Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers Line
The Baltimore Ravens (5-2) meet the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2) Sunday at Heinz Field in what has become one of the best rivalry games in the NFL.
Odds makers have given Pittsburgh the edge.
The Steelers are currently listed as a 3.5-point favorite with the total set at 42.
The defending AFC champs won a fourth straight game in Week 8 with a 25-17 home win over the New England Patriots.
Big Ben Roethlisberger completed 36 of 50 passes for 365 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in the victory. Seven of those completions went to Heath Miller, who led the team with 85 receiving yards.
Rashard Mendenhall led the way on the ground with 70 of the Steelers’ 98 rushing yards.
The Ravens came from 21 points down to defeat the Arizona Cardinals 30-27 at home last week.
Joe Flacco connected on 31 of 51 pass attempts for 336 yards and an interception. Anquan Boldin hauled in seven of those passes and led the team with 145 receiving yards.
Ray Rice led the way on the ground with 63 yards and three touchdowns.
Defense figures to take center stage Sunday night as these teams boast the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked units in the league.
The Ravens rank No. 1 in total defense with 263.3 yards allowed per game, and the Steelers are right behind with 270.8 yards allowed per contest.
If the Pittsburgh defense has a weakness, it is its run defense. The Steelers have allowed the opposition to run for more than 100 yards in three games this season, and they’ve lost two of those games. One of the losses came to the Ravens, who racked up 170 yards on the ground.
It’s even harder to find any signs of weakness in the Baltimore defense. What I have found, however, is that the Ravens haven’t been quite as good defensively on the road, where they give up nearly 30 more yards per game. Consequently, they’re just 1-2 away from home this year.
These AFC North rivals have split the last six meetings with the Ravens winning the season’s first meeting 35-7 at home on Sept. 11.
The Steelers won 31-24 in last season’s playoffs on Jan. 15 in the most recent meeting in Pittsburgh.
In terms of the point spread, the Steelers have had the edge, going 5-2-1 against the spread in the last eight meetings. It is also worth noting that the Steelers are 6-1 against the spread in their last seven home games and 4-0 against the number in their last four games as a favorite of 3.5 to 10 points.
The Ravens are 1-4 against the spread in their last five games as a road underdog of 3.5 to 10.0 points.
As far as the total is concerned, the over has been the play. The over is 8-3-1 in the last 12 meetings and 6-1-1 in the eight meetings in Pittsburgh.
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