The Pittsburgh Steelers (6-4) may be in trouble Sunday against the Balitmore Ravens (5-5), as it looks like quarterback Ben Roethlisberger may not play.  Roethlisberger suffered a concussion last week, and although earlier in the week Big Ben was listed as probable and expected to play, he told head coach Mike Tomlin Friday that he might sit out “as a precaution” and is listed as questionable.  Now he still might play, but I don’t think that would be a good idea, especially with what they know about concussions in this day and age.  You don’t want one game of football to cause brain damage later in life.  I don’t think there should be any question that Roethlisberger sits this one out, but unfortunately for the Steelers that means Dennis Dixon will be the starter and it will probably cost them the game.  Dixon has only thrown one pass in his career and there is no way he is ready to take on a Ray Lewis led Ravens’ defense.  That means Willie Parker and Rashard Mendenhall will have to have big games, along with the defense, if the Steelers want a chance.

The Steelers defense has been doing a great job shutting down the run this season, so Ray Rice and Willis McGahee should not be too much of a problem for them.  If they can contain Joe Flacco and the Ravens’ passing game they have a shot in this one.  Flacco has been struggling lately and has not thrown a touchdown pass since week 8, so the defense may very well win this game for the Steelers.  Flacco is still a good quarterback though, and with such an inexperienced quarterback on the Steelers’ side I am favoring the Ravens in this game.  If it so happens that Roethlisberger plays, which he very well might do, it could be a whole different story.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Pittsburgh Steelers 13, Baltimore Ravens 20

This is a great rebound game for the Steelers who should be really angry after getting punked on their own field by the Bengals last week.  The Chiefs are allowing 234.2 yards passing per game this season and they only have 12 sacks this season meaning that Ben Roethlisberger should have a lot of time to throw the football.  Roethlisberger might only have to play three quarters this Sunday before getting the rest of the day off.  The Steelers will likely pass to get the lead and then grind it out on the ground with Rashard Mendenhall against a Chiefs’ D that is allowing 141.3 yards rushing per game and 4.6 yards per carry.  I have a feeling that Charlie Batch and maybe even Dennis Dixon will be finishing this game up at QB.

If the Chiefs can give Matt Cassel time to throw the ball on Sunday this might not be the bloodbath that I think it will.  The Steelers are giving up 208.1 yards passing per game so it will be up to guys like Chris Chambers, Mark Bradley, Lance Long and Bobby Wade to step up.  I just don’t see it happening this week as Chiefs’ QBs have been sacked 32 times already this year and the Steelers are coming into this game as a angry bunch.  Jamaal Charles had a breakout game against the Raiders last weekend but the Steelers are only giving up 69.3 yards per game on the ground and 3.4 yards per carry so don’t look for a repeat performance out of him.

PREDICTION:  STEELERS 45, CHIEFS 10

This should be a very interesting ball game.  The last time these two teams played the Bengals stormed back from a 20-7 deficit to beat the Steelers 23-20 in Cincinnati.  The Bengals won’t be intimidated by Heinz Field as they are 3-0 away from home this season with all of the game being close.  The Steelers are 4-0 at home this season so in the famous words of ring announcer Michael Buffer, “Someone’s O must go”!  The Bengals will try to mix it up on offense as Cedric Benson has been a big key for them this year.  The Steelers are only allowing 70.4 yards rushing and 3.7 yards per carry this season so Benson will have to earn every yard this Sunday.  With the exception of OLB James Harrison (8 sacks) the Steelers have not been getting a lot of pressure on opposing QBs.  That could be a huge problem this week as I like Chad Ocho Cinco, Andre Caldwell and Laveranues Coles a lot better than the corners of the Steelers.  If Carson Palmer has time to throw the ball he should have a lot of success against a Steelers’ D that is allowing 214.5 yards passing per game this season.

The Steelers would like to mix things up on offense but Rashard Mendenhall could have a tough time finding running room against a Bengals’ D that is allowing only 83.9 yards rushing and 3.8 yards per carry this season.  The Bengals will be without starting linebacker Keith Rivers due to injury so that should help out the Steelers a little bit.  Ben Roethlisberger has been very effective throwing the ball this season (105.4 QB Rating) but he’s going up against a couple of corners (Jonathan Joseph and Leon Hall) who are having Pro-Bowl seasons so he will have to be careful with the football.  This is the kind of game that TE Heath Miller could dominate. 

PREDICTION:  STEELERS 23, BENGALS 20

The Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2) are taking on the Denver Broncos (6-1) this week on the road.  This should be a defensive battle, with both teams having a very strong defense.  Ben Roethlisberger should do his best and controlling the clock and the ball and the Steelers will have a good shot at winning.  They will need Mendenhall and Parker to do some damage on the ground, as Big Ben wont be able to have a big passing day against the Broncos defense who only gives up 180 passing yards per game.

On defense, the Steelers need to try and force Orton out the pocket and into some mistakes.  Orton has done a great job taking care of the ball this year, but he is still just an average quarterback in a great system and the Steelers should try and prove that.  Moreno and Buckhalter are the biggest part of the Broncos offense, so they need to shut the running game down.  It will be a very difficult task though, as Orton can open things up by going to Brandon Marshall who is having a good year at receiver.  This will be close, but I think the Broncos will edge out the Steelers late.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Pittsburgh Steelers 24, Denver Broncos 28

The Minnesota Vikings (6-0) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2) will get together at Heinz Field and it should be a great game to watch.  The Vikings will likely still come out running the ball against the Steelers with Adrian Peterson who shredded the Ravens’ D for 143 yards rushing last week.  That should worry the Steelers a little bit as the Ravens had a better run defense coming into last week than they did.  The Steelers are only allowing 74.5 yards rushing per game this season but that is mostly because teams are having success throwing against them this year (200.7 yards per game).  Brett Favre has been outstanding this season (109.5 QB Rating) and he will likely have success against the Steelers’ D as long as the Vikings O-Line gives him time to throw the football.  WRs Sidney Rice, Bernard Berrian and Percy Harvin will likely keep the Steelers’ CBs busy deep.  On the short stuff Favre prefers to use TE Visanthe Shiancoe and Chester Taylor. 

The Vikings are allowing 248.5 yards passing per game and star CB Antoine Winfield will likely be out for this game.  Those two factors will lead the Steelers to throw the ball early and often in this game.  WRs Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, Mike Wallace and TE Heath Miller will cause matchup problems for the Vikings’ D in this game.  But, the Vikings bring the heat in the passing game as they already have 21 sacks this season.  Ben Roethlisberger has been great this season but he sometimes gets careless with the football when he gets popped a couple of times in the game.  DE Jared Allen (7 1/2 sacks) is the master of the big play for the Vikings’ D so the Steelers’ #1 priority has to be to keep him away from Big Ben.  The Vikings have a big defensive line so they should be able to handle Rashard Mendenhall in the running game.

PREDICTION:  VIKINGS 27, STEELERS 24