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