The Baltimore Ravens understand the focus of this matchup is not on football, but the outside storylines that frame their Thursday night game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. From a football standpoint, this game is a re-match of last year's controversial ending when Steelers' head coach Mike Tomlin appeared to attempt to trip Jacoby Jones who was returning a kickoff down the sidelines. There is also the issue of Ray Rice as the Ravens play their first game in the absence of the running back who was suspended indefinitely.
The Rice situation is certainly a distraction for Baltimore who have been dealing with the issue all week. The running back was suspended after video evidence surfaced of a disturbing domestic violence issue between Rice and his then fiancé. Now the team must attempt to move on a re-discover their offense and ground game after the unit managed just 23 yards total in the first half last week.
Bernard Pierce and Justin Forsett will now work in tandem to replace Rice's numbers. Pierce fumbled the ball in the second quarterback against the Bengals and was not seen again. Forsett finished the day with 70 yards and a touchdown. They supposed Joe Flacco who went 35 of 62 for 345 yards and an interception. That was not exactly the night the quarterback was planning on having.
The Steelers looked strong in their debut. They got the 30-27 win over the Cleveland Browns even though they blew a 24-point lead heading into the second half. Ben Roethlisberger finished the day with 365 yards including a 35-yard touchdown pass. Le'Veon Bell handled the ground game with 109 yards and a 38-yard scoring play. He also caught six passes for 88 yards.
The Steelers and Ravens have a strong rivalry. Last year, Baltimore's defense gave up 166 yards of offense to the Steelers. Each game was decided by five points while nine of their last 10 games have been decided by three points or less.
