By some miracle, the Ravens’ playoff hopes are alive.
The Browns beat the Steelers on Sunday afternoon, making the Ravens’ trip to Pittsburgh next week the biggest game of the year. Despite the history of this rivalry, it is the first-ever matchup with these exact stakes, per CBS Sports’ Doug Clawson
. The winner takes the AFC North crown and the No. 4 seed in the AFC playoff picture. The loser goes home.Unsurprisingly, the NFL opted to schedule this de facto divisional championship for Sunday Night
Football in Week 18, the last game of the regular season. It will be the Ravens’ third primetime game in a row and their seventh this season. In their first six, they went 2-4.
Intense does not begin to describe what the atmosphere in Pittsburgh will be on Sunday night. Heinz Field (now known by the far inferior Acrisure Stadium) will be filled to the brim with rabid Steelers fans waiving Terrible Towels. It will probably be the toughest environment the Ravens have played in all season.
The biggest factor in this matchup will be who is and isn’t playing, mostly on Pittsburgh’s sides. D.K. Metcalf is suspended for another game. T.J. Watt has not played since the first Ravens-Steelers matchup in Week 14 due to a freak lung injury. Darnell Washington broke his arm in Sunday’s loss to the Browns.
But the Ravens have the biggest potential absence of them all: Lamar Jackson, who missed the Ravens’ win over the Packers with a back injury. He did not practice at all last week, meaning there is a very real chance that Baltimore’s season will be on the line with Tyler Huntley under center.
The game will be broadcast on NBC/Peacock on Sunday, January 4 at 8:20 p.m. ET. Be sure to check back this week for all of Baltimore Beatdown’s analysis leading up to the matchup and join the discussion in the comments, especially in our game day thread!
