Nov 4, 2016 4 min read

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Cam Heyward back? Check.

Marcus Gilbert back? Check.

Ben Roethlisberger back? Likely a check.

The Steelers are getting healthy at just the right time and that could be the difference heading into Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens.

That’s big against a Baltimore team that, while it’s getting more healthy itself, will still be without linebacker Elvis Dumervil, tight end Crockett Gilmore and has C.J. Mosley, Steve Smith, Ronnie Stanley, Terrell Suggs, Ladarius Webb and Marshall Yanda questionable for this game.

A number of those questionable players will be in the lineup against the Steelers – expect Standley, Suggs, Webb and Yanda to play – but despite coming off a bye week, the Ravens are still pretty banged up.

Baltimore has won four of the past five meetings with the Steelers, including a sweep last season.

That could come into play this year in that these two teams have played each other so closely over the years that things tend to balance out. The Ravens might have the upper hand one season, but the Steelers get it back the next. It’s just the way this series goes.

Speaking to a number of players in Pittsburgh’s locker room, they talked about having to regain their edge against the Ravens. By edge, they were referring to that little extra something for games against Baltimore.

“You didn’t earn your stripes until you played a game against the Ravens,” said guard Ramon Foster of how things used to be for the Steelers.

But the Steelers allowed the Bengals to be a bit of a distraction in recent years. And the Ravens have stayed focused on the Steelers.

This Baltimore team is, quite frankly, not that good. Yes, it’s had injuries. But so have the Steelers.

It doesn’t erase the fact that the Ravens have lost four in a row and their three wins have come against teams with a combined record of 6-17.

The issue for Baltimore is that its offense just isn’t very good. Baltimore has 10 touchdowns in seven games. Joe Flacco, coming off a major knee injury, just doesn’t look very comfortable in the pocket. He’s got five TD passes and six interceptions while completing just over 60 percent of his passes.

That wouldn’t be all that bad if he were still attacking downfield with regularity. But Flacco is averaging a decidedly mediocre 5.96 yards per pass attempt. His leading receiver, tight end Dennis Pitta, averages 8.8 yards per reception.

Couple that with a running game that has struggled – the Ravens had 12 yards rushing two weeks ago against the Jets – and you see the issues.

Now, that doesn’t mean Baltimore can’t win this game. It’s still got a defense that can get after the quarterback at times and remains one of the better run-stopping teams in the league.

But the Ravens also have allowed eight pass plays of 40 or more yards – by comparison, the Steelers lead the league with just two such plays allowed. And on 20-yard plays, Baltimore has given up 49 such plays compared to an NFL-best 31 against the Steelers (See, you thought Pittsburgh’s pass defense was terrible).

Overall, Baltimore’s pass defense is better than that of Pittsburgh, but because the Ravens blitz more than the Steelers, who rarely blitz at all any longer, they leave themselves open to big plays.

Pittsburgh’s run defense has been bad the past two games without Heyward in the lineup, and while it’s hard to believe one guy could make that much difference, he really does. He’s the heart and soul of Pittsburgh’s front seven.

The Steelers are 2-point underdogs in this game, but as we saw last season, the underdog in this matchup often has some bite to go with its bark.

I like the Steelers to lean heavily on Le’Veon Bell and hit a couple of big plays downfield in this game to come away with a win, 24-17.