With absolutely nothing to play for in Week 18, the Baltimore Ravens face a rather interesting situation entering the season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers at M&T Bank Stadium.
The Ravens already have the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs locked up entering the rivalry matchup against the Steelers, so there is a possibility that Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh rests his starters in the season finale. There’s also a possibility that Harbaugh plays his starters with the first-round bye week looming the following week.
The last time the Ravens had this type of situation, Harbaugh sat his starters in 2019 against the Steelers, and then lost two weeks later in the divisional round at home against the Tennessee Titans as the Ravens were sloppy in that playoff game. That’s eaten at the players and coaches who remain from that time, so maybe Harbaugh switches things up.
For Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, he’s not worried about what the Ravens might or might not do with personnel. Instead, he has his team focused on preparing for the Ravens’ schematics and preparing to get their best on Saturday.
“Game plan-wise, we prepare for what they’re capable of. We prepare for their best, and so that makes that conversation less significant,” Tomlin said to reporters Monday regarding the Ravens potentially resting their starters. “We better be prepared to defend the best of them or stop the best of them. And a component of what they do is schematics and it’s not necessarily people.
“And so we better be ready for the schematic component of what they do. So that’s not a big deal for us, to be quite honest with you.”
The Ravens, with the full complement of weapons for MVP favorite Lamar Jackson at quarterback, are rolling through teams as of late. Of course, if Harbaugh sits Jackson and some of his big-name guys on both sides of the football, there could be a bit of a drop-off. But that all goes out the window in a rivalry matchup.
Schematically, the Ravens are a very dangerous opponent, regardless of who is or is not on the field. Granted, with the MVP front-runner in Jackson, they are all the more dangerous compared to when backup Tyler Huntley is on the field. But around Jackson, it simply doesn’t matter who is out there, whether it’s Gus Edwards, Justice Hill or Melvin Gordon at running back, or even Rashod Bateman, Zay Flowers, or Odell Beckham Jr at receiver.
The offense is explosive, and the scheme is terrific under first-year offensive coordinator Todd Monken.
The scheme under defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald is outstanding, too. That showed on Sunday in the Week 17 win over the Miami Dolphins while missing safety Kyle Hamilton and cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey and Brandon Stephens, the Ravens holding the Dolphins to just 19 points.
Knowing how good the scheme and the coaching is, the Steelers can’t — and won’t — worry about who is or is not out there on Saturday for the Ravens. It’ll be a tough challenge and a hard-fought game regardless, just like always.
