The heated fight between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers is one that will likely go on until the final day of the 2011 NFL regular season. The question is: will one of these teams blink before then and if so, which one will be there to capitalize?
For starters, let’s begin by indicating that if the playoffs started today, the Ravens would win the AFC North, and the will enter the postseason as a fifth-seeded Wild Card. Although both teams are 10-3 this season, Baltimore currently holds the tiebreak by sweeping the season series 2-0 over Pittsburgh. This means that if the Steelers are going to have any chance of winning the division, they’re going to have to hope that they win out and the Ravens lose one of its final three games.
The Ravens will finish the regular season at San Diego, against Cleveland, and again on the road versus Cincinnati. The (10-3) Baltimore Ravens [-2.5] are currently listed as the NFL Point Spreads favorites to defeat the hosting (6-7) San Diego Chargers [+2.5] this Sunday night. This intraconference battle is scheduled to kickoff at 8:30 PM ET on NBC.
The Steelers, meanwhile, will play at San Francisco this week, followed by a home game against the Rams, and will finish the season on the road at the Browns. Mike Tomlin’s postseason chances this year are going to come down to the health of his quarterback. Ben Roethlisberger suffered a sprained ankle in last week’s victory over the Browns, in addition to the broken thumb in his right hand.
Big Ben has been seen practicing this week but on a very limited basis, as he sat out three days before working with the first team on Friday. As tough as this guy has been throughout his career, I wouldn’t count him out of any game, especially with so much on the line. The problem for the Steelers then becomes: does Ben help or hurt their chances by playing with so many injuries?
