We have officially reached Wild Card Weekend in the NFL. There is an entire weekend of fun games, and we are in store for a great weekend of football. Today we are focusing on the Pittsburgh Steelers vs Baltimore Ravens, and I will give you my 4 best bets for the game.
There is no hiding the hatred between these two teams. The Steelers and Ravens have been bitter rivals, hailing out of the AFC North, for over 20 years now. This matchup is one that we have already seen twice this year, with each team winning at home.
We are in store for a hard-hitting, likely cold day in Baltimore and it will certainly be chippy. The Steelers are looking for redemption after finishing the season 0-4 and essentially handing the conference title to the Ravens.
The last 4 weeks have gone as bad as possible for the Steelers. They started the stretch with a 3-game gauntlet all played within 10 days. In that stretch of 10 days, they lost to the Philadelphia Eagles on the road, the Baltimore Ravens on the road, and the Kansas City Chiefs at home on Christmas day.
All of those games happened between December 15th and 25th and were followed by a brutal home loss to the Cincinnati Bengals who were fighting for a playoff berth.
It is one thing to lose all of those games to end the season, but the Steelers have looks plain bad. The defense wasn’t at its best, but they seemed to get back to form holding Joe Burrow and the Bengals to only 19. However, the offense has been plain bad.
The struggles are led by QB Russell Wilson, who hasn’t surpassed 250 yards or a QBR of over 42 in any of those 4 games. George Pickens has been acting out and the run game hasn’t been great. Mike Tomlin will need to gather his team to try and end his playoff drought which has stretched from 2016.
The Ravens got hot right when it mattered. Like the Steelers, they played 3 games in a stretch of 10 days. However, they came out with 3 wins. They played an easier schedule than the Steelers in that stretch though, facing the pitiful New York Giants and the faltering Houston Texans. But wins are wins in the NFL and the Ravens have won their last 4 all in pretty dominant fashion.
Lamar Jackson is once again an MVP candidate and could potentially win his 3rd. As amazing as Lamar has been, he hasn’t historically performed well in the playoffs. He is 2-4 in the playoffs as a starter and has only thrown for 200+ yards in 2 of those starts. This team is loaded with talent on the offense and defense, but this game should be interesting.
The Steelers have been in control of this matchup since Lamar became the starter, with a record of 4-2. If the Ravens can pull this off, Lamar will be setting himself up for a potential showdown with his MVP competitor in Josh Allen and the Bills.
Jaylen Warren Over 54.5 Rush+Rec Yards -115 - Warren has been the Steelers' offensive spark plug for the past 2 seasons now. He is the change of pace back from Najee Harris and seems to take a good load in the receiving game. In his two games against the Ravens this season he has gone over this yardage count with 68 in the first game and 92 in the 2nd.
Lamar Jackson Under 48.5 Rush Yards -115 - The Steelers have done a great job historically bottling up Lamar’s run game. In their 2 games this year, Lamar has yet to surpass 48 yards on the ground.
Chris Boswell Over 1.5 FG Made -125 - Boswell was arguably the best kicker in the league this season and has been a steady source of points for the struggling Pittsburgh offense. If the Steelers have any hope of winning, Boswell will likely make a few FGs.
Under 43.5 Total Points -105 - This is going to be a hard-nosed battle in my opinion. The Steelers’ defense has seemingly gotten healthy and will be playing for their lives. Baltimore is going to have some success on offense, but both of the defenses are capable of controlling a game.