Pittsburgh Steelers: 3 Bold predictions vs. Ravens, Week 17

1. Defense erupts for seven sacks

In Week 14, the Steelers tormented Kyler Murray, bringing him down for five sacks. The pressure put on Murray forced the rookie into bad throws that led to three interceptions, including one that sealed the game. The pass rush is an essential part of Pittsburgh’s identity this season.

However, Pittsburgh’s defense only brought down quarterbacks three times in the past two weeks. T.J. Watt and Vince Williams split the defenses’ only sack against Buffalo, and Dupree and Watt both got home once against New York. Not coincidentally, the Steelers forced just one interception during those two games.

Pittsburgh boasts three players with eight or more sacks and the second-most sacks in the NFL with 52. That latter number only trails the league-leading Carolina Panthers by one. Against Baltimore’s offense, which will hopefully be manned by many backups, the Steelers cannot pull any punches.

Robert Griffin III will likely play most if not all of Week 17’s matchup. While injuries sapped some of his speed, the veteran quarterback is still elusive. The best way to shut Griffin down is to get after him with waves of pass rushers. If Pittsburgh can do that, Griffin will make mistakes and give Pittsburgh an advantage.

Pittsburgh’s best weapon is still the pass rush. While the team’s sack artists don’t get home consistently, the entire defense suffers. In turn, that creates problems the offense is too inept to solve. The pass rush must show up in force against the Ravens in 2019’s regular-season finale.