Pittsburgh Steelers @ Baltimore Ravens Sunday Night Football Pick

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Baltimore Ravens Sunday Night Football Pick: What a great end to the weekend – we have two awesome divisional match-ups between teams tied atop their respective divisions. And we’re not talking the NFC West here. The first game, Sunday Night, pits the 8-3 Steelers against the 8-3 Ravens. If you remember back to week 5, the last week without Big Dumb Ben in the lineup for the Steelers, you’ll remember that the Ravens went into Pittsburgh and barely slipped by Charlie Batch and company. The Steelers were actually up 4 with time running out in the 4th quarter before Joe Flacco threw an 18-yard touchdown pass in the back of the end zone to T.J. Houshmandzadeh to put the Ravens up for good with 32 seconds left. That was a huge game for the Ravens, but at the time I thought to myself, that it was almost just as good for the Steelers – something that you can rarely say about a loss.

Think about it. The Steelers host the Ravens, a team that is supposed to threaten for a Super Bowl, and with Charlie Batch completing just 12 balls, they hold the lead until Flacco tosses ball to the back of the endzone for a game winning TD with just 30 seconds left. Feels terrible, sure, but without their star quarterback, and without any big plays, the Steelers held the Ravens in check and fell just a foot short. They can feel good about that. And for the Ravens, a win probably couldn’t feel less inspiring. Their strong rushing attack managed just 70 yards on 27 carries, and they barely slipped by their rival who had an old career back-up under center.

But feelings aren’t what it’s all about, and I think the Ravens are playing pretty good coming in. I just like getting points in important conference games like this, especially when a sweep is on the line. The Steelers have to care more about this one, getting the Ravens back, having Big Dumb Ben in uniform now. They need the win more.

Pittsburgh Steelers (+3) @ Baltimore Ravens