Thursday Night Football - Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers

Baltimore Ravens @ Pittsburgh Steelers

 

My Prices – Ravens 1.76 Steelers 2.28

Vegas Line - Ravens -3

The Steelers were -3.5 on the spread before Roethlisberger twisted his knee and the loss of one of the better QB in the NFL will be a massive obstacle to overcome against a desperate Ravens side.

The Ravens have lost three close games in the 4^th quarter due to here secondary not being able to stop any offence. I can see the Steelers Antonio Brown having a big game if he’s not dealt with properly.

 Le'Veon Bell will also be part of the passing game if back up QB Michael Vick can get one going but he’s been prone to throwing interceptions throughout his career and can he really be trusted in the heat of this divisional battle as he is 4-12 in his last 16 games.

If the Ravens can address their problems in the secondary I can see them winning their first game of the season here; there run defence is very, very good having not allowed a 100-yard rusher in an astounding 29 games. 

Despite the losses, Joe Flacco has racked up impressive passing totals of over 350 yards in the previous two games. Pittsburgh's secondary is on a par with the Ravens and they also lack a pass rush so Steve Smith will be a huge problem for them.

This all boils down to the Ravens run defence, if it can stuff the run and limit Bell then that puts the game on Vicks shoulders, again I ask myself can he make the most of the Ravens appalling secondary?

Pittsburgh’s defence seems to have worked things out over the last two weeks, allowing a combined 24 points to the Rams and 49ers and Baltimore is a notoriously slow starting team that will be under a lot of self-inflicted pressure to get their first win, all this points to a low scoring game.

I see a narrow Baltimore victory here which will get there season back on track but the value lies with the home team getting points in what should be a close game so i’m backing the Steelers +3 at 2.15 with Matchbook.