Steelers' Victory Puts Ravens in Corner

The Baltimore Ravens have their backs against the wall in the AFC North.

Dec 8, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson (3) throws a pass against the Cleveland Browns during the first quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images | Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

As the Baltimore Ravens enjoyed their long-awaited bye week, they hoped to get some much-needed help in their quest for a second straight AFC North title.

What would that "help" be? Well, it would be the Cleveland Browns beating the Pittsburgh Steelers, who led the Ravens by 1.5 games entering Sunday's action. If Cleveland could upset Pittsburgh again after winning the first meeting between the two teams at home two weeks earlier, then Baltimore would receive a big boost in the division race.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Pittsburgh avenged its previous defeat in convincing fashion, beating Cleveland 27-14 on home turf. The Steelers officially eliminated the Browns from playoff contention, but more importantly, moved closer to claiming their first division title since 2020. Very close, in fact.

As a result, the Steelers can now win the division simply by beating the Ravens in Baltimore in Week 16. It doesn't matter if they lose the rest of their games and the Ravens win the rest of theirs, Pittsburgh will be AFC North champions regardless.

On the other side of the coin, that obviously means the Ravens have to win that game to have any chance of winning the division, but that is far easier said than done. Baltimore has lost eight of the last nine games in this rivalry, and all of them have gone the same way: gritty, defensive games that play to Pittsburgh's strength. If the Ravens want to win the upcoming game and give themselves a chance, then they have to dictate the flow of the game.

Even if they win, the Ravens would still need a bit of extra help to take the crown. The head-to-head tiebreaker would essentially be meaningless as they'd split the season series, so the next tiebreaker would be their divisional record. For the Ravens to win that, they'd need the Steelers to lose to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 18.

As Lamar Jackson said last week, though, the Ravens need to focus on fixing their own problems rather than chasing the Steelers.

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