For those of you that love defense this will be the game for you.  The Ravens come into this game with the best defense in the NFL (161.5 yards per game) and the Steelers are #2 (234.0 yards per contest).  With that in mind this game will likely come down to which team makes the least mistakes.  The Ravens will try to run the football in this game against a Steelers’ defense that is only allowing 64.3 yards rushing per game and 2.8 yards per carry.  The Ravens’ offensive line has been outstanding this season paving the way for 190.0 yards rushing per game and rookie QB Joe Flacco has only been sacked one time this season.  The O-Line of the Ravens will be put to the test against a Steelers’ defense that has 10 sacks this season.

The Steelers enter this game without RB Willie Parker (263 yards rushing) and with a banged up Ben Roethlisberger.  Rookie RB Rashard Mendenhall will have to play well tomorrow night or the Steelers will be in trouble because Steelers’ QBs have already been sacked 13 times this season already.  You can bet the Ravens who have 7 sacks this season will be bringing the house in obvious passing situations.

PREDICTION:  PITTSBURGH STEELERS 9, BALTIMORE RAVENS 7

The Steelers will be without All-Pro NT Casey Hampton on Monday Night against the first place Baltimore Ravens due to a groin injury.  Despite the fact that Hampton only has 3 tackles this season he’s very valuable to the defense because he demands a double team inside which often leaves the linebackers open to roam the field.  Chris Hoke will start in Hampton’s place and he has 1 tackle this season.  This will be a huge dropoff for the Steelers’ interior defense against the Ravens.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will likely be without RB Willie Parker for the next two weeks due to a sprained knee.  Parker was off to a good start this season for the Steelers having rushed for 263 yards on 66 carries (4.0 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  Parker will be replaced in the starting lineup by rookie Rashard Mendenhall.  Mendenhall has carried the ball 10 times for 28 yards (2.8 ypc) and he has caught 1 pass for 11 yards this season.  He also has returned 6 kickoffs for 115 yards (19.2 avg) so far this season.  Mendenhall made a huge rookie mistake however when he texted fellow rookie RB Ray Rice of the Ravens and advised him that he would run all over the Ravens’ defense giving them bulletin board material.  We’ll see if he can back up his tough talk on Monday Night Football.  Mewelde Moore will be Mendenhall’s top backup at RB and he will replace him as the kick returner.  Moore has carried the ball 1 time for 6 yards this season and he has returned 2 kickoffs for 33 yards (16.5 avg).  The Steelers will miss Parker’s speed against the Ravens and Jaguars.

This game was lost by the offensive line of the Steelers and they suck.  Steelers’ QBs were sacked 9 times last Sunday and the Steelers only averaged 1.7 yards per carry in the running game!  Ben Roethlisberger had no chance against the pass rush of the Eagles as he completed 13 of 25 passes for 131 yards with 0 TDs and 1 interception.  He left the game in the 4th quarter due to the beating he was taking.  Byron Leftwich finished up the game completing 4 of 7 passes for 60 yards.  Willie Parker didn’t find any running room against the Eagles as he rushed for 20 yards on 13 carries (1.5 ypc).  Nate Washington led the Steelers with 5 catches (51 yards, 10.2 avg) but TE Heath Miller led the Steelers in receiving yards with 63 on 4 grabs (15.8 avg).  The Steelers finished up with 33 yards rushing on 19 carries (1.7 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 32 passes for 147 yards.

The Steelers’ defense played well in this football game.  Linebacker James Farrior led the way for the Steelers with 7 tackles.  CB Bryant McFadden (6 tackles, INT) and S Troy Polamalu (5 tackles, INT) both also played well against the Eagles.  The Eagles finished up with 65 yards rushing on 23 carries (2.8 ypc) and they also completed 26 of 38 passes for 195 yards.  The Steelers are now 2-1 and they have a showdown on Monday Night Football against the first place Ravens.

This is a tough matchup for the Steelers as the team strengths that they have on offense are equalled by the Eagles’ defense.  The Steelers want to run the football to help protect Ben Roethlisberger’s injured throwing shoulder but that won’t be easy.  The Eagles are only allowing 52.0 yards rushing per game and 2.7 yards per carry so Willie Parker (243 yards rushing, 4.6 ypc) will have to earn every yard.  The Eagles are loaded at CB with Lito Sheppard, Asante Samuel and Sheldon Brown and those guys match up very well with Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes.  With that in mind look for Heath Miller to get a lot of looks over the middle for the Steelers in this game.

The Steelers back seven will have to be ready to do battle with the quick hitting offense of the Eagles.  The Eagles have scored 75 points in two games this season and they are averaging 429.5 yards of offense per game.  To stop the Eagles the Steelers’ defense will have to contain Donovan McNabb in the pocket.  They will attempt to do that with blitzing but that could hang them out to dry against Brian Westbrook on screens and in the flats.  Westbrook is the real engine of the Eagles’ offense as he has 149 yards rushing and 46 yards receiving this year.  Westbrook has also scored 5 of the Eagles’ TDs this season and he will put big time pressure on the Steelers’ linebackers.  The Eagles will also try to loosen up the Steelers’ defense with short tosses to L.J. Smith over the middle of the field.  Make no mistake though, the Eagles will be throwing the ball deep to rookie WR DeSean Jackson, Hank Baskett, Greg Lewis and Reggie Brown.

PREDICTION:  PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 24, PITTSBURGH STEELERS 17

The Steelers have lost DE Brett Keisel for the next two months due to a calf injury sustained against the Browns.  He played in 2 games (both starts) for the Steelers this season and he made 5 tackles.  The Steelers will miss Keisel while he’s out as he has started the last 34 games at DE for the Steelers.

The Steelers grinded out a tough victory in Cleveland last night.  Ben Roethlisberger gritted it out despite having a injured throwing shoulder.  He completed 12 of 19 passes for 186 yards with 1 TD pass.  Willie Parker was busy on the ground with 28 carries for 105 yards (3.8 ypc).  Santonio Holmes led the way for the Steelers in the passing game with 94 yards receiving on 5 catches (18.8 avg) and he also carried the ball 1 time for 10 yards.  Hines Ward also had a solid game with 59 yards receiving on 5 grabs (11.8 avg) with a TD grab (11-yarder).  The Steelers finished up with 117 yards rushing on 31 carries (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 12 of 19 passes for 164 yards.

Ike Taylor (6 tackles), Larry Foote (6 tackles) and Troy Polamalu (4 tackles, interception) led a solid effort by the Steelers’ Defense last night.  The Browns rushed for 53 yards on 25 carries (2.1 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 32 passes for 155 yards.  The Steelers are now 2-0 on the season.

The Steelers have owned the Browns lately winning 9 in a row against them and outscoring them 65-35 in the two games last season.  The Steelers will run the ball with Willie Parker (138 yards rushing, 3 TDs) against a Browns’ defense that allowed 167 yards rushing (5.4 ypc) last week against the Cowboys.  It will be up to NT Shaun Rogers and the linebackers to deal with Parker in the running game.  Look for the Steelers to run a lot of play action off of the running game if it’s established with Roethlisberger looking deep to Santonio Holmes.  The Steelers will also put a lot of pressure on the safeties of the Browns using Hines Ward and Heath Miller on the short stuff.

The Cleveland Browns have to get back to what worked last season and that was running the football and throwing it downfield.  Jamal Lewis ran well last week but the Browns fell behind too quickly to get him involved in the offense.  They likely won’t let that happen again tomorrow.  The Browns will likely use quick drops against the Steelers who had 5 sacks last week against the Texans.  With that in mind TE Kellen Winslow should be the Browns’ top target in the passing game.  Braylon Edwards had the worst game of his NFL career last week as he dropped twice as many passes as he caught.  He will be looking to redeem himself tomorrow night.

PREDICTION:  PITTSBURGH STEELERS 30, CLEVELAND BROWNS 20

The Steelers absolutely dominated this football game as they were up 35-3 heading into the 4th quarter when they called off the dogs.  Ben Roethlisberger had a great game as he completed 13 of 14 passes for 137 yards with 2 TD passes to Hines Ward (13, 16 yards).  He also carried the football 2 times for 17 yards (8.5 ypc).  Willie Parker was the star of the show for the Steelers in this football game as he carried the ball 25 times for 138 yards (5.5 ypc) with 3 TD runs (7, 13, 4 yards).  Rookie Rashard Mendenhall did not play well in his NFL debut as he carried the ball 10 times for 28 yards (2.8 ypc).  WR Hines Ward was outstanding as usual for the Steelers in this game as he caught 6 passes for 76 yards (12.7 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  The Steelers finished up with 183 yards rushing on 39 carries (4.7 ypc) and they also completed 13 of 18 passes for 122 yards in this game. 

The Defense was outstanding as usual for the Steelers on Sunday.  Linebacker James Harrison was awesome for the Steelers as he finished up with 9 tackles and 3 sacks.  2nd year linebacker LaMarr Woodley also had a game to remember as he finished with 3 tackles, a sack, a interception and a fumble recovery.  The Texans finished up with 75 yards rushing on 20 carries (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 25 of 33 passes for 159 yards.  This was an outstanding start to the 2008 season as the rival Browns are on deck for this Sunday Night in Cleveland.

The Houston Texans might come off of the bus passing against the Steelers.  The key to doing that will be to keep QB Matt Schaub upright as the Steelers love to blitz.  The Texans must keep OLBs LaMarr Woodley and James Harrison out of the backfield.  If that happens the Texans should be able to exploit an overrated crew of DBs that the Steelers have.  Andre Johnson and Andre Davis are fast enough to turn any catch into a TD so CBs Ike Taylor and Deshea Townsend better be on top of their games.  WR Kevin Walter and TE Owen Daniels will be challenging safeties Ryan Clark and Troy Polamalu on game long on short passes.  NT Casey Hampton and inside linebackers Larry Foote and James Farrior will likely be able to stop the Texans from running up the middle with Ahman Green, Steve Slaton and Chris Taylor.

The Steelers would prefer to run the ball to set up the pass but that might not work against the Texans who have some good run stoppers in MLB DeMeco Ryans and DT Amobi Okoye.  Still, Willie Parker and Rashard Mendenhall will get their carries and it will be interesting to see what they can do with them.  The offensive line is going to be a weakness for the Steelers this season and that could be a huge problem against DE Mario Williams who really stepped up last season.  The Steelers should be able to get the ball downfield if Roethlisberger gets time to throw the ball and that’s a huge if.  The Texans have a weak secondary so Santonio Holmes, Hines Ward and Heath Miller could all have big days this Sunday.

PREDICTION:  PITTSBURGH STEELERS 27, HOUSTON TEXANS 24