Roll, Ravens Roll

The Ravens must be licking their chops right now. I know I’d be. The two unbiasedly weaker teams in the AFC heading into the playoffs are the Texans and Steelers. The Steelers are much weaker than the Texans by a landslide. Cover your ears Steelers fans, it may be another one-and-done playoff season. Let’s dive in.

Pittsburgh is falling like a landslide on the peaks of a mountain. They have been tumbling, ending their season on a four-game losing streak, finding no solace in their offense or defense. Russell Wilson has not been playing well to finish the season, their defense is getting cut through like butter, and Mike Tomlin seems to be unable to control and rally this team to victory. That is not a good equation heading into the playoffs. I’m not even entirely sure what the exact answer is for this team other than they need to play better on all three phases. Wilson must be sharper throwing the football, he has just 3 TDs and 3 INTs in his last three games. His playmakers need to be more on top of their game, as there have been issues with George Pickens his attitude all season, which is a problem as he is their leading receiver. They need to have a little more consistency running the ball between Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris. They need to not let teams blow by them offensively. If they do exit in the first round, there will be questions about the entirety of this team. I know Tomlin’s .500 record, but the state of this team has been stagnant, and if they can’t get over this hump, I don’t think anyone is safe in Pittsburgh.

The Ravens are kind of like the opposite of the Steelers. They have won five of their last six games and have cruised into a division title over the faltering Steelers. Lamar Jackson has made a very real case for MVP again, as he finished with 4,172 passing yards for 41 TDs and 4 INTs. Plus, he had over 900 rushing yards and 4 rushing TDs. He’s the first player in NFL history to have over 4,000 yards passing and 900+ yards rushing. Insane. They also finished the season as the #1 rushing defense in the league, so if they are able to prevent Pittsburgh in the run game, they can be more prepared in the pass game. That will be the challenge for Baltimore; they finished the season ranked second to last in pass defense. They know the Steelers are comfortable with Wilson passing the football, so I believe their key to the game is being dominant in pass defense. Take away their crutch, shut them down in the run game, and let Lamar Jackson come in and wreak havoc like he’s been doing all season. I like the Ravens 28-17.

POSTGAME:

The culmination of the Steelers worst nightmare has come to life. After finishing the season 1-4 and choking out of their division title, all Pittsburgh was looking to do was play well. They needed to play a full game, from start to finish, if they were to compete with this team form Baltimore. But compete, they did not. They were down 21-0 at halftime and were unable to put points on the board until the second half of the game. Not what you were looking for. They were unable to stop Lamar Jackson and his versatility, as he finished the game with 175 pass yards, 2 TDs, and 81 rushing yards. Derrick Henry had 2 TDs, and Rashod Bateman and Justice Hill each got one a piece. The ball was spread. Defense was played, that’s all you could ask of this team. As for the Steelers, they will have some hard questions this offseason. What to do with Justin Fields, Russell Wilson, and now, what to do with Mike Tomlin.

The Ravens take on the Bills next week, in a game in which everyone’s eyes will be peeled, intently watching. A battle of the MVPs. Two extremely skilled QBs with two very good teams face off to move on to the AFC Championship. This is the game everyone’s wanted, and we are going to get what we wished for even in the months of January. Next week should be good between these two.