The Steelers are looking to keep their top seed in the AFC standings in Week 14, but they’ll have to get past the rolling Ravens in Pittsburgh first.
The Pittsburgh Steelers may not have looked perfect over the last few weeks, but they’d have home field advantage and a first round bye if the postseason were to start today in the NFL. However, they still have a huge hurdle to get through in these last few weeks in 2017 when the Baltimore Ravens come to town on Sunday night.
The Steelers have had two close encounters with teams that shouldn’t be in their metaphorical league, with last-minute drives needed to take down the Brett Hundley-led Green Bay Packers, and their AFC North rival Cincinnati Bengals. They’ll need to put those two games in the past if they have any hope of winning on Sunday night against a stellar Ravens defense.
On the other side, the Ravens have been crushing it on the defensive side of the ball, which should be promising for their fans as they head into a key AFC North primetime battle. They’re forcing turnovers left and right, and they’ll need to take all they can get on the road in Pittsburgh in a pivotal game in Week 14.
Odds: Steelers -4.5, according to Odds Shark
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The Steelers offense has the potential to explode at any moment, with Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and LeVeon Bell serving as huge threats representing all facets of their scoring. However, they haven’t been able to get any big production against the Packers or Bengals in their last two games, which may serve as a problem on Sunday.
Even with their struggles, I still see the Steelers squeaking by in Week 14 to keep their spot atop the AFC, and they’ll head into their game against the New England Patriots with home field advantage likely on the line in Week 15.
Prediction: Steelers 24, Ravens 20