The Steelers have not actually already lost to the Ravens this Saturday, believe it or not. As a matter of fact, the possibility exists that the Steelers might even beat the Ravens. In fact, Mark Kaboly even seems to believe they will win. Or at the very least, he wouldn’t be surprised. And he doesn’t believe the Ravens are looking forward to seeing Pittsburgh, either.
“I don’t think you want to play the Steelers” if you’re the Ravens, he said on 93.7 The Fan. “It was a month ago [when] we were saying the Steelers owned this team and this team was in their head and Lamar Jackson couldn’t play and all this other stuff. I just don’t think the Steelers are that far off. A play here, a play there changes the outcome of a lot of these games”.
At that time, of course, the Steelers had won eight of their last nine games against the Ravens. Now they are 0-1, and almost everyone anticipates an 0-2 coming up. After all, the Steelers are on a four-game losing streak, the Ravens a four-game winning streak.
And the Ravens even beat the Steelers amid those two streaks—but not in the way the score might indicate. That is the point Kaboly made, even if he doesn’t believe they are a great team right now. History shows that the Ravens are a good matchup for the Steelers—as long as the Steelers do what they’re supposed to.
“They’re gonna have to play some of their best ball. They’re gonna have to turn it up, just like every single team in the playoffs”, Kaboly said of the Steelers’ chances against the Ravens. “But to just totally wipe it clean and say they have absolutely no chance of winning this game? That’s absolutely wrong”.
The Ravens have had some recent losses against the Steelers that you can chalk up to unforced errors. The Steelers lost this last one largely because they were the ones hurting themselves. In particular, QB Russell Wilson’s two turnovers were back-breakers. One came inside the 5-yard line and kept points off the board. The other added six via an interception going to the wrong end zone.
The Steelers were driving to take the lead when the Ravens forced Wilson to fumble. On the pick-six, they were looking to tie it back up, having just intercepted a pass themselves.
“That game wasn’t far away from going the other way about a month ago”, Kaboly said. “We can all agree that the Steelers didn’t play their best ball” against the Ravens.
He also believes there is another variable worth considering. It looks like the Steelers may face a Ravens team without Pro Bowl WR Zay Flowers. The Steelers didn’t have George Pickens the last time they played. Will the healthier team win, or are the Ravens simply too talented to keep beating themselves?
