Nov 27, 2013 4 min read

Since 2006, when the NFL began scheduling games for Thursday nights – an attempt to give its fledgling network something other than news conferences to televise – no team has ever played a Sunday road game and came back four days later and had to play on the road again.

Until today.

The Steelers will play in Baltimore tonight, just four days after winning Sunday in Cleveland.

Add to this the fact the Steelers are only 1-5 when playing on Thanksgiving, and things don’t look particularly good for Pittsburgh.

But this is 2013, a season in which 5-6 puts a team in the thick of the playoff hunt in the AFC. Anything can happen. After all, even Tampa Bay, which started the season 0-8, is now on a three-game winning streak.

Some 21 teams enter today’s three-game start to Week 13 no worse than one game out a playoff spot. That’s parity. Somewhere former NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle is smiling.

At 5-6, the Steelers and Ravens each are among those teams. But the teams are moving in different directions.

After being 3-2, Baltimore has stumbled, losing four of its last six. The Steelers, meanwhile, are trending the other way. They have rebounded from a 0-4 start to win five of seven, making them the closest thing to a hot team as there is in today’s NFL.

When the Steelers and Ravens meet, often times up is down and left is right. Just take Pittsburgh’s game at Baltimore last December as an example. The Steelers were coming off back-to-back losses, including one to the Ravens in Pittsburgh, and were starting third-string quarterback Charlie Batch. That didn’t stop the Steelers from defying the odds and getting a 23-20 win over the eventual Super Bowl champions.

How did the Steelers do it? By having Batch throw short, quick passes.

Fast-forward to today. The Steelers have fashioned their three-game winning streak in much the same way. Pittsburgh has gone to a no-huddle attack that gets the ball out of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s hands quickly. Because of that, Roethlisberger has been sacked less and been more efficient.

The Steelers already have a 19-16 victory over the Ravens this season, just another in a long line of games decided by three points or fewer in this series.

Going back to 2009, the Steelers and Ravens have met 10 times, with eight of those being decided by a field goal.

They will make that nine of 11 tonight.

The Steelers are 3-point underdogs to the Ravens, whom they haven’t swept since taking three games, including one in the playoffs, from their bitter rival in 2008.

Roethlisberger is on a roll and the Steelers’ defense, which had no takeaways during the 0-4 start, has 14 in the past seven games. And the Ravens haven’t scored more than 20 points in their last six games. They’ve been winning, particularly at home, with a bend-but-don’t-break defense that has given up only three touchdowns at M&T Bank Stadium.

The Steelers’ defense will get a couple of takeaways tonight and Pittsburgh will stay relevant in the AFC playoff race. The winner of this game actually has a good chance of overtaking the stumbling Cincinnati Bengals, who currently lead the AFC North with a 7-5 record.

Take the Steelers to pull out a 16-13 victory.

Green Bay (plus 6½)

at Detroit

There’s a fallacy that the Lions play well in their annual Thanksgiving day game. They’ve actually lost nine in a row. They’ll end that streak today, but it will be close.

Take Green Bay to cover in a 27-23 loss

Oakland (plus 9)

at Dallas

The Raiders will start rookie quarterback Mike McGloin again on a short week. That’s very little preparation time for a guy without much experience.

Take Dallas, 31-17

Last Week: 4-8-1 ATS; 5-7-1 Straight up

Overall: 64-94-7 ATS; 99-65-1 Straight up

F. Dale Lolley can be reached at dlolley@observer-reporter.com.