The Pittsburgh Steelers are currently leading the AFC North going into Week 6 of the 2025 season, which is not something that a lot of fans expected. The franchise has a firm lead on both the Cleveland Browns and the Baltimore Ravens who each have a record of 1-4, while the Cincinnati Bengals are right behind the Steelers at 2-3. The Bengals will be without Joe Burrow until at least December, while the Ravens are also one of the most injured teams in the league. Baltimore was struggling before mounting a ton of injuries, but the events of the last couple weeks make the future of the team seem pretty bleak.
Taylor Ollason / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' Mike Tomlin shakes hands with John Harbaugh after beating the Ravens during the 2024 season.
Baltimore was forced to play a gauntlet to start the 2025 season as the group took on the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions, and Kansas City Chiefs within the first four weeks of the season. Their lone win came against the Browns, and they then lost their Week 5 matchup with the Houston Texans where Baltimore had countless starters out for the game (including quarterback Lamar Jackson). The injuries paired with the start to the year have a lot of people counting the Ravens out, but that isn't the case for Steelers safety Juan Thornhill.
"I really don’t want anybody to think that the Ravens are done," Thornhill said. "They aren’t done. I promise you that. I’ve seen them enough, and I have played enough ball to know. They have a lot of guys injured right now and a lot of bad things happening for them, but once they figure it out, I guarantee they are not done. By the time we play them, they will be back to form."
Thornhill has experience with the Ravens as he began his career with the Chiefs and then spent the last two seasons in Cleveland, and he knows they aren't buried yet. Baltimore has a fairly easy back-half of the schedule, while Pittsburgh's certainly gets more difficult. There is a reason the Ravens are still favored to win the AFC North.
Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (X: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Steelers safety Juan Thornhill (22) during 2025 training camp in Latrobe, PA.
The schedule the Steelers will face in the second half of the season is difficult, which makes the next couple of games for the Steelers extremely important. Pittsburgh has to find a way to beat the Browns in Week 6 and then the Bengals in Week 7. It would be embarrassing to suffer divisional losses in those spots, especially with its potential resulting in the Ravens coming back to win the AFC North.
Baltimore faces the Los Angeles Rams in Week 6, and it will be interesting to see if the franchise gets any of its key starters back on the field. There is a chance the organization waits to do that as the Ravens have their bye week in Week 7. If that is the case, the Ravens could be entering their bye week with a 1-5 record, but they still wouldn't be buried yet.
Steelers.com
Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith attempts to bring down former Ravens running back Gus Edwards during a heated rivalry matchup.
Steelers And Ravens Could Line Up For A Major Regular Season Finale
If Baltimore is able to get healthy and play like the team everyone expected them to be going into the 2025 season, there is a chance the Steelers could be playing in Baltimore in Week 18 for the AFC North crown. Pittsburgh has a tough schedule on the back end of the regular season with games against Detroit, Buffalo, and the Green Bay Packers. There is absolutely a world where Baltimore and Pittsburgh are within a game of one another and the regular season finale will decide the winner of the division. There is also a good chance that game would decide the three and six-seed in the AFC, which would mean the Ravens and Steelers would clash in the Wild Card Round once again.
What do you think about Thornhill's comments on the Ravens? Let us know in the comments below!
#SteelerNation
