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The Pittsburgh Steelers started off the 2019 season in miserable fashion. They dropped to 0-3 and lost the services of their Hall of Fame quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the process.
However, things might be turning around. In Week 4 against the Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh picked up its first win of the year, moving to 1-3.
Now they have a pretty tough AFC North divisional opponent in Week 5 though. The Steelers find themselves in a matchup with the Baltimore Ravens.
The Ravens have a better record than Pittsburgh, holding on to a 2-2 mark at the moment. However, they've lost two games in a row. Now they hope to stop the skid against the Steelers while Pittsburgh hopes to keep their winning ways alive.
How will that work out? Here are four bold predictions for the Steelers in their Week 5 game against the Ravens.
Mason Rudolph Struggles
Mason Rudolph has looked perfectly fine filling in for Roethlisberger. However, he hasn't been spectacular either. So far, his best game came against the Bengals last week.
You could argue that this shows he's growing. He could ride the momentum and have another really strong performance against another AFC North divisional foe.
However, let's look at this a different way. The Bengals defense is bad, really bad.
Meanwhile, the Baltimore Ravens defense is really good. They haven't been superb this year but that's mainly based off their last two games. Those two games saw them go up against some offensive juggernauts in the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cleveland Browns.
Seriously, good luck containing those two offenses often.
Baltimore's going to smell blood in the water with the young quarterback trying to take charge. Expect a lot of pressure to be brought on him as he looks downfield.
The Ravens will severely limit what Rudolph could do and the quarterback could suffer his first multi-interception game.
James Conner Breaks Out
Baltimore's defense won't be able to stop everyone though. This game, it will be James Conner's turn to break out.
After such a fantastic season last year, the running back has struggled to find his footing in 2019. He has 139 yards and one touchdown on 44 carries (3.2 yards per carry). Even worse, his season-high for rushing yards in a game is just 43 at the moment.
Conner's going to change that here. Not only will Conner run well consistently the entire game, but he'll also even break off a few big-chunk plays.
Pittsburgh's star back will remind everyone just how good he is with a serious output in Week 5. Expect him to reach around 100 yards and find the end zone at least once.
No, this won't be some massive Leonard Fournette-type 200 yard game. However, it will be more than enough to show he's still the same beast from last year and things are only getting started in 2019 for him.
Pittsburgh's Defense Gets Two Interceptions
The Steelers' defense has just three interceptions on the season. Meanwhile, Ravens quarterback, Lamar Jackson, has just two interceptions this year.
Due to that, you'd expect this to be a massive game for Jackson. Honestly, it could be. The young quarterback is so talented it's really hard to predict a total flop from him.
Even if he doesn't have it one game, his arm is so talented he'll likely hit on a few big throws. Meanwhile, you should always expect a few massive run plays from Jackson.
That being said, his last two games have easily been the worst two of his season. Jackson's cooling off a bit after an unreal start to the season.
Pittsburgh will capitalize on that. Yes, Jackson will still get his numbers and still make some plays that make your jaw drop. However, he'll also have a few mistakes.
Remember, he should've had a few extra turnovers in the last few weeks with so very ill-advised throws.
Those will come back to haunt him in Week 5. The Steelers will make a few plays and come away with a pair of interceptions on Jackson.
Pittsburgh Loses By Two Scores
That's it for the good news when it comes to Pittsburgh though. Even with the turnovers, Jackson will find ways to hurt them badly. Meanwhile, good luck stopping running back Mark Ingram as he's been on an absolute tear this year.
The Steelers will have a serious issue stopping both the passing and rushing attack, and at some point, it could completely collapse on them.
At the same time, the offense won't have much luck against the Baltimore defense. Yes, Conner will have a very strong game, but it won't mean much.
The Ravens could jump out to an early lead and when that happens, Pittsburgh might need to abandon the run for the most part. Rudolph has looked solid but this could be far too much pressure for him.
Things could spiral out of control pretty quickly.
Now, the Steelers are a solid all-around team. Due to that, things won't get totally out of hand. They'll stay in the game somewhat for the most part. However, the final score will see them lose by two-or-more scores.
This will be miserable news for Pittsburgh as they fall down to 1-4 and suddenly find themselves in a deep hole as they prepare to face the tough Los Angeles Chargers in Week 6.
