FanHouse Preview: Ravens at Steelers

Four years ago, Ben Roethlisberger found himself over his head in the NFL playoffs. As an NFL rookie who had led the Steelers to a 15-1 record, Roethlisberger was trying to put the capper on one of the best rookie seasons in NFL history.

It didn't go too well. Jets kicker Doug Brien's two missed field goals bailed Roethlisberger out in a narrow Steeelers win in their first game. Then he was a disaster against the Patriots in the AFC championship game -- his three picks helped ensure New England's trip to the Super Bowl.

Now, Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is trying to top Roethlisberger. He's made it to the AFC championship game as a rookie, just like Roethlisberger, and, unlike Roethlisberger, he's taken care of the ball in the Ravens' biggest games of the season.

Roethlisberger still talks about that AFC championship game as motivation to do better this year, even though he won the Super Bowl the next year. Flacco can cement his status as the most successful rookie quarterback in NFL history with one more win. And he'd establish himself as a Ravens hero by beating the team's biggest rival along the way.

There's only one problem: Roethlisberger is standing in the way, and, as he's shown in the first two Steelers-Ravens meetings this year, he's learned a lot since his 2004 playoff problems. Since that Patriots loss, Roethlisberger is 5-1 in the playoffs.

Three Key Questions

1) Which team will protect their quarterback better?

2) Is Willie Parker back to his old tricks?

3) Which team will get the game-changing play?

Player In The Spotlight: Flacco. For his first two playoff games, Flacco has done enough to win, but mainly by staying out of the way. Against the Titans, Flacco made two big plays (a 48-yard touchdown pass to Derrick Mason and a 37-yarder to Mark Clayton). Otherwise, though, he was ineffective. Unless the Steelers gift-wrap the game for Baltimore like the Titans did, Flacco will have to do more this weekend. The biggest improvement Flacco will need to make is his success on first down -- he was a miserable 3-for-10 for 13 yards (and two sacks) on first down in the teams' two regular-season games.

Baltimore's Path To Victory: The Ravens have found an outstanding formula for playoff success: don't make mistakes on offense and watch an outstanding defense force mistakes. Roethlisberger has been known to throw a misguided pass, usually after he's dodged a blitzer or two. His one interception in the earlier two games against Baltimore came when he was harassed by the Ravens' pass rush. If Terrell Suggs can't play because of his bad shoulder, the Ravens will have to create their pressure through Rex Ryan's creativity, but he's shown he can get alter the decision-making of the Pittsburgh offensive line. In 2006, the Ravens sacked Roethlisberger 14 times in two games, including nine in a soul-sucking 27-0 Ravens blowout win. As the Eagles showed earlier in 2008, the Steelers' offensive line can crumble, although Baltimore has sacked Roethlisberger only six times in their first two meetings.

Pittsburgh's Path To Victory: Pittsburgh has won the teams' first two games because its defense stiffened when it needed to and because Baltimore has struggled to cope when Pittsburgh spread out and went to a no-huddle late in both games. There's a lot of talk that the Steelers will try to use Willie Parker to beat the Ravens on the ground, but if he does, it will be the first time he's had success in seven games against the Ravens. In his six previous games, Parker had only 262 yards on 92 carries (2.82 yards per carry). His longest run in those six games is 16 yards. So it's more likely that Pittsburgh will win this game the same way it won the first two meetings: getting pressure on Flacco and getting enough plays from Roethlisberger to put points on the board. Cornerback Samari Rolle has been limping all week. If he can't play, expect to see the Steelers go with plenty of three-receiver sets, figuring that Nate Washington should find some favorable matchups against the Ravens' nickel and dime backs.

Prediction: Steelers 20, Ravens 17.