The Pittsburgh Steelers have won the AFC North nine times, including seven under Mike Tomlin, since its inception in 2002. That is more than any other team, and they certainly want to add to their hardware, the Ravens sitting at seven. Even the Bengals have six, but the lowly Browns, of course, have none.
On Saturday, the Steelers can claim the AFC North title by beating the Ravens. This is not an uncommon occurrence, as it turns out. Via Steelers PR assistant Michael Bertsch, this is the fourth game against the Ravens under Mike Tomlin in which they can clinch the AFC North. The good news? They won the first three.
In fact, the Steelers have had seven division-clinching games in Tomlin’s tenure, and he has won six of them. It took him two tries in 2020, first losing to the Bengals and then locking up the AFC North against the Colts a week later. But in 2008, 2016, and 2017, the Steelers beat the Ravens with the division on the line.
The Ravens finished second in the AFC North in each of those years, and they will finish no worse presently. They are currently 9-5, the Bengals a distant third at 6-8, having lost to Baltimore twice. The Steelers prevailed in each of those three previous opportunities, so will they do so again?
In 2008, the division-clinching game came in Week 15, the Steelers winning 13-9 in Baltimore. It took a game-winning touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Santonio Holmes with under a minute to go. The Ravens still call it a “controversial” call, probably because it makes them feel better. The Steelers later beat Baltimore in the AFC Championship Game and won the Super Bowl, so it all worked out.
Nearly a decade later, a 9-5 Steelers team bested an 8-6 Ravens team in Week 16 in 2016. The teams exchanged fourth-quarter leads multiple times, the Steelers erasing a 10-point deficit. RB Le’Veon Bell scored twice, once rushing, once receiving, before the Ravens came back. It was Antonio Brown and his Christmas Day Immaculate Extension that gave Steelers fans their Merry Christmas.
One year later, the Steelers claimed the AFC North over the Ravens yet again, this time in Week 14. The Ravens were 7-5 going into that game, the Steelers 10-2. The division wasn’t even close that year—which of course is why they locked it up with three games to go.
Yet this was once again a squeaker, and the Steelers needed a game-winning drive. The Steelers trailed 38-29 with under seven minutes to play before Bell scored a touchdown. With under a minute to play, Chris Boswell gave them the win over the Ravens, 39-38. And Baltimore missed the playoffs entirely.
One hopes the Steelers can beat the Ravens in less nail-biting fashion this week, but that tends to be how things go. The last time a Steelers-Ravens game ended in more than a one-possession lead was in 2019.
