The Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers have been heading in different directions over the past month. The Ravens, champions of the AFC North, have been blowing teams out over the past four weeks. Their average margin of victory was 23 points per game over that span, with the closest of those four being a 34-17 win over Pittsburgh on Dec. 21, in which the Ravens took control of the division on their way to a wild-card round home game. Lamar Jackson turned in an historic regular season, becoming the first quarterback in league history to throw 40 or more touchdown passes with four or fewer interceptions and the first player to throw for 4,000 yards while rushing for 800 yards, all on his way to becoming the NFL’s all-time leading rusher at the quarterback position.
The Steelers, meanwhile, are limping into the playoffs, having lost four in a row — including double-digit losses to both the Chiefs and Eagles, in addition to the blowout loss in Baltimore — and scoring just 14.3 points per game in those losses. To say the Steelers’ pass offense is struggling might be an understatement. They haven’t topped 200 passing yards since Dec. 1 and have been under 165 passing yards in four of their last five games to finish the year.
The Steelers won the first matchup between these teams 18-16 back in Week 11 in Pittsburgh before the Ravens got their win in Week 16 in Baltimore.
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: M&T Bank Stadium | Baltimore
Streaming: Amazon Prime Video
- Baltimore and Pittsburgh have met many times before, but the AFC North rivals are about to meet for the third time this year. Prior to today, the two have had two memorable meetings so far this season.
- The teams first met up on Nov. 17, where Pittsburgh earned the 18-16 win by only scoring field goals. Ravens kicker Justin Tucker, meanwhile, struggled mightily in the two-point loss, missing two field goal attempts in the first quarter.
- The second matchup was on Dec. 21, where Baltimore made up for the earlier loss by handily defeating the Steelers 34-17 and securing the AFC North title in the process. It was a win that the Ravens really needed, and one that gives them plenty of confidence coming into today’s Wild Card game.
