If Will Compton’s prediction comes true, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ regular-season finale will be played for all the marbles. Compton expects the Steelers’ current division lead to look a lot tighter come Week 18, imagining a winner-take-all scenario against the Baltimore Ravens.
“The divisional title in the AFC North, the Steelers and the Ravens will both be 9-7 and Week 18 will come down for the division title,” Compton said Thursday on ESPN’s Get Up.
Pittsburgh currently sits at 5-3 with Baltimore 3-5. Meaning, the Steelers would go 4-4 the rest of the season and the Ravens 6-2. Not an impossible scenario given the state of both teams and their upcoming schedules. The Steelers have a tough slate ahead facing the likes of the Detroit Lions, Buffalo Bills, and a road matchup this Sunday night taking on the Los Angeles Chargers. The Ravens’ schedule is more favorable, though they need to get through a current stretch of three-straight road games that can’t trip them up.
Of course, there’s also a Week 14 meeting between the two sides. The Steelers will look to break a rare losing streak to the Ravens. After beating Baltimore in the first meeting last season, the Ravens exacted revenge with convincing wins in the rematch and Wild Card Round. In the playoffs, RB Derrick Henry rushed for 186 of the team’s 299 yards, a postseason record against Pittsburgh, to send the Steelers home for the offseason.
If the Steelers lose a third-straight game to their archrival, it’ll mark a rare streak of the Mike Tomlin era.
Pittsburgh Three-Game Losing Streaks Against Baltimore (Including Playoffs)
1. 2015-2016 (Four Games)
2. 2011-2012 (Three Games)
3. 2005-2006 (Three Games)
The last one obviously occurring at the end of Bill Cowher’s time with the team. Instead, Pittsburgh has largely been successful against Baltimore. The Steelers are 4-2 in their last six games against the Ravens and have held QB Lamar Jackson in check better than most defenses even if the group waned in the last two meetings.
Should Compton’s prediction comes true, the loser of that game may miss the playoffs entirely. A 9-8 record even in a less-than-stellar AFC is no guarantee of advancing to postseason football. Last year, no single-digit win team made the playoffs in either division. In 2023, only the Green Bay Packers did. The loser would need to have tiebreaker advantage and likely get help from the rest of the league to make it into the Wild Card. One where it would be the No. 7 seed and go on the road against the No. 2 seed.
Like 2024, Pittsburgh is in a position to prevent that from happening. Going 10-6 means a 5-3 record from now through Week 17, an attainable mark for a Steelers team capable of beating the NFL’s better teams. Pittsburgh’s already secured wins over the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots. Taking care of other division affairs will help, too. Rematches against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 11 and Cleveland Browns in Week 17 await. Win both of those games and there’s a clear path to being in front of the Ravens for the finale. And a chance to potentially send them packing, just as they did to Pittsburgh a year ago.
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