The Pittsburgh Steelers will take on the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card round. That playoff matchup has been solidified due to the combination of the Steelers falling to the Cincinnati Bengals Saturday night coupled with the Los Angeles Chargers beating the Las Vegas Raiders Sunday afternoon.
It cements the massive four-game collapse Pittsburgh experienced over their final four games, one 1-seed hopefuls and ending as the No. 6 seed. The Steelers couldn’t clinch the AFC North with a loss to the Ravens in Week 16 and then lost control of their destiny with a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas Day. Beating the Bengals last night would’ve locked up the five-seed and sent them to Houston to play the Texans, a matchup many viewed a more favorable. Instead, it’s round three with the red-hot Ravens. Baltimore secured the division with a 35-10 win against Cleveland.
The date of the game wasn’t immediately announced and should be made public later tonight. Given that the Ravens and Steelers played on Saturday, it’s logical for the Wild Card game to be held next Saturday. If so, they will either play at 4:30 PM/EST or 8 PM/EST. The game could be carried by CBS, Fox, or Prime Video as an Amazon exclusive (the game would be aired on television in local markets).
Steelers. Ravens. Winner take all. For the third time this season, Pittsburgh and Baltimore will square off. This time, in the Wild Card round to determine who moves one step closer to the Super Bowl. Despite the Steelers holding the division lead for most of the season, a late-year collapse coupled with the Ravens getting hot gave Baltimore the AFC North crown. And set up for the Steelers to go on the road to face them next weekend.
Baltimore ends the year as one of the NFL’s hottest teams. Led by an MVP candidate in Lamar Jackson, who already has two such trophies on his mantle, they finish the season winning their final four games, including a revenge victory over Pittsburgh in Week 16. Adding RB Derrick Henry was one of the league’s biggest offseason acquisitions, rushing for over 1,800-yards on more than 300 carries in the Ravens’ run-heavy offense.
WR Zay Flowers broke out as the team’s top receiver with a 1,000-yard campaign and is complemented by a host of targets behind him, important given that Flowers suffered a knee sprain Saturday with his status uncertain for the weekend. Baltimore maintains a solid one-two punch at tight end in Mark Andrews, heating up after a cool start, and Isaiah Likely, while Rashod Bateman enjoyed a nice season. The offensive line is unspectacular but solid and improving thanks to LT Ronnie Stanley staying healthy and C Tyler Linderbaum emerging as one of the position’s young stars.
Defensively is where the team had its biggest questions throughout the year and was a big reason for the Ravens’ sluggish start. But the unit has improved and boasts talent at all three levels. EDGE Kyle Van Noy has surged with Baltimore to lead the team in sacks. DT Nnamdi Madubuike is a force in the trenches with LB Roquan Smith a top-off ball linebacker. The secondary has household names like CB Marlon Humphrey and S Kyle Hamilton. Even K Justin Tucker ended the season stronger than he started.
Baltimore sent nine players to the Pro Bowl, most of any team.
The Ravens lost their first two games of the season, falling to the Chiefs in razor-close fashion to open the 2024 season. The Las Vegas Raiders upset them in Week 2. But they ripped off five-straight wins to round into form. The division gave them initial fits, losing to the Cleveland Browns in Week 8 and the Steelers in Week 11, but they beat both teams in the rematch. Against Pittsburgh in Week 16, they turned a 17-17 tie into a 34-17 win thanks to an Andrews touchdown and pick-six of QB Russell Wilson by Humphrey. Henry ran at will as the Ravens finished the day with over 200-yards on the ground.
Following a late bye, Baltimore ran the table to finish the year 12-5 and win the AFC North for a second-straight season. A perennial Super Bowl contender, they fell one game short a year ago to the Kansas City Chiefs. It was their first conference title appearance since 2012, their last Super Bowl winning season.
This will mark just the second Wild Card meeting between the Steelers and Ravens. In the 2014-2015 season, Baltimore beat Pittsburgh 30-17. With the Steelers’ running backs beat up and forcing them to use Ben Tate and Josh Harris, a one-dimensional Pittsburgh offense wilted against the Ravens’ defense. QB Ben Roethlisberger was sacked five times and picked off twice as QB Joe Flacco threw a pair of scores in the convincing win.
It’ll be the fifth playoff game of the rivalry, the Steelers owning a 3-1 overall record including a 2008 AFC Championship Game win that punched their ticket to the Super Bowl.
The Denver Broncos are the No. 7 seed, securing their spot and eliminating the Bengals by beating the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday. The Chiefs sat their starters and the Broncos took advantage, making quick work of Kansas City’s backups.
