The Ravens scored a 26-6 home victory over the Steelers in Week 2, but much has changed since then.
Here are five ways the Ravens and Steelers are different:
Ravens Tight Ends Are InjuredTight end Owen Daniels had his "Welcome to Baltimore" moment in Week 2 when he scored a pair of touchdowns. Now Daniels is rehabbing from a knee procedure. He practiced Wednesday, but it's unknown at this point whether he'll suit up. The Ravens lost Dennis Pitta, who caught three passes for 30 yards in their earlier meeting, to a hip injury. Pitta's presence helped open up Daniels' second touchdown of the night, and the two-tight end formations were a staple. Now the Steelers don't need to worry much about that as much, and they'll instead be watching film of Ravens rookie tight end Crockett Gillmore.
Forsett Is The Man
Ravens running back Bernard Pierce had his biggest game of the season in Week 2, in which he ran 22 times for 96 yards. Justin Forsett backed him up that night, and got just eight rushes for 56 yards. Now the Steelers should get a much bigger dose of Forsett, as he has taken over as the starter. Pierce was inactive last week in Cincinnati, but will he be back up against the physical Steelers?
Steelers' Expanding Wide Receiver CorpsPittsburgh already had good wide receivers when they came to Baltimore in Week 2 with Antonio Brown and Markus Wheaton. Now add two more to the list. Fourth-round rookie Martavis Bryant has seven catches for 123 yards and three touchdowns in his first NFL action the past two weeks. The Steelers also have gritty veteran slot receiver Lance Moore this time. Pittsburgh's receivers scored five touchdowns last week.
Both Teams Down Top CornerThe Ravens aren't the only ones heading into Sunday's matchup without their top cornerback (Jimmy Smith). The Steelers still don't have cornerback Ike Taylor, who suffered a broken arm in Week 3. Taylor has been one of Pittsburgh's biggest trash talkers, particularly with Torrey Smith, over the past several years. Smith had just one catch for 10 yards in Week 2. The Steelers are now relying on veteran cornerback William Gay and Cortez Allen as their starters. The Ravens will have Lardarius Webb and Dominique Franks as their top two cornerbacks this week.
Steelers Defense Getting Turnovers
Pittsburgh got two interceptions and forced a safety last week against Indianapolis. Two fumble recoveries and an interception turned the tide a week earlier versus the Texans. The Steelers defense didn't force any turnovers against the Ravens in Week 2 and didn't get any the week before in Cleveland. Now they're preying on opponents' errors at Heinz Field.
