Of all the analysts you could pick from, Colin Cowherd wouldn’t seem like the one giving the Pittsburgh Steelers a snowball’s chance in hell to upset the Baltimore Ravens this weekend. A man who rails against the Steelers’ philosophy every chance he gets. But Cowherd made a compelling case for the Steelers to go toe to toe with their rival Ravens in tomorrow night’s Wild Card game. Even if he’s still picking Baltimore to win.
“I’m on a very small, lonely island,” Cowherd said Friday on The Herd. “I think the Steelers are gonna play Baltimore very tough this weekend.”
He pointed out Zay Flowers’ absence, the second-year wide receiver ruled out with a knee injury suffered in the Ravens’ Week 18 regular-season finale. It leaves Baltimore without its No. 1 wide receiver and the only one in team history to make the Pro Bowl, an incredible fact, as Flowers posted a 1,000-yard season that included success against Pittsburgh.
Beyond that, Cowherd noted the heat of the rivalry can create enough friction to prevent the Ravens from a runaway victory.
“It’s a fist fight in an alley. I mean, this game, nobody’s fooling anybody,” he said.
The 34-17 outcome of the last meeting was a rarity with most of the previous matchups determined by one score and coming down to the wire. Games often won by the Steelers just as they did in Week 11 with a gritty 18-16 victory. Both teams know each other exceedingly well, which can minimize the talent gap working in Baltimore’s advantage.
But the biggest reason Colin Cowherd thinks Pittsburgh can keep it close is its success against QB Lamar Jackson coupled with Jackson’s postseason struggles throughout his career.
“If you look at Lamar Jackson in his career versus the Steelers,” he said. “He’s 2-4 against the Steelers and he’s 2-4 in the playoffs. And his passer rating is amazing. Unless he’s in the playoffs and unless he’s facing the Steelers. Now, he’s in the first round, he’s in the playoffs, and he’s facing the Steelers.”
The above photo shows the stats. In most situations, Jackson looks like a soon-to-be three-time MVP. Against Pittsburgh or in the postseason, his numbers shift.
Still, those are big-picture thoughts that rely on older history. The here and now has Baltimore a red-hot team while Pittsburgh is ice-cold, two teams that are polar opposites of each other. The Steelers will have to work hard to reverse those trends. Beginning with their literal start and not adding to the 66-0 first quarter figure they’ve been outscored by over their last five playoff losses. If they can do that, Cowherd might be proven right. But for Steelers fans to be happy, his ultimate prediction of picking Baltimore will need to be wrong.
