Baltimore at Pittsburgh

Last week the Pittsburgh Steelers offense threw a perfect game at Indianapolis. Big Ben was in the zone and his offensive line graded out higher in protection than any team in the NFL has so far this year. Big Ben was not sacked as clearly Pittsburgh figured out something against that Indy defense. The bad news for Pittsburgh is that despite throwing for over 500 yards and six TDs, this was a one-possession game in the fourth quarter, and therein lies the problem. When you score 55 points in a game, the second team should be on the field for most of the second half, not the first team fighting to hold an 8-point lead. Big Ben's historic day masked the Steelers' defensive issues, and Baltimore will be ready to take advantage of that this week. Baltimore has held Pittsburgh to an average of 15.9 points per game in the last 12 regular season meetings so don't expect a repeat performance from Roethlisberger in this one. The Ravens have committed just three turnovers in the meetings to Pittsburgh's' 19, and Pittsburgh has thrown for over 300 yards just once. A bigger problem is the fact that Pittsburgh's' last three opponents have thrown for 9.35 yards per attempt, which is Hall of Fame material. Cortez Allen has been targeted 60 times this season (third highest in the NFL) and Joe Flacco will be looking that way as he has been brutal. Baltimore's offensive line is vastly improved this season, and that is why Joe Flacco and the Baltimore offense is thriving. Flacco was sacked 48 times last season, but just nine this year. The Ravens are quietly playing some of the best football in the NFL, outscoring opponents 27-16 on average. Meanwhile, Pitt is giving up nearly 30 points per game over their last three games. Under Jon Harbaugh, the Ravens are 58-14 straight-up as a favorite and 11-2 coming off an upset loss. Meanwhile under Mike Tomlin, the Steelers are 9-19 ATS after a big 14+ point win. Sell high on Pittsburgh and take the Ravens in this one.