All season long the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens have been battling back and forth for the lead in the AFC North. On Sunday night the Steelers retook the lead in the division-for now-when the Ravens lost to the San Diego Chargers by a score of 34-14. The loss drops the Ravens to 10-4 while the Steelers have a record of 10-3.

The best part about the Ravens usual choke job is that earlier this week I wrote my thoughts on Flacco whining about his team being disrespected by the media. It seems that Flacco believes that he and the Ravens deserve more attention than the Steelers, the New England Patriots and especially Tim Tebow. Then in typical Flacco and Ravens fashion they went out and proved exactly why they don’t get the respect the other teams do.

Nobody is perfect. The Green Bay Packers lost for the first time today and even the mighty Tebow couldn’t overcome the Patriots today. Championship caliber teams only allow this to happen once or twice though. The Ravens have now lost four times to teams they should have beaten. The first loss was against a Titans team that just lost to the previously 0-14 Titans. Loss two was to a 4-10 team and all the Ravens managed was a measly, meaningless touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Next the Ravens lost to a Seattle Seahawks team that is currently 7-7 but most agree it would be a joke if Seattle were a playoff team. Then finally the Ravens lost yesterday to a Chargers team that has some talented players that are finally playing well but a Ravens team aiming for the number one seed should not be beat by 20 points by anybody.

The Steelers have a half game lead over the Ravens in the AFC North but they have yet to play this week. Pittsburgh will play the Monday night game against the San Francisco 49ers. If the Steelers beat the 49ers they will move a full game ahead of the Ravens. If the Steelers lose in San Francisco then the Steelers will move back into a tie atop the AFC North but the Ravens hold the tiebreaker.

The big question for the Monday night game is Big Ben. The Steelers quarterback has been suffering from an ankle injury and is questionable for the game. Roethlisberger did manage to practice the last two days and some theorize now that the Ravens have lost and the Steelers can get the division lead that Roethlisberger will try to play.

On the opposite side of the ball James Harrison will be out for the Steelers after being suspended one game for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy two Thursdays ago. Playing in Harrison’s place will be Jason Worilds. Worilds is just a second-year player but has started the last four games in LaMarr’s Woodley’s place. Woodley will be back in the lineup on Monday so that allows Worilds to move to Harrison’s spot.

The Steelers need to win the game not only to hold the lead in the division but also to try and grab the number one overall seed in the AFC. Currently the Patriots are the number one seed because today’s win over the Denver Broncos gives them a half-game lead over the Steelers until the Monday Night game. If the Steelers are victorious over the 49ers then the Steelers will pull even with the Patriots and the tiebreaker would give the Steelers the number one seed.

Sources:

Denis Poroy, Philip Rivers leads San Diego Chargers to 34-14 rout of the Baltimore Ravens, The Washington Post

The last several generations of Lee Andrew Henderson’s family were Pittsburgh born and even though he was born in Alabama he has been a long time fan of the Pirates, Steelers and Panthers. Lee Andrew Henderson can be found on Twitter @LeeAHenderson

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On Sunday, November 6, 2011, the best NFL rivalry comes to prime time. It is the Baltimore Ravens visiting the Pittsburgh Steelers. Back in week one, the Ravens dominated at home, 35-7. But much has changed since that game. Now it is the Steelers who are playing great football—winning four in a row. This time they will win. Here’s why:

Momentum

In week one, the Ravens were dominant. Their defense harassed Pittsburgh into seven(!) turnovers. Their offensive game plan worked to perfection. And the home crowd ate it up. But the Ravens were playing their “must win” game of the season. They put everything on the line to win that game. And it showed when they flopped against the Titans in week 2. The Steelers have gotten better since week 1, winning four in a row, including an impressive tear down of the New England Patriots last week. The Ravens are struggling. They got physically pushed around and beaten by the Jaguars two weeks ago. And last week they had to scramble desperately to come back against the pathetic Arizona Cardinals. Clearly the Steelers are playing better all-around football right now.

Roethlisberger is elite, Flacco is not

The main reason for the Steelers’ success is superstar QB Ben Roethlisberger(notes). In today’s pass-happy NFL, he provides a unique skill set to propel the offense. Roethlisberger can thrive even when his protection breaks down. Joe Flacco(notes) gets jittery and scattershot. Roethlisberger is decisive and accurate. Flacco usually looks bewildered against Troy Polamalu(notes) and company. Want stats? For the season, Ben has a 95.7 QB rating (8th in the NFL); Flacco is at 75.4 (27th). Flacco’s rating is between benched Kyle Orton(notes) and raw Curtis Painter(notes). Ben is completing 64.4% of his passes, while Flacco is only hitting 53.8%. Superstar Ben beats (Below) Average Joe.

Both defenses are great against the pass, but the Steelers have more weapons

Neither the Steelers or the Ravens allow QBs to shred them. The passing yards will be hard-earned. But the Steelers have more weapons to get the job done. With Ravens-killer Hines Ward(notes) back, the Steelers have legitimate threats in Mike Wallace(notes), Ward, Antonio Brown(notes), Heath Miller(notes), and Emmanuel Sanders(notes). The Ravens have Anquan Boldin(notes) and a one-route speedster rookie in Torrey Smith(notes). The Steelers have been able to shut down their opponent’s number one threat by letting Ike Taylor(notes) erase them. He has fared well against Larry Fitzgerald(notes), Wes Welker(notes), and Andre Johnson(notes).

Steelers are adjusting to difficulties

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has a mantra: “the standard is the standard.” That means, whoever plays is expected to play at an elite, Steeler-level. That has been important, especially along the offensive line. While the offensive line has been far from elite, but they have been improving as they play more together. The coaches are helping by adjusting the play calling, too. Against the Patriots, for example, the Steelers had a full wristband of quick pass plays. The line didn’t have to hold up long, but the Steelers marched down the field and dominated the time of possession.

Not without concerns

The Steelers situation at linebacker is still unclear. Injuries have knocked out three of the four opening day starters. Lamarr Woodley(notes), James Harrison(notes), and James Farrior(notes) have been limited in practice during the week. If all three are unable to play, the Steelers will have a very young linebacker group. I would like to see 2010 second round pick Jason Worilds(notes) prove his worth, but he may not be ready to play either. AP writer Will Graves notes, though, that all the Steelers linebackers are trained and expected to move to any position and excel. So far, they have done that. But they will have to stop Ray Rice(notes), the Ravens’ most explosive offensive threat. If they can tackle him early, the Steelers will have a great shot to win.

The other concern, of course, is the Ravens’ defense. As coach Tomlin said, they have play makers on all levels. If they generate turnovers like in the first game, the Steelers will struggle again. But I don’t see it happening. The Steelers are surging, playing at home, and just better than the Ravens. Steelers win 20-10. Here we go, Steelers!

Sean Durity is a Terrible Towel twirling Steelers fan living in Atlanta. He grew up cheering the 1970s dynasty and appreciates the organization’s excellence even more as an adult.

More from this contributor:

“Why I Hate the Ravens”

After week one: “Ravens destroy Steelers in ‘must win’: A Steelers fan laments”

Pre-season, fearless game predictions

SOURCES

Will Graves, “Linebacker situation still cloudy for Steelers”

Mike Tomlin November 1 press conference. Transcript provided to media on steelers.com

Quarterback season stats

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