Twice in the past three seasons, Mike Tomlin and his Pittsburgh Steelers came to Baltimore in the final week, beat the Ravens and sneaked into the playoffs.
The Steelers clinched a postseason berth much earlier this year, but their annual trip to Charm City is still a big deal. A win over the Ravens this weekend would give Pittsburgh the AFC North title.
“It’s a road divisional game. It’s Baltimore. And I understand the nature of this rivalry and the amount of attention that it brings, and it’s exciting and humbling to be a part of it,” Tomlin said. “We’ve got an opportunity to pursue a division championship this week, and so, man, we’re excited.”
Pittsburgh's recent mastery of this series — the Steelers have won eight of their last nine against Baltimore — hasn't yielded much in the way of division titles. The last time Pittsburgh won one of those was in 2020. In fact, as spirited as this rivalry is, late-season Steelers-Ravens matchups haven't exactly showcased the best of both teams lately. Their meeting Saturday could be an exception.
Last season, Baltimore had clinched the top seed in the playoffs and rested Lamar Jackson for its Week 18 loss to the Steelers. In the 2021 finale, Jackson was injured, and although both teams were still alive for the postseason, the Ravens' chances were particularly slim. Pittsburgh won and ultimately got the help it needed to extend its season.
The Steelers also visited Baltimore for the final game in 2019 — and again, Pittsburgh had a chance to make the playoffs. That was another situation in which the Ravens had wrapped up the top seed and Jackson didn't play, but that time the Ravens won anyway and ended the Steelers' season.
Pittsburgh (10-4) and Baltimore (9-5) won't wait until the very end to finish their series this season, and while this week's matchup lacks win-or-go-home drama, there are plenty of stakes. And because this is not Week 18, there is less of a chance that either team would be in position to rest players.
For Jackson, it will be his first time facing the Steelers at home since 2020 — and a chance to improve his 1-4 record against them as a starter. For Pittsburgh quarterback Russell Wilson, it's an opportunity to add a division title with the Steelers to the NFC West championships he won in Seattle.
“We’ve got to be able to calm the nerves early and the excitement and be able to, you know, play and think clearly and efficiently and effectively but yet play with an edge,” Wilson said.
The Steelers have the upper hand in the division because of their 18-16 victory over Baltimore in Week 11. The Ravens missed two field goals, turned the ball over three times and had a 2-point conversion stopped at the end.
Chris Boswell kicked six field goals to account for all of Pittsburgh's scoring.
Tomlin and Baltimore coach John Harbaugh face each other this weekend for the 37th time. Only George Halas vs. Curly Lambeau — a matchup that happened 49 times between 1921 and 1953 — has occurred more.
The Steelers' offense is much improved this season, though there is still one bugaboo that pops up regularly: slow starts.
Pittsburgh is averaging just 3.4 points in the first quarter, and while Tomlin has stressed that the game's opening 15 minutes doesn't determine the outcome, the Steelers have struggled at times to generate momentum early.
In last week's loss to Philadelphia, Pittsburgh converted two first-quarter turnovers into just three points. By the time the Steelers picked up their initial first down, they already trailed 17-3.
“We’re like an old pickup truck,” offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said. “Like, we’ll run well and we’re pretty damn good ... sometimes it just takes a little while to crank the engine. And we’ve got to find a way to get some jumper cables.”
Tomlin believes the Steelers are one of the better tackling teams in the league. While advanced metrics appear to back up that claim, Pittsburgh's defense endured a bumpy afternoon against the Eagles. Philadelphia controlled the ball for nearly 40 minutes by converting 10 of 17 third downs.
Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin believes the performance was a one-off. It better be if Pittsburgh wants to continue its dominance against the Ravens.
“You have to be able to tackle against this group,” Austin said. “One of the things they’re really good at is yards after catch, yards after contact.”
Although Baltimore hasn't beaten the Steelers much lately, it doesn't really feel like a lopsided series to the Ravens. Perhaps that's because the last nine matchups have been decided by one score. Not to mention injuries and other factors that had Baltimore playing at far less than full strength for a bunch of those games.
“They don't really do nothing that really stress me if I'm being honest,” Ravens receiver Zay Flowers said.
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