NFL fans be prepared for some smash mouth football as we get ready for Week 4 of the 2015 regular season. Leading off in tonight's Thursday Night Football, two AFC North division adversaries will be looking to make a statement as the Pittsburgh Steelers host the Baltimore Ravens. Before things kick off tonight, lets take at look at the shortcomings that may dictate the outcome of this one.
The Pittsburgh Steelers lost QB Ben Rothlisberger to a MCL injury Sunday in their Week 3 matchup against the St. Louis Rams. His injury will cause him to miss 4-6 weeks, leaving QB responsibilities to veteran QB Micheal Vick. Vick believes strongly in his ability to lead the steelers offense. He entered Sunday's game during the forth quarter completing 5-6 of his pass attempts to preserve a 12-6 win. Tonight Vick will have to do more than just preserve a win. He will have to manifest a victory in a hostile rival game as his Pittsburgh Steelers welcome the Baltimore Ravens to Heinz field in week 4 of NFL Thursday Night Football.
(Sept. 26, 2015 - Source: Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images North America)
(Sept. 26, 2015 - Source: Rob Carr/Getty Images North America)
Ravens fans are dreading the 0-3 start for their Baltimore beloved, but with plenty of football still to be played the anxiety levels for Coach Harbaugh and the team are still at bay. Those levels of anxiety would definitely surge if they are to tally another loss against a division rival tonight. Their defense gave up a total of 458 yards to Andy Dalton and the Cincinatti Bengals offense (who've looked mighty impressive) Sunday afternoon. Statistics like such must make Ravens retirees LB Ray Lewis and FS Safety Ed Reed cringe. This was their second consecutive game surrendering a fourth quarter lead with under 3 minutes to go in the game. Certainly QB Joe Flacco has earned his pay with his performance over the 1st three games. If only the Ravens defense could get a stop they'd have a tally in the win column of their season record. Baltimore is hoping that with the absence of Big Ben they'll be able to leave out of Pittsburgh with a huge division win that will ignite morale in what has been a a rough start to their season.