Despite virtually every Pittsburgh Steelers versus Baltimore Ravens game coming down to the wire, the Steelers have found a way to emerge victorious time and time again. Winners of seven of their last eight against the Ravens, recent history says Pittsburgh will come out on top again this weekend. One analyst thinks Baltimore flips the script.
Craig Carton says the Ravens will get their revenge and smile their way out of Acrisure Stadium this Sunday.
“I think this is the game where the Baltimore Ravens exorcise the demons,” Carton said Thursday morning on FS1’s Breakfast Ball. “I don’t know how the world the Pittsburgh Steelers have beaten the Baltimore Ravens with a Ben Roethlisberger at the end of his career, with a Mason Rudolph, with a Mitchell Trubisky, with a Kenny Pickett. It just doesn’t make any sense.”
Pittsburgh’s won past games where it wasn’t the better team on paper. But the Steelers are the NFL’s best in squeezing out a close win. The stat we tout the most is Pittsburgh’s record in one-possession games. Since Mike Tomlin was named head coach in 2007, no team has played more one-score games than the Steelers’ 167. And no team has a better winning percentage (.617) in such games. There’s no one else even above 59 percent. That stat has largely held true this season, the Steelers 4-2 in one-score games, including winners of their last two against the New York Giants (26-18) and the Washington Commanders (28-27).
But Carton thinks a potent Ravens offense featuring QB Lamar Jackson, favored to win his third MVP, will be too much for the Steelers.
“I think Baltimore puts a beatdown on them. I just think this is such an outclass in talent. Russell Wilson would have to recapture his early days in Seattle to match the offensive Baltimore’s gonna put on them.”
The Ravens know how to score, the NFL’s No. 1 offense at over 30 points per game. They move the ball with ease and their 440 yards per game not only leads the league but is most by any team since the 2013 Denver Broncos. Still, the Steelers have found ways to minimize Jackson in the past, even if they’ve gotten bailed out by some Ravens drops.
While the occasional beatdown has occurred during the course of the rivalry, it’s rare. Since 2008, only five of their 32 regular-season matchups have been decided by more than 14 points. Conversely, 18 of their games, an incredible 56 percent, have been decided by no more than three points. Even if Baltimore finds a way to score, Pittsburgh seems inevitable to match, especially against a shaky Ravens pass defense. The Ravens may win but a comfortable one isn’t what the history book says.
