One final time this season. Let’s get weird.
– The Pittsburgh Steelers are now tied for the NFL’s longest active playoff losing streak at six straight games, matching the Miami Dolphins. The Washington Commanders could join them with a loss later today. The NFL record Pittsburgh is inching closer to is nine held by the Detroit Lions from the 1991-2016 seasons.
-As also noted yesterday, the Ravens set individual and collective rushing records against the Steelers in a playoff game. Baltimore’s 299 rushing yards are easily the most Pittsburgh has allowed in the postseason, surpassing the previous high of 232 yards set by the Oakland Raiders in 1973. Those are the only two teams who have rushed for even 200 yards against Pittsburgh.
And Derrick Henry’s 186 yards are the most by any one player against Pittsburgh in the playoffs, smashing Curtis Martin’s record of 166 set in 1996.
-Henry ran for 162 and 186 yards in back-to-back meetings, becoming the first player to rush for 160-plus yards in consecutive Steelers matchups. O.J. Simpson came close with consecutive regular-season performances in 1972 and 1975, but he met the team in the playoffs in between and was held to 59 yards in a loss.
– Baltimore became the first playoff team to run the ball 50 times since the 2010…Ravens, who had 52 attempts in the 2009-2010 postseason against the New England Patriots. This is only the fourth instance since 2000, with Baltimore responsible for three of those.
And their 299 yards are the most by any team since the 2012 San Francisco 49ers. It’s the eighth-most of any team in postseason history.
– Baltimore’s 29 first downs are the most in the playoffs against Pittsburgh since the Tennessee Titans had 29 in 2002, the infamous Joe Nedney flop game the Titans won in overtime.
– Pittsburgh was held to 11 first downs, their fewest since their 2008 AFC Title Game win over the Baltimore Ravens, if you can believe it. They also had 11 that day. The only time they had fewer came in their first playoff game back in 1947, with seven against the Philadelphia Eagles, a 21-0 loss.
-With over 300 yards at halftime, the Ravens ended the day with 464 yards of total offense. That’s not a record, but the fourth-most against Pittsburgh in the playoffs, trailing only the 2021 Kansas City Chiefs (478), 1982 San Diego Chargers (479), and 1984 Miami Dolphins (569).
– Conversely, the Steelers’ 29 yards on the ground are the fewest in playoff history. The previous rushing low sat at 43 in a 2007 loss to the David Garrard and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Pittsburgh’s “longest” run of the day was a grand 5-yards matched by Russell Wilson and Najee Harris.
– Hey, here’s one positive offensive stat. The Steelers had two 30-plus-yard touchdown passes against the Ravens, something they hadn’t done in the playoffs since 2017 against the Jacksonville Jaguars when Martavis Bryant caught a 36-yarder while Antonio Brown hauled in a 43-yarder.
Saturday, WR Van Jefferson went for 30 and George Pickens’ 36.
-Back to the bad. Pittsburgh has been held at or under 17 points in five straight games, something it hasn’t done since 1969, Chuck Noll’s first year as the Steelers’ head coach.
– Pittsburgh has been outscored 73-0 in the first quarter of their last six playoff games, all losses.
– They’ve been outscored 47-3 in the first quarter of their last five games of the 2024-2025 season.
-The Steelers’ last lead at any point in a game came on December 8, in their Week 14 win over the Cleveland Browns. They won’t get a chance to lead again until September.
– T.J. Watt finishes the year going four straight games without a sack, which is a career-long drought for him.
– Punter Corliss Waitman is the first Steeler to average 50 yards per punt on at least five attempts in a playoff game. He had a 51.2-yard average on five punts, all of them landing inside the 20—a nice note to end his season.
He breaks the previous best of 49.7 set by Pressley Harvin III in the 2021 playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
