The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens might be the best rivalry in professional football. The two teams almost always battle for the top of the AFC North. The Ravens and Steelers also play close games, which appeals to television networks looking for late-season drama. The network executives who grind the organ that makes Roger Goodell dance insisted that the game lead off Week 18 on Saturday afternoon despite adverse weather conditions that would not have existed if the game had been played on Sunday.
Matt Rourke / Associated Press
Steelers' Mason Rudolph (2) overcame sloppy weather conditions and poor officiating to deliver a 17-10 victory over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 18.
The Steelers outlasted the Baltimore backups to prevail 17-10 behind Mason Rudolph, but lost TJ Watt in the process. Goodell and ESPN's decision to move the game to Saturday was disastrous for Pittsburgh. The Steelers will play the first postseason game without Ben Roethlisberger in 20 years and will also be without the NFL sack leader in Buffalo at 1 pm ET on Sunday. The Steelers were already facing long odds as the seventh seed. In the six games since it was added to the playoffs, the lowest seed has failed to win one game against the second seed.
Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger was live-streamed during the matchup between the Ravens and Steelers on Saturday. Roethlisberger and his co-host Spencer Te'o have been streaming during games on YouTube for most of the 2023 season. Near the end of the game, when it was apparent that the Steelers would hold on to win, the future Hall of Fame quarterback allowed himself to indulge in a gloat session.
“I love that Baltimore has been dominated by Pittsburgh the last few years,” Roethlisberger crowed. “More than just a few years, we have dominated Baltimore, and it feels awesome because they have dominated the rest of the league. Yeah, but we have dominated them. How’s that feel?”
Steeler Nation had some very intense feelings about the coaching job Mike Tomlin has done since 2017. Pittsburgh is in a seven-year playoff drought and has dropped its last four playoff games over that period. However, Tomlin has owned the Ravens during that time. The previous 14 matchups between the two teams have been decided by one score or less 11 times. Tomlin has defeated John Harbaugh in 10 of the last 14 meetings.
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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett (8) gets slammed on a play against the Baltimore Ravens in 2022.
The Ravens' only victories during that period were in 2019 against Rudolph and Devlin "Duck" Hodges. They also beat the Steelers during the 2022 season when Kenny Pickett left the game early in the first quarter, and Mitch Trubisky dragged a gas can out to a dumpster fire and proceeded to throw multiple interceptions. Pickett and Rudolph have combined to win the last three meetings in the series over the previous two seasons.
“Don’t tell me it’s because of Lamar [Jackson] because we beat them with Lamar,” Roethlisberger concluded.
Roethlisberger finished his career with four consecutive victories over the Ravens and beat Lamar Jackson head-to-head all three times he faced him. Jackson, for his part, has struggled against the Steelers and has only won two out of the six games he has played against them. The Steelers' defense has tortured the former and potentially newest league MVP. Jackson threw a key interception to Joey Porter Jr. against the Steelers earlier this season after his receivers let him down with multiple dropped passes.
Matt Freed / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger and Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson hug each other after a game.
Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger Replies To Robert Griffin III In Explosive Response To Misleading Attacks
In the past, the two-time Super Bowl champion has expressed mutual respect for his bitter rivals. Perhaps the public misinterpretation of his assessment of Jackson's strengths during the 2023 offseason by Robert Griffin III has erased any perception that respect still exists. Roethlisberger rightfully took umbrage when he dared to surmise that teams should want to keep the best running quarterback in the league's history in the pocket. Griffin's ridiculous response poked the passive-aggressive bear, and he has not forgotten.
Pittsburgh leads the all-time series against the Ravens 35-25. The Steelers won 12 of the first 17 meetings between 1996 and 2003. After the Steelers defeated the Ravens in the 2011 AFC Divisional round, the Ravens enjoyed their period of dominance against the black and gold. Baltimore won nine of the next 13 meetings, including a 30-17 victory in the AFC Wild Card round following the 2014 season.
Intense physical battles mark the Steelers-Ravens rivalry. Hines Ward and Ed Reed hated each other and were looking to act on that hatred every time they faced one another. Roethlisberger endured brutal hits in his matchups with Baltimore, including the famous incident when Haloti Ngata broke his nose during one of the meetings between the two teams.
McClatchy-Tribune
Ravens' Haloti Ngata, not pictured, broke Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's nose, but Pittsburgh pulled out a 13-10 victory at M&T Bank Stadium on Dec. 5, 2010.
The Steelers have a substantial task in front of them in Buffalo on Sunday when they try to become the first seven seed to win a game and secure a playoff victory for the first time since the 2016 season. The Buffalo Bills are one of the hottest teams in the NFL heading into the matchup, but Pittsburgh is on a three-game winning streak. The Steelers will face the Ravens for the third time this season in Baltimore if they win. It is worth wondering how the Ravens fan base will feel about that.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Are you enjoying the current run of success the Steelers have had against the Ravens and hoping for one more crack against them in the postseason? Please comment below or on my Twitter/X: @thebubbasq.
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