Steelers bold predictions for crucial Week 14 clash vs. Ravens

It’s a fine line of possible trouble for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and maybe it’s time for Mike Tomlin to coach somewhere else. But for now, the Ravens await. And here are bold predictions for the crucial AFC North clash.

The Steelers enter with a record of 6-6, stumbling hard after a 4-1 start to the season.

Meanwhile, the Ravens are also 6-6. However, they started 1-5 and won five in a row before the Bengals displaced their momentum.

Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers will be held to under 250 yards passing

Part of it is the Ravens’ improved defense. Another part is that Rodgers hasn’t been able to lift a mediocre group of receivers. Additionally, the Steelers are likely to utilize heavy doses of Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell to keep Ravens QB Lamar Jackson off the field.

Furthermore, Rodgers seems to be toast, according to bleacherreport.com

“The receivers haven’t played well and deserve a public call-out,” Brent Sobleski wrote. “At the same time, Rodgers is a shell of himself. Some of the problem may be due to a wrist injury on his non-throwing hand. He’s still completed only 52.2 percent of his passes over the last three weeks. The Steelers went all in with an aging quarterback. As the season has progressed, Rodgers doesn’t appear to have enough in the tank to make Pittsburgh matter.”

It’s kind of one of those get-what-you-pay-for matters. And the Ravens won’t have any sympathy. Look for them to light Rodgers up early in the game with a blitz or two. If they take him down early, Rodgers will likely go into self-preservation mode. And the Steelers’ already shaky offense will fizzle.

Rodgers will take anyone down, as he did his receivers. But he stayed off of Mike Tomlin, at least for now. Receiver D.K. Metcalf said Rodgers needs to be hard on his teammates, according to Sports Illustrated.

“I didn’t see them,” Metcalf said when asked for his reaction to Rodgers’s postgame thoughts. “I’m not on social media, so, you know, anything (like that) we talk about during the week. I’m pretty sure he’s going to bring light to it once the game plan is in. And he’s probably going to be very vocal this week about us getting on the same page and about us running the right routes.

“It’s just a continual process, whether that be verbal or on the field. Whether he’s signaling me something, or if I got a question about a route or a concept off the field. Or if I’m thinking about something late at night after practice, or my point of view about something. I think it’s just a steady stream of communication throughout the whole week, so we all get on the same page. Because I might see something that he doesn’t see and vice versa.”

RB Jaylen Warren will rush for 60-plus yards

There haven’t been too many outstanding games this season for Warren. But the Steelers will need to rely on their ground game to have any shot against the Ravens. And the Ravens have been somewhat vulnerable against the run, giving up over 118 yards per contest.

The opportunities should be there. The question is whether the Steelers’ offensive line and Warren can deliver. The Steelers have a good offensive line, according to Pro Football Focus. The unit is ranked No. 9 in the NFL. Even in the bad loss to the Bills, the Steelers’ offensive line came out mostly unscathed.

“The Steelers were without left tackle Broderick Jones in Week 13 after placing him on injured reserve due to a neck injury,” Zoltán Buday wrote. “He was replaced by former first-round pick Andrus Peat, who allowed no pressure against Buffalo and earned a 78.0 PFF pass-blocking grade. After giving up pressure on 2.6% of pass plays as a rookie, second-year center Zach Frazier is down to just a 1.9% rate this season.”

Steelers’ defense will get punished by Ravens QB Lamar Jackson

It’s time for Jackson to have a good game against the Steelers. Jackson has only faced the division opponent eight times in his career, according to statmuse.com. His highest passing total in 253 yards. And he has thrown nine interceptions compared to only eight touchdown passes.

It’s just hard to imagine the Steelers having an answer for Jackson after the way the Bills’ offensive line tossed them around like rag dolls. The Ravens will hit hard with Derrick Henry. And the Steelers will have to focus on stopping that beast. And that will open opportunities for Jackson to pull the ball out and break around the end for big gains.

Plus, look for Jackson to take advantage of scramble opportunities better than he has all season. This is the game where he needs to put on a show. And he will.

So, who wins the game? This one should belong to the Ravens. There’s too much turmoil with the Steelers.

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