IT’S GAME DAY!!

That means while we all wait for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens to kickoff at 1:00pm EST in Week 5 on Sunday, it’s time to take a look at who the SCN staff likes in this game. The current line for the game is PIT (+3.5) with a Total of 38.5.

But these picks are vs. the spread, or based on an over/under. These are straight up picks. So, let’s get to the prognostications.

Jeff Hartman

Steelers and Ravens are some of the strangest games on a yearly basis. The team who no one expects to win finds a way. Games come down to who can make the one or two big plays at the right time. Blowouts are rare, with most games coming down to one score. I see that being the trend on Sunday, and I think the Steelers somehow, someway, find a way to win. How do the Ravens end up with 18 points? Expect weird things…but the Steelers go into the bye week feeling good about themselves.

Prediction: Steelers 20, Ravens 18

Dave Schofield

All the numbers comparing these two teams and how they are playing right now say this should be a Ravens blowout. But when it comes to AFC North football, in particularly this matchup, those numbers often don’t mean anything. The numbers do mean something where the Steelers have a 10–2 record since 2007 the following game after losing by 21 points or more. Just when so many are ready to give up on this team, they’ll do something like beat the Ravens and pull us all right back in.

Prediction: Steelers 24, Ravens 23

Jeremy Betz

Last week was last week. This week is Ravens week and you can typically bet that a Mike Tomlin team will show up mentally and physically for a division rival at home. On the field, though, the Ravens have a better offense and a more cohesive, if not spectacular, defense. I think it’s close, but ultimately, the Ravens are probably just the better team.

Prediction: Ravens 21, Steelers 20

Shannon White

Throw all logic out the window when these great rivals match up. Records don’t seem to matter. The intensity is real because the mutual disdain is always evident. Both franchises respect the other, which must be present in any true rivalry. The Ravens look like the better team at the moment, but they recently suffered a home loss to the Indianapolis Colts. The Steelers came out flat last week in a game they expected to win. I expect a much different effort this week. The Steelers offensive line finally steps up to the challenge.

Prediction: Steelers 20, Ravens 17

Anthony Defeo

What you’re currently witnessing with the Steelers is the lowest tide for the organization since the Slash/Cowher years of the late-’90s. I might be shortchanging the Steelers, actually, because this feels about as hopeless as Chuck Noll’s final years of the late-’80s and early-’90s. A blowout loss at home to the Ravens heading into the bye seems about as predictable as the sunset.

Prediction: Ravens, 26, Steelers 7

Big Bro Scho

Can I really say I have another confidence in the Steelers right now? Absolutely not. They are a franchise that is really scrambling right now. Things are uncertain within the coaching staff, there are still a lot of question marks when it comes to some of the players, it’s more like a soap opera than a football team. They had given me some confidence after their week three game, and then we got what happened last week.

Prediction: Ravens 28, Steelers 13

K.T. Smith

I’d love to pick the Steelers here, as a “circle the wagons” kind of pick. It feels like they haven’t quite hit the bottom yet, though. With Pickett banged up, and a bunch of starters out, and the Ravens starting to figure things out on offense, this feels like a rock bottom sort of game. I know Steelers-Ravens games are typically nail-biters, but not this one.

Prediction: Ravens 27, Steelers 10

What is your prediction? Let us know in the comment section below, and be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the upcoming Week 5 game between the Steelers and Ravens.