The Pittsburgh Steelers have an opportunity to clinch the AFC North if they can beat the Baltimore Ravens later today, and that would also ensure at least one home playoff game. The Steelers are focused on finishing as high as possible in the AFC, as NFL Media’s Omar Ruiz said on NFL GameDay Kickoff ahead of Steelers-Ravens that Pat Freiermuth told him they want the playoffs to run through Pittsburgh.
“Pat Freiermuth, the tight end for the Steelers, told me they want the playoffs to run through Pittsburgh as long as possible,” Ruiz said.
The Steelers haven’t hosted a playoff game since the 2020 season, losing to the Cleveland Browns in the Wild Card Round. Pittsburgh’s last home playoff win was also their last playoff win, coming during the 2016 season against the Kansas Chiefs on January 15, 2017. The Steelers are long overdue for some playoff success, and winning in the postseason has been their focus all season. Being able to stay in Pittsburgh and host as many playoff games as possible should help them make a run, but to do so, the Steelers need to finish the season out strong.
If the Steelers lose to the Ravens, the two teams will be tied atop the AFC North, and the Steelers will need to take care of business down the stretch and beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 18 to win the division. The Bengals have life again for the playoffs after the Denver Broncos lost to the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night, and Cincinnati could be playing for their playoff lives in that game. Winning today would ease the burden of needing to win the division and let the Steelers focus on climbing the AFC standings, which they’ll have an opportunity to do against the Kansas City Chiefs on Wednesday.
This is a motivated Steelers team that knows the importance of winning the division. They’ve already clinched a playoff berth, but winning the division is something that most of this team hasn’t experienced in Pittsburgh. It’ll be his first opportunity to do so for Freiermuth since being drafted, and Russell Wilson talked about the importance of going out and winning the division earlier this week.
While Pittsburgh will be shorthanded without DeShon Elliott or George Pickens, they’ve won eight of their last nine games against the Ravens, and Freiermuth told Ruiz that Mike Tomlin’s game plans against Baltimore have been key to their success. We’ll see if they can continue their dominance against the Ravens later today and clinch their division with two weeks to spare.