The story: Supremacy in the AFC North is at stake right here, but it will be made the decision with no Ben Roethlisberger. With the Steelers' franchise quarterback sidelined indefinitely, Pittsburgh's hopes are in the hands of backup Byron Leftwich ... and this is all you need to know about the guy: He hasn't won a begin considering that 2006, with Jacksonville.

Leftwich is an immobile quarterback enjoying behind an offensive line that can have pass-protection issues, so look for the Steelers to rely on their running game, much more hitches and screens and a heckuva lot of defense. In other phrases, anything but Leftwich.

The expectations for Pittsburgh are minimal due to the fact of Roethlisberger's injury Stan Mikita Jersey, and I get it. Honestly, I would truly feel much better if the Steelers were starting Charlie Batch. But they are not, and they have an uphill climb to beat a Ravens team starting to flex its muscle groups and could have defensive linemen Pernell McPhee and Haloti Ngata back. Baltimore isn't the defensive group it has been in the past (they're ranked 27th general, for crying out loud), but it's not the offensive staff it has been both. It is better, a lot far better, placing up fifty five on Oakland final weekend in a game exactly where Ray Rice did not run for forty yards http://www.blackhawksicestore.com/Blackhawks_Patrick_Kane_Jerseys.

The Ravens can beat you with Rice, they can beat you with Joe Flacco and, yes, they can nonetheless beat you with defense. Pittsburgh's hope is to exploit the holes in the middle of a run defense that hemorrhaged a lot more than 200 yards in back-to-back video games to Kansas City and Dallas and ranks 26th Marian Hossa Authentic Jersey. In Jonathan Dwyer, Isaac Redman and Rashard Mendenhall (who could begin), the Steelers have the backs to do it. They also have an offensive line that blocks greater for the run than it does the pass Corey Crawford Jersey.

If, nonetheless, the Steelers have to rely on Leftwich to dig them out of difficulties, they're doomed. You happen to be not going to win a shootout with Flacco with a quarterback who has a larger windup than Warren Spahn and less accuracy than Dontrelle Willis Patrick Sharp Authentic Jersey. But the Steelers may possibly survive if they decrease errors and depend on their defense not only to shut down Rice and Flacco but to create game-shifting turnovers.

I noticed it come about two many years ago in Baltimore when the Steelers won a game they shouldn't have, except there are a couple of variations from what happened then and what you happen to be about to witness. Initial of all, Roethlisberger, who engineered the game-winning drive, and Troy Polamalu, who forced the crucial takeaway that led to that series, both are not playing.

Polamalu not only is out, but the Steelers will not force turnovers. They have nine this season. Only Indianapolis Ɩ) has fewer, and that, people, is what tends to make this a hard sell for the Steelers.