October 01, 2010|By Baltimore Sun reporter
Here are national media predictions for Sunday's Ravens- Steelers matchup:
• SI.com's Peter King believes the Ravens will win the first matchup against the Steelers in 2010.
Ravens 23, Steelers 17: This is now the best rivalry in football, and it's got a particular charm this week with Ben Roethlisberger sitting out the final game of his four-game suspension, and fourth-stringer Charlie Batch making the start, staring down the barrel of Ray Lewis. Funny thing: The Steelers are 4-1 over Baltimore since the start of 2008, with Roethlisberger quarterbacking the four wins and Dennis Dixon the one loss. But it's not just Big Ben missing from the Men of Steel. Santonio Holmes, who tormented Rex Ryan and Greg Mattison over the past few years, is gone, too. The combination of those losses, plus the addition of Anquan Boldin to pep up the Ravens' offense, has everything to do with this pick.
• Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com picks the Steelers to remain undefeated without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
Steelers 23, Ravens 13: This is the Game of the Week. The unbeaten Steelers try to stay that way against their division rivals. It will be a physical war. Joe Flacco has to play better than he did in his last road game against Cincinnati. That won't be easy. Steelers take it and go to 4-0 without Ben Roethlisberger.
• On CBSSports.com, Clark Judge and Josh Katzowitz believe the Ravens will beat Pittsburgh, but the other three analysts pick the Steelers.
• In this week's ESPN NFL expert picks, Merril Hoge and Eric Allen think the Steelers will be victorious at Heinz Field, while everyone else likes the Ravens.
• It's unanimous, according to ESPN Sunday Countdown — all four experts pick the Steelers to beat the Ravens.
• FanHouse.com's Dave Goldberg doesn't think many points will be scored between the Ravens and Steelers.
Steelers 11, Ravens 9:The Steelers' final game without Ben. The over/under is just 34 1/2 for this one and that seems high. Ray Rice is banged up, so...
• Showtime's Inside the NFL analyst Warren Sapp likes the Ravens, while Cris Collinsworth believes the Steelers will win.
• Four out of the seven Sporting News NFL analysts think the Steelers will pull out a victory over the Ravens.
• On WashingtonPost.com, LaVar Arrington forecasts a Ravens victory over the Steelers.
The Steel City Kids can't slide past this defense with a fourth-string quarterback. The magical run without Big Ben ends this week.
• NESN.com's Michael Hurley doesn't buy into the hype surrounding Charlie Batch as a starting quarterback, so he's picking the Ravens.
Was I the only person in the United States of America who noticed that Charlie Batch couldn't throw a touchdown pass without the ball bouncing off a defensive back's hands? I felt like I was taking crazy pills, as the only thing analysts could say was, "Batch has shaken off that rust!" and, "Batch throws a beautiful touchdown pass!" Eventually, life without Ben Roethlisberger has to rear its ugly head, even if it is in the final week of his NFL seclusion.
• The (Albany) Times Union's Mark McGuire predicts the Ravens will knock the Steelers from the remaining unbeaten teams.
• Orange County (Calif.) Register columnist Randy Youngman thinks the Ravens will win.
Ravens. (Seal picked Steelers). Steelers already are talking about suspended Ben Roethlisberger's return next week, so look for a letdown this week.
[Compiled by Dean Jones Jr.]
