An AFC North battle in the postseason.
The first day of this year’s NFL playoffs concludes with an AFC North battle between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens.
Pittsburgh started the year with Justin Fields at quarterback, before eventually giving way to Russell Wilson. The formula was working surprisingly well for the Steelers, who had a 10-3 record and were in control of the division after beating Baltimore once. Then, Pittsburgh proceeded to lose their final four games of the regular season to Philadelphia, Baltimore, Kansas City, and Cincinnati, also losing their division lead in the process.
That’s not an ideal way to back into the playoffs. They need a spark to re-ignite themselves, and I think attempting to use Fields again for portions of the game is worth trying.
Still, it’ll be tough to take down a Ravens team that found its stride down the stretch. After their bye, they won their last four games in convincing fashion, while Derrick Henry got red hot at running back. When these teams met again before Christmas, Henry rushed for 162 yards and the Ravens scored 17 unanswered in the second half (including a pick six) to put the game away.
Pittsburgh is still capable of playing spoiler, but it’s hard to pick against the drastically different momentum levels these teams have. I’ll take the Ravens to win by two possessions.
The game starts at 8:00 pm ET and will be televised on Amazon Prime. Ravens 27, Steelers 17
Use this as an open thread to discuss the game as the action unfolds.