The Pittsburgh Steelers’ Week 18 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens has been announced for 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 5. Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette first reported the day and time of the Steelers game.
It’s the third Saturday game in four weeks for the Steelers, who also played the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday in Week 15 and the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday on Week 16. The game will be aired on ESPN and ABC.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Media released the full Week 18 schedule.
Other notable game dates include the Houston Texans and the Indianapolis Colts being played on Saturday at 8:15 p.m., while the Sunday Night Football contest is the matchup between the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills. That game has major playoff implications for the Steelers, and with the Steelers playing on Saturday, they’ll have to wait around to know their playoff fate.
The Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans play at 1:00 PM on CBS on Sunday, and that’s another game that has major playoff implications for the Steelers. It’s going to be a brutal wait for Pittsburgh to find out its playoff fate, with the games that have the most implications all occurring on Sunday. If the Steelers lose, they’re going to root for a tie on Saturday between the Texans and Colts. If they win, they’ll root for any result that’s not a tie, and then root for a loss from either the Jaguars or the Bills.
Pittsburgh’s path to the playoffs without a win is extremely narrow. A win obviously gives the Steelers a much better chance of making the playoffs, but they’re still going to need help to get in. The Ravens already have the AFC’s No. 1 seed clinched, so the question becomes whether they’ll choose to rest starters and avoid injury heading into the postseason. Given the Steelers-Ravens rivalry and that Pittsburgh has already beaten Baltimore once this season, there’s no guarantee that the Ravens will decide to rest guys. They would love nothing more than to play spoiler and keep the Steelers out of the playoffs.
The other big question becomes who will start at quarterback for Pittsburgh. Mason Rudolph has played the best any Steelers quarterback has in years over his last two starts, but QB Kenny Pickett might be healthy enough to suit up. Odds are the Steelers roll with the hot hand in Rudolph, but it’s going to be worth monitoring throughout the week.
It’s a short week for both Pittsburgh and Baltimore with the game coming on a Saturday, but both teams will be ready. Pittsburgh wants to keep its playoff hopes alive while the Ravens want to knock their rivals out of the playoff race. It should be a good one.
