- WHERE: M&T Bank Stadium (Baltimore)
- WHEN: 8 p.m. ET | Prime Video, NFL+
Baltimore and Pittsburgh. There's been no better divisional rivalry in the NFL over the last two decades, and for the first time since 2015, the two foes meet in the playoffs.
They've ridden opposite trajectories to this meeting. After starting 10-3 and enjoying a boost in production provided by a change at quarterback from Justin Fields to Russell Wilson, the Steelers have fallen back to earth over the last month, losing their last four games of the regular season. Baltimore, meanwhile, is peaking at the perfect time, riding their offensive machine to 31-plus-point outings and four straight wins, including one over the Steelers in Week 16.
Such a juxtaposition might suggest a blowout awaits us this weekend. But these two teams are intimately familiar with each other, and as is often said when it comes to rivalries, throw out the records. Expect a brutal battle between two teams who earned the right to play this weekend with the same understanding: Only one will emerge victorious and continue their season.
Here are three things to watch for when the Steelers visit the Ravens on Saturday:
1) Can Pittsburgh's defense find a way to slow these Ravens? Baltimore enters Wild Card Weekend on a white-hot streak, scoring 31-plus points in each of their last four games. Lamar Jackson became the first player in NFL history to record 40-plus passing touchdowns and 600-plus rushing yards in the same season, capping a campaign that would make for a slam-dunk case for NFL MVP if he wasn't named Lamar Jackson. Derrick Henry celebrated his 31st birthday by running for 138 yards and two touchdowns in Baltimore's Week 18 win, finishing just shy of 2,000 rushing yards on the year. These Ravens can beat opponents in a wide variety of fashions, and Pittsburgh's defense hasn't lived up to its reputation in the second half of the season, especially in their final month's worth of games, allowing 27.3 points and 380.5 yards per contest. The Steelers finished the regular season tied for the league lead in takeaways with 33, but are facing a Ravens offense that ranks third with just 11 giveaways. Numbers wise, this isn't a good matchup. The Steelers have T.J. Watt, but he's been invisible in the last three weeks, failing to register a sack or QB hit in that span. Jackson, meanwhile, takes the field as an every-down threat to end the Steelers' season, even without the participation of Pro Bowl wide receiver Zay Flowers, who will miss the game due to a knee injury. It will take quite a turnaround to prevent the Steelers from watching their season slip away on Saturday.
2) Will Wilson push the Steelers out if their rut? Pittsburgh's offense peaked in a Week 14 shootout with the Bengals in which Wilson threw for 414 yards and Pittsburgh finished with 520 total yards, 44 points and a big road win over a division rival. Since that game, the Steelers offense has cratered. They scored 27 against Cleveland in the following game, but needed short fields to score (of their five scoring drives, only one saw them cover more than 50 yards). In the last four weeks, Pittsburgh hasn't scored more than 17 points in a game and have lost all four contests. The good vibes that surrounded Wilson's insertion into the lineup have evaporated, and even George Pickens' return from a hamstring injury hasn't been enough to revive this offense. Can Wilson channel his past form in these playoffs, finding the gear that once made him one of the NFL's top signal-callers and saw him tally nine postseason victories? Or have we already seen the Steelers reach their ceiling? Baltimore's defense will be facing an offense that is averaging 14.3 points per game in their last four contests, 1.5 giveaways per game and under 150 passing yards. Those numbers aren't encouraging, but if ever there were a time to get back on track, it's now for the Steelers.
3) A rivalry renewed. As the two best teams in the AFC North over the last 25 years, Pittsburgh and Baltimore have produced some absolute classics in this century. Saturday marks their fifth postseason meeting and the first in a decade, and for the first time, it will occur in Baltimore. The Ravens earned the right to host after defeating the Steelers in Week 16 as part of their four-game win streak to close the regular season and expect nothing short of the same result Saturday. But their recent meetings suggest this might be a tough game to predict. On paper, the Ravens have the advantage on both sides of the ball. They have a league-leading nine Pro Bowlers on their roster (Pittsburgh has four). Their offense and defense are both playing better than the Steelers' have been over the last month, and the Ravens undoubtedly have the superior offense, both in terms of potential and consistency. Baltimore's defense has seemed to figure it out as of late, too, just as the Steelers have lost some of their identity on that side of the line of scrimmage. History is on Baltimore's side as well: Since 2021, division opponents have squared off in the playoffs seven times, with the higher-seeded team winning all seven of those games. Pittsburgh is also fighting a supernatural force: They haven't won a playoff game since 2016, going 0-4 in postseason contests. All of these signs point toward a Baltimore win, but when it comes to rivalries, we can't count on a favorite to emerge victorious (just ask Ohio State about that). Pittsburgh has a chance to play spoiler, end a playoff drought and send a strong statement to the rest of the league. Baltimore, meanwhile, needs to take care of business in pursuit of their larger goal. Get your popcorn ready.