When the Ravens have the ball: Despite the presence of Joe Flacco, the Ravens have lacked a vertical passing game and have been unable to produce touchdowns through the air. Flacco had 256 yards against the Colts -- the first time he has topped 200 yards in his past four games -- but he has not thrown a touchdown in his past three games. His main target has been WR Derrick Mason. RB Ray Rice is averaging 3.9 yards per carry in his past four games, but he also has 23 of his team-high 56 catches for 190 yards in that time, mostly on checkdowns. The Steelers haven't allowed a 100-yard rusher in the past 28 regular-season games (32 counting playoffs). Tackles Jared Gaither and Michael Oher did a good job last week on the Colts' Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis. Now they have to slow James Harrison (10 sacks) and LaMarr Woodley (5).

When the Steelers have the ball: Ben Roethlisberger completed 54 of 97 passes for 692 yards, three touchdowns and only one interception in three victories against the Ravens last season. But he had to leave the overtime loss to the Chiefs with a concussion-like injury last week and will be replaced by Dennis Dixon tonight. RB Rashard Mendenhall is averaging 92 yards per game and 5.1 yards per carry in seven starts. The Steelers haven't had a 100-yard rusher against the Ravens since October 2005, but the Ravens have already allowed two backs -- Cincinnati's Cedric Benson (117) and Minnesota's Adrian Peterson (143) -- to rush for more than 100 yards in their past five games. NT Haloti Ngata returned last week after missing two games with injury and looked rusty. But he and T Kelly Gregg clog the middle of the line and force running backs into the defensive pursuit. The Ravens will be without CB Fabian Washington (knee) and LB/DE Terrell Suggs (sprained knee).

KR Lardarius Webb: He averaged 26.3 yards on three kickoff returns against the Colts last week and is second in the AFC in kick returns, averaging 28 yards for the season. What's more, he had a 95-yard kick return for touchdown in Week 8 against the Denver Broncos and is facing a Steelers team that has allowed four kickoff returns for touchdowns in the past five games.

The Steelers have lost back-to-back games for the second time this season and are 2-3 on the road. They won all three meetings with the Ravens last season, including the AFC championship game that sent the Steelers to Super Bowl XLIII. However, their victory in M&T Bank Stadium ended a five-game losing streak there. The Ravens have lost five of their past seven games after a 3-0 start, but four of their losses have been by a combined 13 points.

To win, the Ravens must ...

1. Not jar Mason. He tends to beat coverage with double moves up the sideline and the Steelers were barbecued with big plays in Kansas City.

2. Nix Dixon. The Ravens will use their pressure to harass and confuse the young Steelers quarterback.

3. Surf the Webb. He has one of the 11 kickoff returns for TD in the NFL this season -- four which have been allowed by the Steelers.

To win, the Steelers must ...

1. Dice Rice. Has become Ravens' featured back, but also has a team-high 17 catches on third down and tends to break tackles after short catches.

2. Get Flacco out of whack-o. He had five interceptions and a QB rating of 17.6 in his last two games against the Steelers in '08.

3. Take heed of Ed Reed. Has three interceptions, including a 52-yard scoring return this season, but hasn't had an INT in past six vs. Steelers.

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