The Pittsburgh Steelers won’t have much time to dwell on Sunday evening’s 27-13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. With a short week as the road team against the Baltimore Ravens this weekend, the Steelers will have a chance to clinch the division in addition to their playoff berth they backed into today. But Pittsburgh will be the clear underdogs, Baltimore opening as 6.5-point favorites Saturday night, per VSIN’s consensus line.
The Steelers are coming off their worst loss of the season, manhandled by the Eagles on the road. Pittsburgh ran just 41 offensive plays and held the ball for barely more than 20 minutes and had just two second half possessions. Philadelphia controlled the line of scrimmage and wore Pittsburgh’s tired defense down in the second half, ending the game with 131 yards on 42 rushes. It wasn’t their most efficient performance, and the Steelers prevented breakout runs, but the Eagles stayed on schedule and finished the day 10-of-17 on third down.
Baltimore cruised to victory on Sunday, easily dispatching the New York Giants 35-14 and closing the gap on Pittsburgh’s AFC North lead. QB Lamar Jackson had more touchdowns (five) than incompletions (four) as the Ravens took a 21-7 lead into the half. Defensively, they held the Giants to just 236 yards of total offense as starter Tommy DeVito exited the game, forcing fourth-stringer Tim Boyle to finish things out.
It’ll be a rematch of Week 12’s game where Pittsburgh came out on top, 18-16. It was a statement win from the Steelers that saw them hold off a late Ravens’ comeback, stopping a two-point conversion that would’ve tied the game.
If the Steelers complete the season sweep, they’ll win the division for the first time since 2020. If not, the door will swing wide open for the Ravens to make a run at first place and make Pittsburgh a Wild Card seed.
Pittsburgh and Baltimore kickoff Saturday, Dec. 21 at 4:30 PM/EST.
