Sunday night could very well mark the end of the road for the 2025 Pittsburgh Steelers. With a win over the Baltimore Ravens, they win the AFC North. With a loss, their season is over, and big changes could follow. Will the Steelers host a playoff game in a fully-packed Acrisure Stadium for the first time in nearly a decade? Our staff weighs in with their picks.
Austin Bechtold: This is a coin flip game for me. Can the Steelers bounce back offensively and Aaron Rodgers play better? Can the Steelers stop
Derrick Henry? Will the Ravens not overthink and not give the ball to Derrick Henry? Getting Calvin Austin back is a bigger addition than it seems, especially without DK Metcalf. The Steelers are the healthiest they’ve been almost all season.
Getting T.J. Watt back is huge, even if it’s just for 50-60% of the defensive snaps. These are two franchises with years of success, but are stuck in a similar place: questioning their coaches and quarterbacks while the fan bases wonder if it’s time for a change in leadership. It doesn’t have nearly the same hype and buzz of Steelers-Ravens years past. This will come down to a Chris Boswell game-winning field goal. The Steelers will hold on, partly due to being at home, and will have at least one more week of football to play, but this probably means that no meaningful changes are happening in the offseason. Steelers 20, Ravens 17
Ryland Bickley: The Ravens have a lot more momentum heading into this pivotal final game, and they’ll be getting a big boost with Lamar Jackson back in the lineup. However, it would fit the theme of this season for the Steelers to come out and beat the Ravens after last week’s debacle in Cleveland. Playing at home in a divisional matchup, anything can happen. I’ll take the Steelers, 23-20.
Alex Hanczar: After several weeks of momentum and getting the Pittsburgh faithful back on board, the Steelers crumbled to the Cleveland Browns a week ago. On the other side, Baltimore looked magnificent in their 41-24 victory over the Green Bay Packers.
Sure, neither team has looked great for the majority of this season; however, there is one last gasp to grab a spark of momentum and see where it can lead. Despite being without DK Metcalf, I feel Mike Tomlin will have his club energized and motivated to win for the city. Give me the Steelers narrowly 20-16.
Joey Bray: Someone’s season is going to end here. I think Ravens and Steelers fans are generally upset with the way their seasons have gone, but one of them will have a chance to host a playoff game. After stumbling last week against Cleveland, it’s hard to say Baltimore doesn’t have more momentum heading into this one.
Unfortunately for the Steelers, the passing game is unlikely to look much smoother this week without DK Metcalf and Darnell Washington. However, these are the games that the Steelers went and got Aaron Rodgers to deliver in. This will also be the healthiest the Steelers have been in weeks, as there are no injury designations heading into this game, headlined by the return of T.J. Watt. I’ll take Pittsburgh in front of their home crowd in what is certain to be a slugfest. Steelers 17, Ravens 14.
Mike Nicastro: We can safely say that these two teams are mediocre, so there isn’t an outcome that should surprise you when the rivals take the field Sunday night. Derrick Henry will be the primary focus for the Steelers’ defense, and I think they’ll do a reasonable job stopping him. Which means Lamar Jackson is going to have many chances. If he can play within himself and doesn’t turn the ball over, the Ravens will win.
I don’t fully trust him to do that. The Steelers offense is bad, but so is the Ravens defense. When these teams met a handful of weeks ago the Steelers controlled the game for 50 minutes. But DK Metcalf was a star on offense, and he won’t be on the field.
Ultimately, I’m flipping a coin, and I have it landing on Aaron Rodgers instead of Lamar Jackson – even with the odds stacked against the Steelers. Probably more heart over head here. I don’t feel good about it. But Mike Tomlin will suck everyone back in before getting blown out in the wild card round. Steelers 20, Ravens 17.
Jarrett Bailey: This will go down like most games between these two teams in Pittsburgh – a low-scoring rock fight that has each fan base screaming at their TV because their offense can do nothing. Lamar Jackson has won just once in Pittsburgh, back in 2019. The Steelers are far from a perfect team, but the Ravens don’t know who they are and consistently underachieve. The Steelers win 16-13.
Be sure to bookmark Behind the Steel Curtain for all the latest news, breakdowns, and more!
- Steelers are clearly preparing for life after Mike Tomlin
- Rams defensive coordinator labeled Steelers potential next head coach
- NFL insider: Mike Tomlin is safe with Steelers regardless of result vs. Ravens
- Steelers top front office member potentially leaving for GM job
- Steelers place Darnell Washington on season-ending IR
