The Pittsburgh Steelers will face the Baltimore Ravens in the playoffs for the first time in a decade. Traveling to Baltimore certainly doesn’t seem ideal, though. During their trip to play the Ravens this year, the Steelers got crushed. They kept the game close for a while, but things got away from them down the stretch. It doesn’t sound like the Steelers are intimidated by that, at least if they share Broderick Jones’ opinion.
“Honestly, for me personally, I wanted to play the Ravens again,” Jones said Tuesday via Steelers Live on Twitter. “I still got a bad taste in my mouth from last game. I wanted to play them again. I’m glad we get to play them again. I just wanna go out there and do what I can to help. Nothing more.”
Considering how awful they looked last time they played the Ravens, that might sound crazy from Jones. However, it’s the right attitude to have. The Steelers should run to this challenge, not from it. After losing their final four games of the season, there likely wasn’t going to be an “easy” game for them in the postseason.
This is arguably the NFL’s greatest rivalry, so it’s nice to hear that Jones is eager to get back on the right side of it. Before Week 18, the Steelers were likely going to play either the Ravens or the Houston Texans. The Texans were seen as a much more favorable matchup, but because they lost to the Cincinnati Bengals, the Steelers have to travel to play the Ravens.
Despite losing their last game to the Ravens, the Steelers have dominated this rivalry recently. They’re 8-2 in their last 1o games against the Ravens. Even though they’re underdogs this week, counting them out would be a mistake.
Jones got his wish, so now the Steelers have to change the ending for this story. Wanting to play the Ravens is nice, but if the Steelers lose, Jones might find out the downside of making a wish on a monkey’s paw.
Better to deal with the devil you know, though. The Steelers are more familiar with the Ravens than any other playoff team. They have the blueprint to win. They just need to get out of their own way. That starts with Jones and the offense. If that unit can protect the football, they should have a much better chance at finally winning a playoff game.
