When looking at the latest injury report, you could say that the Pittsburgh Steelers are pretty banged up on both sides of the football. WR Dionte Johnson and DL Cameron Heyward are both currently on IR with hamstring and groin injuries, respectively, while numerous other starters are battling various ailments. QB Kenny Pickett suffered a bone bruise last Sunday against the Houston Texans while LT Dan Moore Jr. is expected to miss time with a knee sprain along with TE Pat Freiermuth with a hamstring injury.
Throw in RG James Daniels, who missed the Texans game with a bad groin, as well as P Pressley Harvin III (hamstring) and DL DeMarvin Leal, who suffered a concussion against Houston, and the Steelers are figuratively and literally limping into their Week Five matchup in what should be a slobber knocker of a game with the division-rival Baltimore Ravens.
However, Rich Eisen mentioned on The Rich Eisen Show Wednesday that the Ravens will have no pity for Pittsburgh and its injury situation as they have historically been through the ringer when it comes to injuries and have had to overcome the injury bug yet again in 2023.
“And plus, Ravens-Steelers? Let’s go,” Eisen said on The Rich Eisen Show, which aired on the show’s YouTube channel. “Full strength, and I understand that Ravens fans are like ‘Hold our beer about injuries.’ That’s the most impressive aspect of the Ravens’ run so far. 3-1 with so many banged up individuals. So many injured from J.K. Dobbins all the way down to the latest.”
The Ravens lost Dobbins to a torn Achilles on opening weekend, depriving them of their starting running back for the entire 2023 campaign. They’ve also placed WR Tylan Wallace, DB Ar’Darius Washington, and OLB David Ojabo on IR. In addition, CB Trayvon Mullen, OLB Tyus Bowser, and IOL Andrew Vorhees are on the NFI list, eligible to come off this weekend against Pittsburgh. Baltimore also had WRs Rashod Bateman and Odell Beckham Jr., CB Marlon Humphrey, OLB Odafe Oweh, and LT Ronnie Stanley miss last week’s contest with various injuries, but still managed to blow out the Cleveland Browns on the road, 28-3.
Despite going through the ringer with injuries to start the season, Baltimore is currently atop of the AFC North at 3-1, having overcome big losses to its offense while also having impact players like TE Mark Andrews miss time. The Ravens have managed to plug-and-play others in place of their starters, having the backfield by committee approach work well with Dobbins out for the year as well as having WR Zay Flowers get extra exposure with the likes of Bateman and Beckham missing time.
Humphrey, Stanley, Beckham, and Bateman all returned to practice this week suggesting that most of them will be available for when the Ravens take on the Steelers. While the Steelers may be without the likes of Heyward, Johnson, Freiermuth, and Moore, they will have to have guys step up in their absence, operating in a similar light as their division rivals, who haven’t made excuses for the injury bug and have rather battled through those losses to take an early lead in the AFC North. However, Pittsburgh can usurp Baltimore for first place in the North with a win on Sunday, making this matchup a pivotal one for both squads.
