Before lightweights return to schedule, Steelers must get past Ravens

Once questioned about the validity of their early-season success, the Pittsburgh Steelers no longer are hearing about the ease of their schedule.

Not after victories against the one-loss Cleveland Browns and undefeated Tennessee Titans in successive weeks.

Of course, the stakes are magnified in Week 8, when the Steelers go on the road again and face the 5-1 Baltimore Ravens with first place in the AFC North on the line.

Just how coach Mike Tomlin likes it.

“It’s cool to be in what we believe is the game of the week for the third week in a row,” Mike Tomlin said Tuesday at his weekly news conference. “We’re humbly honored to be in that. We like to show that respect by how we prepare and then ultimately by how we play.”

At 6-0, the Steelers are the last unbeaten team in the NFL, a distinction they earned by holding on for a 27-24 victory Sunday at Tennessee, which came a week after they authoritatively defeated the Browns, 38-7.

Those wins came after the Steelers beat a quartet of opponents — New York Giants, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans and Philadelphia Eagles — that had a combined 3-15-1 record.

“We’re just doing enough to get out of stadiums,” Tomlin said. “We desire to play better, obviously, but I’m thankful we have enough competitive spirit that we believe in each other enough that enough guys want to be the reason we are successful, that we can make enough plays to persevere, sometimes even in the face of adversity.”

This week originally was scheduled as the Steelers’ bye. But when the coronavirus pandemic infected the Titans organization in Week 4, the NFL juggled the schedule and moved the game against the Ravens from Week 7 until Week 8.

As a result, the Ravens had their bye moved up and will have an extra week of preparation for the Steelers.

“There is a lot for us to be urgent about,” Tomlin said.

Although the Steelers manhandled the Browns at home and then went on the road and built a 20-point second-half lead on the Titans before holding on, Tomlin isn’t sure how much that experience will help Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium.

“Maybe in terms of how we manage anxiety or things that lead up to the game and how we stay focused through preparation,” Tomlin said, “but in terms of what transpires inside the stadium or inside the white lines, no.”

The Ravens are trying to win the AFC North for the third year in a row, something no team has done since the division was formed in 2002. Last year, they swept the season series from the Steelers, winning 26-23 in overtime at Heinz Field and concluding a 14-2 season with a 28-10 victory in which they rested most regulars.

The games were bookends of a 12-game winning streak the Ravens carried into the playoffs. The Steelers, meanwhile, finished with a three-game losing streak that kept them out of the postseason for a second year in a row.

“I wiped out last year a while ago,” guard David DeCastro said. “I hate even thinking about it anymore. It’s nice to be doing a lot better this year, and we look forward to playing a good Ravens team that plays us hard like they always do.”

A win in Baltimore not only would match the Steelers’ best start in franchise history — they were 7-0 in 1978 — they would have a two-game edge over the Ravens and, at worst, a one-and-a-half game lead over the Browns.

“We’re all excited about getting better as the season goes on,” DeCastro said. “That is the key. The first half of the season is what it is. Yeah, we’re doing well. We’re undefeated. But you have to get better as the season goes on, stay healthy and make that push toward the end.”

After this three-game stretch against teams with one or zero losses, the Steelers will encounter some of the NFL’s lightweights again. Until the Steelers meet the Ravens on Nov. 26 at Heinz Field, they will play against Dallas, Cincinnati and Jacksonville. The combined records of those teams is 4-16-1.

“The second half is when it matters,” DeCastro said. “Now is just for position. We know it’s a long season.”