Each and every week in the NFL, games come down to a few key individual matchups when it comes down to helping decide outcomes.
A play here or a play there, does as well, but today’s NFL is becoming more matchup-driven as coaches are becoming smarter and smarter when deploying players on both sides of the football.
In Sunday’s Week Five matchup at Acrisure Stadium between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, matchups will again be key on both sides of the football in the heated rivalry. Winning some of the key matchups within the came will go a long way towards determining the final outcome Sunday afternoon, whether that’s Pittsburgh getting back on track after an ugly Week Four showing, or if that’s the Ravens putting a stranglehold on the AFC North.
Let’s check out my four key matchups to watch in Sunday’s Steelers-Ravens matchup at Acrisure Stadium.
Steelers OLB T.J. Watt vs. Ravens RT Patrick Mekari
For the second straight week, T.J. Watt is staring down a favorable matchup coming off the edge. Though he was very quiet and admittedly didn’t play well in Week Four against the Houston Texans, Watt is determined to take advantage of a matchup advantage in the Steelers-Ravens matchup, this time against backup offensive lineman Patrick Mekari.
Mekari is likely going to start in place of the injured Morgan Moses, who left the Week Four game against Cleveland with a shoulder injury, leaving him doubtful for Sunday’s matchup. Though Mekari has played 115 snaps at right tackle against the Steelers in 2021 and 2022 without allowing a sack, his matchup against Watt is going to be very, very difficult overall.
It’s not as if Watt hasn’t dominated the Ravens in the past. In fact, in 2021 he had 17 pressure and 4.5 sacks against Baltimore, and then had nine pressures and two sacks last season against the Ravens. He raises his game to a new level each and every time out against Baltimore.
The Steelers are going to need that in a big, big way on Sunday. Against a high-powered Ravens offense that is having great success this season with Lamar Jackson emerging as an MVP frontrunner, Watt is going to need to take advantage of the matchup and be the dominant force we’ve come to know during his career.
Baltimore will undoubtedly give Mekari help, but Watt cannot be silenced for another week.
Steelers CB Patrick Peterson vs. Ravens WR Zay Flowers
It’s been anything but a smooth start to his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers for veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson. In the first four games of the season Peterson has allowed four touchdowns in coverage on 14-of-23 attempts to go along with 213 yards receiving. He’s allowing 9.3 yards per targets, according to Pro Football Focus and a quarterback rating of 112.9, highest among all Steelers defensive backs.
He’s made some dumb comments in the media, too, about the San Francisco 49ers having tells offensively, leading to him getting torched in Week One by Brandon Aiyuk. Then, this week he made another dumb comment to the media, stating that he’s looking forward to covering the “little munchkin” that is Baltimore rookie receiver Zay Flowers.
Flowers may be small (5’9, 183), but he’s lightening quick and is having a great start to his rookie season. In the first four games of the season, Flowers has 24 reception for 244 yards, averaging 10.2 yards per catch. He’s a jitterbug after the catch, too, as he can turn a short catch into a home run.
Peterson is no spring chicken and has lost a step or two at the position. Add in the fact that he took a bit of. shot at Flowers’ size and it could be a long, ugly day for the Steelers’ veteran cornerback. Peterson should know it’s best to let your play do the talking. At some point he’ll learn with the Steelers, hopefully.
Steelers TE Darnell Washington vs. Ravens EDGE defenders
With tight end Pat Freiermuth out for Sunday’s matchup, it’s a big opportunity for rookie tight end Darnell Washington to step up for the Steelers in an expanded role.
He might get more work as a receiver in Week Five against Baltimore as he has just one catch for 10 yards on the season, which came last week on the road after Freiermuth was injured. He’s done a nice job as a blocker this season, even if his Pro Football Focus grades don’t exactly match up. With Baltimore’s Odefe Oweh and David Ojabo out for Week Five, Washington has a real opportunity on his hand to asset himself as a true force in the run game for the Steelers.
Washington will have to deal with the likes of Jadeveon Clowney and Kyle Van Noy on Sunday, two experienced veterans that are quite physical. Washington has held his own so far this season and has some pancakes against the likes of San Francisco’s Nick Bosa under his belt. With the Steelers aiming to be the more physical team on Sunday, that will start in the trenches.
Washington needs to set the tone. If Cincinnati’s Irv Smith Jr. — not known as much of a blocker in the NFL — can be a physical presence in the run game against Baltimore’s EDGE defenders, there is no telling what Washington can do, helping kickstart Pittsburgh’s run game.
Steelers WR George Pickens vs. Ravens CB Marlon Humphrey
With the news of Humphrey returning to game action for Baltimore this week after his recovery from foot surgery, this matchup immediately jumped to mind.
Humphrey is a big, physical cornerback that has thrived — for the most part — in matchups with the Steelers. Though he’s making his return to the field on Sunday, he’ll get a big test right out of the gate against Pittsburgh’s George Pickens.
Pickens has been a bit up and down this season. Through the first four games, Pickens has 16 receptions for 263 yards and one touchdown. He had two straight great games against the Browns and Raiders in Weeks Two and Three, but then disappeared against the Texans, hauling in just three passes for 25 yards.
He needs a big bounce back game against the Ravens, and the Steelers desperately need him to be the great talent that he is on Sunday, especially in contested-catch situations. So far, Pickens has been the worst contested-catch receiver in football, going 0-for-8 in situations on the year. That’s a massive regression from last season when Pickens was a force, hauling in 19-of-28 contested catches as a rookie.
Pickens isn’t creating much separation and he’s seeing more attention with wide receiver Diontae Johnson still on the shelf. It’s not going to get any easier against the Ravens, especially with Humphrey back in the fold. Pickens is going to need to show that contested-catch ability a few times on Sunday that he showed often as a rookie.
If he can win some contested catches, that could springboard the Steelers’ offense to some points and put them in position to win a low-scoring rivalry matchup.
