Ravens Favored vs Steelers Thursday Night

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a rare home underdog for Thursday night as they host their division rivals, the Baltimore Ravens.

The Steelers were a home underdog only once last season when they lit up the Indianapolis Colts 51-34 as a 5-point underdog. The big difference in that game is that Ben Roethlisberger was at quarterback for Pittsburgh.

With Big Ben sidelined for a number of weeks with a knee injury the Steelers may have to get used to being the underdog, even when taking on a winless opponent like Baltimore.

Pittsburgh survived without Roethlisberger last week and edged St. Louis 12-6 as a 1-point underdog. Before leaving the game with the knee injury Roethlisberger passed for 192 yards with an interception. Michael Vick took over and he’ll be behind center on Thursday night.

Le’Veon Bell returned from a suspension and rushed for 62 yards and a touchdown in his season debut.

The Ravens dropped their third in a row last week after falling to Cincinnati 28-24 as a 2-point home favorite. Joe Flacco passed for 362 yards with a pair of touchdowns to Steve Smith but the Baltimore defense couldn’t hold the lead in the fourth quarter.

The Ravens and Steelers last met up in the first round of last year’s playoff when the Ravens flew into Pittsburgh and whipped the Steelers 30-17 as a 3-point underdog. Pittsburgh actually out-gained Baltimore 387-299 but only found the end zone once and turned the ball over three times.

In the Thursday night rematch the Ravens are a 3-point road favorite at online sportsbook Bovada. Pittsburgh and Baltimore have split the last six matchups with three wins apiece, but Pittsburgh is 4-2 ATS.

When these two AFC North rivals have squared off in Pittsburgh in recent years the Ravens have had the advantage. In their last four at Pittsburgh the Ravens are 3-1 SU and 2-2 ATS, and in their last nine they’re 6-3 SU and 4-4-1 ATS.