Add Pro Bowlers Willie Parker and Casey Hampton to the growing list of high-profile players who will be sidelined for Week 4 of the NFL season.
The absence of Parker, a running back who has a sprained left knee and Hampton, a nose guard with a strained groin, could not come at a worst time for the Pittsburgh Steelers — or at a better time for the Ravens.
The AFC North’s top two teams meet on Monday night at 8:30 at Heinz Field in a game in which the winner earns an inside track at the division title.
The Steelers (2-1), the defending division champions, are coming off a 15-6 loss at the Philadelphia. The Ravens (2-0), however, will head to Pittsburgh with all of their key players available following a 28-10 victory over the Browns.
“They’re healthy,” Steelers receiver Hines Ward said. “All around, everybody’s just swarming to the ball. That’s why they’re ranked pretty high in total defense, just because all the guys out there are healthy and out on the field.”
The Steelers’ injuries are one factor that could shift the balance of power in the AFC. The defending conference champion New England Patriots are dealing with the loss of quarterback and reigning league MVP Tom Brady to a season-ending knee injury. The San Diego Chargers have similar concerns on defense with the loss of linebacker Shawne Merriman, and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning still is hampered from surgery to remove an infected bursa sac under his left knee.
“Some teams are an injury or two away from going from being the best team in the league to being in the middle of the pack or on the verge of going to the playoffs to not making the playoffs at all,” Ravens receiver Derrick Mason said. “Nothing in the league surprises me injury-wise. When you have a marquee player going down, that changes the outlook of your team and what you can do from a game plan standpoint.”
Just ask the Steelers. In addition to not having Hampton and Parker, who rushed for 1,316 yards and two touchdowns last season, Pittsburgh doesn’t know what to expect from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The Pro Bowler was nursing a sore shoulder on his throwing arm before he was sacked eight times by the Eagles, causing him to injure his throwing hand. If Roethlisberger can’t play, the Steelers will turn to Byron Leftwich, who has been waived by two teams in the past 13 months.
The Ravens dealt with similar issues last season. The Ravens’ players lost a combined 77 games to injury, including 11 by defensive tackle Trevor Pryce, 10 by cornerback Samari Rolle and Todd Heap and eight by cornerback Chris McAlister.
But now as the team’s players have returned to full health, the Ravens have the league’s top-ranked defense, allowing an average of 161.5 yards per game.
“The first thing that comes from health is chemistry,” Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis said. “When you have chemistry like we have chemistry on our side of the ball, it’s just special. When you’ve got all of pieces back and everybody’s flying around, we can be rough.”
