The Cleveland Browns suffered another disappointing heartbreak against the Baltimore Ravens on Christmas Eve (12/24/11). The end of the first half certainly has fans scratching their heads. Why the Browns did not attempt a field goal is beyond comprehension. Browns’s coach Pat Shurmur looked like he was going to explode when the team did not go for a field goal.

Shurmur is saying that he is responsible for the communication breakdowns that happened throughout the game. However, speaking of the particular play at the end of the first half, Shurmur said, “I never would have called a run in that situation with that much time.”

Seneca Wallace took the field as quarterback for the game because Colt McCoy is still out with his concussion. Wallace really looked a lot better last week. He had a few good passes in today’s game, like the excellent touchdown pass to Evan Moore, but he seemed far less confident in this game than he did in the Arizona game.

Wallace has been in the NFL for nine seasons, but he really seemed to be carrying a rookie confidence around with him today. This is the thing that the Browns do not need, especially when playing a team with the talent of the Ravens.

Going into the second half with no points on the board looked really terrible. Then, finally Josh Cribbs saved the day by running an 84-yard touchdown off of a punt. It was a truly remarkable play. This play was not a game-saver, but it definitely re-energized the Browns and gave the fans a little hope and confidence.

Should we even discuss the fourth quarter? Specifically that play where Wallace passed to Hillis when they should have just kicked the ball. This was another head-scratching play that is becoming all too characteristic of the Browns.

Then, with two minutes to go in the game, Phil Taylor just had to go offsides. The Browns had one more chance to actually do something, but him going offsides completely eliminated their chances of a last ditch effort. Had he not gone offsides, the Browns would have had two minutes (I know not much, but at least it would have been something) to at least attempt to score a touchdown.

The Browns will take on the Pittsburgh Steelers for their last game. If they expect to add another win to their record, they are going to have to stop with the careless mistakes and put forth more focus.

R. Elizabeth C. Kitchen is a lifelong Browns fan who grew up in a household of Browns’ fans. She was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio and still lives there. Regardless of the trials and tribulations the Browns have been through, she remains loyal, albeit honest about her home team. Follow Rose on Twitter @Rose_Kitchen

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When the Cleveland Browns take on the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday, December 24, 2011, they will be doing it with Seneca Wallace at quarterback. There is a good chance he will play the role of QB in the final game against the Pittsburgh Steelers the following week as well.

Colt McCoy is still out because of the concussion he sustained due to the head on collision courtesy of James Harrison. He is still having recurring symptoms from this injury and until he is fully recovered from this injury, it is simply not safe for him – or the other players – for him to be out on the field. McCoy will not travel with the Browns either. He will stay home and rest and focus on recovering.

Since Wallace is going to be taking over the role of quarterback for the remainder of the season, he has to start acting like a starting quarterback. According to his teammates. He is falling into the role well.

“I think he’s more vocal in the locker room and on the field,” said Joe Thomas, a left tackle for the Browns. “When you’re the starter, you’re the coach on the field, not only calling plays but getting everybody lined up correctly, making sure the formation’s are correct, the personnel is right. You’re kind of the designated rah-rah guy. When things are going south, you’re the guy that needs to stand up and get everybody in a positive direction.”

Wallace has acknowledged that he is just the backup quarterback and that he is afraid to overstep his boundaries. However, he needs to lose this mentality as it could hold him back. He is not the backup at this moment. He is the starter for the remainder of the season and he needs to think like a starter. He has played in nine NFL seasons and has earned his time on the field.

In the Arizona game, Wallace showed that he has what it takes to make plays. He definitely gave the Browns some new energy. The only thing the Browns need to work on right now is keeping that energy throughout the entire game because that energy definitely faded by the end of the third quarter. If Wallace can keep throwing good passes and keep his men energized, the Browns just might have a chance to defeat the Ravens.

R. Elizabeth C. Kitchen is a lifelong Browns fan who grew up in a household of Browns’ fans. She was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio and still lives there. Regardless of the trials and tribulations the Browns have been through, she remains loyal, albeit honest about her home team. Follow Rose on Twitter @Rose_Kitchen

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If the Baltimore Ravens are going to finally break through and win their division, they are going to have to do it without their best wide receiver. The Ravens will lose Anquan Boldin for the final two games as a result of torn cartilage in his knee. This is a significant loss for a team that is looking to win their division and earn a playoff bye. The Ravens are currently 10-4 and tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers atop the AFC North. The Ravens have the tiebreaker but won’t have an easy time winning the final two games. For an offense that is already less than stellar, this is a tough loss for the Ravens.

Boldin will have minor surgery to repair the torn cartilage. While surgery on the knee is usually really serious, Boldin shouldn’t require an extensive coverage. In fact, he is expected to return for the playoffs. Apparently, the injury has been lingering and it was decided that now was the best time to get everything fixed. Baltimore did not disclose which knee was injured. However, the team did announce that Boldin will be ready for the playoffs. That is a good thing for this team, but it could make winning the division difficult.

Boldin has 57 catches and was on track for a 1,000 yard receiving season. He is one of the best threats in the Baltimore passing game. Without him, Lee Evans should get more action in the final two games. Baltimore still has Joe Flacco and Ray Rice so they should still be able to move the ball. However, losing a receiver like Boldin at this point in the season can’t be easy.

Baltimore has played seven playoff games in the past three seasons and all of them have been on the road. This team knows more than any other how important it is to get a home playoff game. The Ravens were on track for that until they lost to the San Diego Chargers. They still control their destiny. If they beat the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals in the final two weeks, they will win their division and earn a bye. They are still good enough to do that. However, losing Boldin is definitely a blow.

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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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(Sports Network) – The Baltimore Ravens have had trouble this season following up big victories when they face a team below .500. They have a chance to buck that trend this Sunday with a matchup with the last-place Cleveland Browns.

The Ravens look to win a sixth straight divisional game and seventh in a row over the Browns this weekend at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

With an 8-3 record, Baltimore is not only tied with Pittsburgh for first place in the AFC North, but for the best record in the conference along with New England and Houston. The Ravens could be in an even better position, but all three of its losses this year have come against teams that were under .500 at the time.

Baltimore followed up a big Week 1 win over Pittsburgh with a loss in Tennessee, knocked off first-place Houston on Oct. 16 one week before an ugly defeat in Jacksonville and then followed up a road win over the Steelers with a setback in Seattle.

The Ravens hope those woes, which seem to creep up on the road, don’t follow them to Cleveland after they knocked off San Francisco by a 16-6 score in the “Harbaugh Bowl” on Thanksgiving. Baltimore used a club record-tying nine sacks and a touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to tight end Dennis Pitta to give head coach John Harbaugh a victory over the Niners and their sideline general, little brother Jim Harbaugh.

“It’s just a big win for us,” said John Harbaugh afterward. “It’s an opportunity going forward. It positions us really well. Now we have to conquer a game in Cleveland, one that’s been plaguing us all year.”‘

Harbaugh was referring to the Ravens’ issues against losing teams following big wins. Baltimore needs to shake the trend quickly, as its next four games are all against teams under .500, a stretch that is book-marked with games versus the Browns.

Baltimore’s head coach shook off the notion that his team just wasn’t ready for those games, saying that the Ravens just didn’t play well. He also stressed the challenge of this game given that the Browns are in the same division and are coming off a solid showing.

“We’ve got to turn over every stone,” Harbaugh said. “We certainly acknowledge that those three losses, coming off of big wins, against teams with sub-.500 records, were not good performances. They are team losses the way we look at it — coaches, players, all of us.”

The Browns certainly seem capable of pulling off the upset considering their performance last weekend in a 23-20 loss to Cincinnati. Cleveland, though, failed to hold leads of 17-7 and 20-10 as the Bengals’ Mike Nugent hit a 26- yard game-winning field with 38 ticks left.

That came after Cleveland’s Phil Dawson missed a 55-yard attempt at the other end following a bad snap. He had already hit a season-long 54-yarder earlier in the game, but long snapper Ryan Pontbriand’s toss back to the holder was low.

Pontbriand fell on the sword Tuesday, getting released.

“We didn’t finish it off,” said Browns head coach Pat Shurmur. “The Bengals did a good job of coming back on us. Just like if we had won the game it’d be a team victory, we lost the game and it was a team loss.”

Cleveland has lost four of its last five games and does not have an easy road to the end of its season. Four of its final five tests are against AFC North co-leaders Baltimore and Pittsburgh, including a meeting at the Ravens on Dec. 24.

The Ravens, meanwhile, have won two in a row despite playing both games without linebacker Ray Lewis, whom Harbaugh said has a chance of returning for this game.

Baltimore, which has won seven of its last eight versus AFC North opponents, can reach 9-3 for the second time in team history with a victory over Cleveland, joining the 2006 club.

SERIES HISTORY

The Ravens own a commanding 17-7 lead in their all-time series with the Browns, whose first edition of the franchise moved to Baltimore to become the Ravens prior to the 1996 season before re-entering the NFL as an expansion team in 1999, and have won each of the last six bouts between the rivals. Baltimore recorded its third straight home-and-home sweep of the Browns by following up a 24-17 home victory during Week 3 of the 2010 season with a 20-10 triumph in Cleveland last December, and also left Ohio with wins in both 2008 (37-27) and 2009 (16-0). The Browns last bested the Ravens via a 33-30 overtime decision at M&T Bank Stadium on Nov. 18, 2007 and topped Baltimore at home by a 27-13 count that same year as well.

Harbaugh is 6-0 lifetime against the Browns as a head coach, while Shurmur will be facing both the Ravens and Harbaugh in his current position. The two sideline bosses previously worked together on the staff of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999-2007, with Shurmur then the team’s quarterback coach and Harbaugh the special teams coordinator and later in charge of defensive backs.

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CLEVELAND — Because they played on Thanksgiving, the Baltimore Ravens enjoyed a long holiday weekend and got to rest last Sunday.

They can’t afford to take another one off.

Baltimore’s three losses this season have followed the same pattern. All of them have come on the road, all of them have come against a weaker opponent and all of them have come the week after an impressive win.

So don’t think for a second that a trip to Cleveland has the Ravens (8-3) feeling overconfident. They know the Browns (4-7) are always ready to brawl.

“If you were a fighter, this is the fighter you avoid at all costs because he is always going to fight you hard, and he is always going to fight you for the 12 rounds,” Ravens defensive end Terrell Suggs said. “If you look at just the matchups between the two teams in the past, they have always brought it against us. They have always had a special thing to play us.

“They are going to bring it. Our work is cut out for us.”

Tied atop the AFC North with Pittsburgh, the Ravens can’t afford any letdown against the Browns, who despite losing four of their past five games and falling back to their familiar spot at the bottom of the division, have the NFL’s top-ranked pass defense and are showing signs of improvement.

Cleveland doesn’t have playoff hopes, but nothing would ease the pain more than beating the Ravens, who have already shown a tendency to ease up against lesser teams.

Baltimore opened the season by blowing out Pittsburgh 35-7 and followed it with a loss in Week 2 at Tennessee. After thrashing Houston on Oct. 16, the Ravens were shocked in a Monday night game the next week by Jacksonville. Then, after Baltimore completed a season sweep by winning at Pittsburgh, the Ravens were beaten at Seattle the following week.

Coach John Harbaugh is confident his team knows better than to take anyone lightly. They’ve lived the “any given Sunday” — or Monday — cliché this season.

“Our guys, even in the games we haven’t played well and lost on the road, I don’t believe we had an emotional letdown,” he said. “We just have to play well. Every single team in this league is really good and I think the Browns are exceptionally good — much better than their record would indicate. We’ve always had tough games against them. Our guys understand the Browns, they understand the division rivalry and they understand what they’re getting into, so I don’t think there’s any possibility of any kind of emotional letdown.

“We respect everybody and we really respect the Browns.”

Baltimore may again be without linebacker Ray Lewis, the heart, soul and conscience of the Ravens’ nasty defense. Lewis missed practice this week with a toe injury that has kept him out of the previous two games. If Lewis can’t play, Jameel McClain will fill in for the third week in a row.

McClain had eight tackles in Baltimore’s recent win over San Francisco, but he’s not about to call himself Lewis’ replacement.

“Nobody can be Ray Lewis’ replacement,” he said. “Ray Lewis is someone phenomenal.”

But just because Lewis could be out, that doesn’t make things any easier for Cleveland. Browns coach Pat Shurmur must design a game plan that accounts for all of the Ravens’ defensive stars.

“You’ll go into the game knowing this is a certain guy you need to block, this is a certain guy that you don’t want to wreck the game,” he said. “The challenge for them is they’ve got about three or four of them up front.”

For the Browns to pull an upset, they’ll need to be able to run the ball and stay out of obvious passing situations. It’s on those 2nd- and 3rd-and-long plays when the Ravens turn their pass rush loose with Suggs and Co. playing a diabolical game of “meet me at the quarterback.”

That’s all the news for today.

The Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers are tied for first place in the AFC North. The teams split the two-game series.

With five games left, the Steelers host the Bengals, Browns, Rams and visit the 49ers and the Browns.

The Ravens visit the Browns, Chargers, Bengals and host the Browns and the Colts.

Which team will win the division?

Which team will win the AFC North?

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BALTIMORE — John Harbaugh aggressively pumped his fist when Joe Flacco converted a big third-down throw. He jumped on the back of linebacker Jameel McClain as he ran off the field after a key sack in the fourth quarter, and he gave several of his players hugs after receiving the first of two celebratory Gatorade baths.

And when it was all over, when his Baltimore Ravens had turned a superb all-around effort into a 16-6 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in front of an announced Thanksgiving night crowd of 71,435 at M&T Bank Stadium, Harbaugh jogged across the field and pulled his younger brother by 15 months in for an embrace, and some kind words.

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SEATTLE (AP) — It’s seems like the perfect trap. Coming off an emotional and important victory, the Baltimore Ravens fly across the country to play a 2-6 team coming off a third straight loss.

Problem for the Ravens is it’s a situation they’ve faced and failed at twice this season.

The Ravens said all the right things this week about realizing the importance of Sunday’s game at Seattle and how any benefits from their thrilling, last-second 23-20 win over Pittsburgh last week will be completely negated with a West Coast flop.

But the Ravens track record this season says the rare matchup against the struggling Seahawks could mean problems. All they have to do is look back to Week 2 at Tennessee and Week 7 at Jacksonville to see the mistakes.

“We have been riding an emotional high right now. Coming off those big wins, (the media) like to say we have that tendency of a letdown,” Baltimore running back Ray Rice said. “I think it’s time for us to be able to put the big games behind us and treat every game like it’s a big game.”

After routing Pittsburgh in its season opener, Baltimore followed up with a flop against the Titans. Five weeks later, the Ravens had another poor performance at Jacksonville a week after an impressive victory over Houston.

They are rare moments in the tenure of John Harbaugh. Since taking over in 2008, the Ravens have three losses against sub-.500 teams. Only one was later than the second week of the regular season, and it came three weeks ago against the Jaguars.

The fact two of those slip ups against losing teams happened this season, and with a home game waiting next week against division co-leader Cincinnati, is what’s causing the Ravens concern about this trip.

“It’s really easy to get ready for a team like Seattle because they’re very talented. I think they’ve lost a lot of close games and their record is not in any way indicative of the type of football team they are,” Harbaugh said. “We’ve had this experience already and so we know that those records don’t mean anything.”

Flacco spent most of the week deflecting the praise being heaped his way following his nearly flawless final drive last week against Pittsburgh, which ended with a 26-yard TD pass to rookie Torrey Smith with 8 seconds left that gave the Ravens a season sweep of their AFC North rivals. Flacco took the Ravens 92 yards in the final 21Ú2 minutes for the winning score.

“If we just dwell on that then the end is going to be nothing. We’re going to look back on it and say, ‘Who cares?’ because we lost a couple more games,” Flacco said. “But as long as we go and do our jobs the rest of the season I think we will be able to look at that as a big win.”

A win Sunday would give the Ravens their second 7-2 start in franchise history. The previous time came in 2006 when Baltimore finished 13-3 and had the second-best record in the AFC.

Seattle isn’t anywhere near thinking about 7-2 starts and 13-3 records. They’ve dropped their last three, scoring a combined 28 points in losses to Cleveland, Cincinnati and Dallas.

The Seahawks are proving talented enough to give better teams fits, as evident by the fact they’ve been within one score in the fourth quarter in five of their six losses. But that only highlights Seattle’s sometimes maddening inconsistency and seeming to always be playing from behind.

They are headaches that were expected with such a young team. That doesn’t make being 2-6 any easier to accept.

“It’s just been the performance level of our guys has just not been where it needs to be, you know? We haven’t taken care of the football as well as we need to.”

We haven’t gotten the ball as much as we need to,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “With our young guys up front, it’s been a process. As much as we have no patience about it, we have had to be patient as we watch them develop. It’s just been a fight. So, we’re getting along here.”

If there was a bright spot to take from last week’s loss in Dallas, it was the rediscovery of a running game. The Seahawks scraped the no-huddle approach that worked in an upset of the New York Giants last month — and subsequently sputtered — and ran for 162 yards against a Cowboys defense that was fourth in the league against the run. Marshawn Lynch topped 100 yards in the regular season for the first time in nearly three years, but Seattle couldn’t overcome three interceptions from Tarvaris Jackson.

Carroll said this week that Seattle’s ability to run is of paramount importance to how the rest of the team operates, no matter if it’s in a hurry-up offense or not. If they’re able to run against Ray Lewis, Haloti Ngata and the rest of the Ravens’ defense, it’ll be an impressive statement.

“We are in for a fight. What else can you ask for?” Jackson said. “We’re a young team, and we’re trying to show what we have, and put together a nice team here. So what better challenge is it to have to go against one of the better defenses in the league?”

——

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What are your opinions.

It’s seems like the perfect trap. Coming off an emotional and important victory, the Baltimore Ravens fly across the country to play a 2-6 team coming off a third straight loss.

Problem for the Ravens is it’s a situation they’ve faced and failed at twice this season.

The Ravens said all the right things this week about realizing the importance of Sunday’s game at Seattle and how any benefits from their thrilling, last-second 23-20 win over Pittsburgh last week will be completely negated with a West Coast flop.

But the Ravens track record this season says the rare matchup against the struggling Seahawks could mean problems. All they have to do is look back to Week 2 at Tennessee and Week 7 at Jacksonville to see the mistakes.

“We have been riding an emotional high right now. Coming off those big wins, (the media) like to say we have that tendency of a letdown,” Baltimore running back Ray Rice said. “I think it’s time for us to be able to put the big games behind us and treat every game like it’s a big game.”

After routing Pittsburgh in its season opener, Baltimore followed up with a flop against the Titans. Five weeks later, the Ravens had another poor performance at Jacksonville a week after an impressive victory over Houston.

They are rare moments in the tenure of John Harbaugh. Since taking over in 2008, the Ravens have three losses against sub-.500 teams. Only one was later than the second week of the regular season, and it came three weeks ago against the Jaguars.

The fact two of those slip ups against losing teams happened this season, and with a home game waiting next week against division co-leader Cincinnati, is what’s causing the Ravens concern about this trip.

“It’s really easy to get ready for a team like Seattle because they’re very talented. I think they’ve lost a lot of close games and their record is not in any way indicative of the type of football team they are,” Harbaugh said. “We’ve had this experience already and so we know that those records don’t mean anything.”

Flacco spent most of the week deflecting the praise being heaped his way following his nearly flawless final drive last week against Pittsburgh, which ended with a 26-yard TD pass to rookie Torrey Smith with 8 seconds left that gave the Ravens a season sweep of their AFC North rivals. Flacco took the Ravens 92 yards in the final 2½ minutes for the winning score.

“If we just dwell on that then the end is going to be nothing. We’re going to look back on it and say, ‘Who cares?’ because we lost a couple more games,” Flacco said. “But as long as we go and do our jobs the rest of the season I think we will be able to look at that as a big win.”

A win Sunday would give the Ravens their second 7-2 start in franchise history. The previous time came in 2006 when Baltimore finished 13-3 and had the second-best record in the AFC.

Seattle isn’t anywhere near thinking about 7-2 starts and 13-3 records. They’ve dropped their last three, scoring a combined 28 points in losses to Cleveland, Cincinnati and Dallas.

The Seahawks are proving talented enough to give better teams fits, as evident by the fact they’ve been within one score in the fourth quarter in five of their six losses. But that only highlights Seattle’s sometimes maddening inconsistency and seeming to always be playing from behind.

They are headaches that were expected with such a young team. That doesn’t make being 2-6 any easier to accept.

“It’s just been the performance level of our guys has just not been where it needs to be, you know? We haven’t taken care of the football as well as we need to. We haven’t gotten the ball as much as we need to,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “With our young guys up front, it’s been a process. As much as we have no patience about it, we have had to be patient as we watch them develop. It’s just been a fight. So, we’re getting along here.”

If there was a bright spot to take from last week’s loss in Dallas, it was the rediscovery of a running game. The Seahawks scraped the no-huddle approach that worked in an upset of the New York Giants last month — and subsequently sputtered — and ran for 162 yards against a Cowboys defense that was fourth in the league against the run. Marshawn Lynch topped 100 yards in the regular season for the first time in nearly three years, but Seattle couldn’t overcome three interceptions from Tarvaris Jackson.

Carroll said this week that Seattle’s ability to run is of paramount importance to how the rest of the team operates, no matter if it’s in a hurry-up offense or not. If they’re able to run against Ray Lewis, Haloti Ngata and the rest of the Ravens’ defense, it’ll be an impressive statement.

“We are in for a fight. What else can you ask for?” Jackson said. “We’re a young team, and we’re trying to show what we have, and put together a nice team here. So what better challenge is it to have to go against one of the better defenses in the league?”

___

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The AFC North has been wild this year. The season started with the Baltimore Ravens absolutely drubbing the Pittsburgh Steelers, establishing a possible early dominance in the division. But as the season progressed, the Steelers have bounced back, the Ravens have made a case for why they could be an AFC favorite and the young Cincinnati Bengals have surprised everyone by going 6-2, creating a virtual three-way tie for first place (the Steelers are 6-3, but have not yet had a bye week). This AFC North division race is going to continue to be a tight one, but at the end, look for the Pittsburgh Steelers to emerge on top.

Most recently, the Steelers lost their second game of the season to the Baltimore Ravens in a game that came down to the final minute. Led by quarterback Joe Flacco, the Ravens were able to come back from a 20-16 deficit on a touchdown pass to rookie receiver Torrey Smith. A game in which the Steelers controlled for the most part was out of their hands, and they took the loss. Although Pittsburgh lost to Baltimore both times this season, Pittsburgh has shown something on both sides of the ball that the Ravens have not–consistency. Once the Steelers picked up their play following the season-opening loss to Baltimore, they’ve been dominant as always defensively and executed the offense as expected. The Ravens, on the other hand, have shown their defensive dominance, but have struggled at times offensively. Joe Flacco has played well recently, but going back just three games, he had a less-than-spectacular performance against the mediocre Jacksonville Jaguars. Additionally, a huge part of the Ravens’ offense is their running game, which was non-existent in that game against the Jags. It makes analysts wonder whether the offensive coaching is responsible because running back Ray Rice is a Pro-Bowl-caliber back. With these flaws offensively, the Ravens are a tougher team to pick. In addition, Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been having a good year, and running back Rashard Mendenhall has made big contributions as well to the offense.

Consistency always helps make a safe pick. But there is another reason why the Steelers are a better pick to win the division over both Baltimore and Cincinnati: experience. The players on the Steelers have, for the most part, all been to the playoffs before. Just a season ago, the Steelers were in the Super Bowl. Many of the returning players know exactly what it takes to get back there. Although the Ravens have experienced players in terms of the playoffs, very few, if any ,have made it to the Super Bowl other than Ray Lewis. The defense of the Ravens, like that of the Steelers, is championship quality and could propel them to the Super Bowl, but the Steelers are a much safer choice.

We’re halfway through the season, and the remaining schedules of each team also contribute to this decision. The Steelers have a much lighter schedule than the Ravens for the rest of the season, which is just another reason why the Pittsburgh Steelers will win the AFC North division. 

That’s all the news for today.

Read More: Terrell Suggs (LB – BAL), Troy Polamalu (SS – PIT), Ray Rice (RB – BAL), Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers, Nov 6, 2011 8:20 PM EST

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens did not earn the NFL any new football fans in their first half of primetime on Sunday Night Football, but the second half seems to be off to a better start. The Ravens have opened up 16-6 lead on a Ray Rice touchdown run set up by an interception from Ball So Hard University’s Terrell Suggs.

Rice opened the game with a 76-yard touchdown run that was called back due to a holding penalty and then later had what looked to be a touchdown nullified because the officials blew their whistle due to forward progress. The diminutive running back finally found his way to the end zone officially in the third quarter, though, on a short run set up by an interception from Suggs.

The scoring run from Rice wasn’t all that interesting, but his shake and stiff arm of Troy Polamalu should suffice for those looking for a highlight of his:

For more on this potentially epic game, check out Baltimore Beatdown for the Ravens’ view on things, and head Behind the Steel Curtain for more on the Steelers. For more updates on this game, be sure to stay tuned to the Sunday Night Football StoryStream.

If anybody needs tickets to games, remember to click the tickets link at the top.