offenses around establishing the tone on the ground and then backing that up with big throws down the field.
But did you know the Ravens and Steelers are also very good at defending the run as well? It's true; the Ravens are one of the improbable teams in the NFL who ranked first in rushing yards and rushing defense, and the Steelers don't follow too far behind in either category, ranking eighth in rushing and fourth in rushing yards allowed.
Now normally, the Steelers would have the advantage on the ground, but against the Ravens? They might actually have to be the team that airs it out because they are stifled on the ground, which is a lot easier said than done, considering the Steelers' passing offense is below average on the year, ranking 26th overall. Things are so bad in Pittsburgh that they've actually surrendered almost 250 more yards through the air than they've earned, even if Fields is largely responsible for that discrepancy.
Can Wilson get the Steelers' offense back on track? So far, it certainly looks that way, as he's thrown for at least 250 yards in two of his first three starts for the black and gold. But in Week 11? Against a Ravens team that routinely dominates the time of possession with their elite rushing offense and can still check it down the field when they need to? The Steelers would have to seriously put in an impressive effort which just might not be in the cards.
