The Baltimore Ravens wrap up their regular season with yet another AFC North rivalry, this time against the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, this game doesn’t mean much to Baltimore and will see several key starters sitting out to rest up for the postseason.
I sat down with managing editor Curt Popejoy of Steelers Wire to not only see what Pittsburgh has going on right now but to get an early preview of their offseason. Take a look at our five questions with the enemy this week to see where the Steelers stand in Week 17.
James Conner is ruled out. Who will be his replacement and what differences can we expect there?
Conner has missed so much football this season it’s hard to imagine the team is even giving it much thought. Once again it’ll be some combination of Benny Snell Jr., Jaylen Samuels and Kerrith Whyte trying to create something of a run game. I want to say the Steelers are going to make a stronger effort to establish the run this week but I’ve been saying it for a month and it hasn’t happened.
Is the Steelers’ quarterback of the future on the roster right now or has this season shown they still need to hunt for Ben Roethlisberger’s heir?
At this point, I don’t see any way Mason Rudolph or Devlin Hodges can make a claim to be the eventual replacement for Big Ben. But even with that, I don’t expect to see the Steelers make much of an effort at all to find a different quarterback in the next offseason.
Pittsburgh’s defense has been great at getting interceptions. What has been their trick?
No tricks. Lots of pressure upfront. Bud Dupree, T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward have been tremendous getting after the quarterback and that is making life easier on the guys in the secondary. That’s not to say there isn’t talent there but their jobs are easier when the front seven is getting pressure.
Looking ahead to this offseason, do you think the Steelers will be able to retain Bud Dupree? How will the defense adjust if they can’t?
Count me among those who don’t think Dupree will stay. Pittsburgh has too many priority free agents for this offseason and the next to pay Dupree what he will want. If this happens, the focus of the offseason has to be figuring out if Ola Adeniyi can be a quality starter or does he have to be upgraded.
What’s your final score prediction for this game and which Pittsburgh players have the biggest positive and negative impact on the scoreboard?
I do think with the Ravens resting so many starters, Pittsburgh will find a way to win, only to have their playoff hopes dashed when the Titans beat the Texans. As far as the guy I’m counting on this week, I’ll give you two. Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick has been quiet the last few weeks and is due for a big play. And Steelers kicker Chris Boswell has been the most consistent scoring threat on the team. Steelers 20, Ravens 17
