ExtremeRavens Posted yesterday at 12:21 AM Posted yesterday at 12:21 AM The matchup is finally set. The Ravens will take on the AFC North rival Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild-card round this weekend at M&T Bank Stadium. Baltimore secured the No. 3 seed and a home playoff game with its division-clinching win over the Cleveland Browns on Saturday, while Pittsburgh dropped to the No. 6 seed following its loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday night and the Los Angeles Chargers’ victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday afternoon. Here’s what you need to know about the Steelers this season: The ‘stench’ of losing is hard to wash off Just a few weeks ago, the Steelers were on top of the world (well, at least the AFC North). How quickly things can change. With a deflating 19-17 loss to the Bengals on Saturday night, they have dropped four straight. It’s their longest losing streak to end the season since 1998 and makes them just the third team to enter the playoffs riding a skid of at least four games. “We have a complete team,” defensive tackle Cameron Heyward said after Pittsburgh defeated the Browns in Week 14 to improve to 10-3 and move two games ahead of Baltimore for the AFC North lead. There was genuine belief then that the Steelers could contend for the conference title. But that victory was followed by a humbling 27-13 loss to the in-state rival Philadelphia Eagles, then a 34-17 defeat at the hands of the Ravens in Baltimore. A matchup against the Chiefs on Christmas Day, the Steelers’ third in 11 days, ended in a 29-10 rout. It marked the first time Pittsburgh had lost three consecutive games by 14-plus points since Weeks 5-7, 1998. Saturday night against the Bengals — who needed a win to keep their faint playoff hopes alive — was a chance at redemption, coach Mike Tomlin said. “Certainly, they’re a motivated group trying to play their way into this tournament, but certainly we’re a motivated group, to be quite honest with you,” he said. “We got to get the stench of the last few performances off of us, and there’s no better way to do that than a home divisional win versus a formidable group going into the tournament, and so that’s our mentality as we stand here today.” Try as they might, the Steelers failed to erase a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit. Now they enter the playoffs reeling. Pittsburgh’s recent playoff history is troubling In Tomlin’s first three seasons as coach, the Steelers went 5-2 in the postseason. That included a Super Bowl title — the team’s sixth — and two conference championships. Since then, Tomlin is 3-7, including five straight playoff losses. Pittsburgh’s last postseason win came in the divisional round over Alex Smith and the Kansas City Chiefs, 18-16, in January 2017 on the strength of six field goals by Chris Boswell. It’s a strange outcome for a coach who many consider to be among the best of all-time. Tomlin has famously never had a losing season in his 18-year tenure, though his ability to drag a mediocre team into the playoffs has left him short-handed when going up against much tougher competition. Russell Wilson, left, and the Steelers are limping into the postseason while Lamar Jackson, right, and the Ravens are riding a four-game winning streak. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) The Steelers’ offense has been one of the league’s worst The Steelers can win without scoring a lot of points. Just ask the Ravens. But it’s not an effective postseason strategy. After Saturday’s loss, Pittsburgh has scored 17 or fewer points in four straight games, which is tied for its longest streak since 2003. Arthur Smith’s offense was particularly mediocre against the Bengals, averaging just 3.3 yards per play while going 4-for-12 on third down. Russell Wilson completed just 17 of 31 passes for 119 yards, a woeful average of 3.4 yards per attempt. George Pickens had just one catch for 0 yards on six targets and showed more aggression toward fans in the stands than Bengals defenders. Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren combined for 57 yards on 18 carries. The Steelers’ offense entered Week 18 ranked 17th in defense-adjusted value over average (DVOA), behind the Atlanta Falcons (who recently benched Kirk Cousins for rookie Michael Penix Jr.) and Jacksonville Jaguars (who have been starting Mac Jones with Trevor Lawrence out for the season). The Ravens’ defense hasn’t been exceptional this season, but it has to feel good about this matchup, especially with how things have been trending lately on both sides. The Steelers have had Lamar Jackson’s number Whether it’s the “Terrible Towels” or the defensive strategy, the Steelers have often gotten the best of Jackson during his NFL career. Overall, Pittsburgh has won eight of its past 10 matchups against Baltimore, though Jackson has not been on the field for many of those games. Because of illness, injury or rest, the two-time NFL Most Valuable Player has made just six starts against the Steelers, going 2-4. Relative to his career numbers, Jackson has been a turnover machine against Pittsburgh, fumbling eight times (three lost) while throwing nine interceptions. He’s been sacked 23 times against the Steelers, second-most against any team behind the Browns, whom he’s played five more games against. The Ravens have averaged just 19.8 points per game in Jackson’s starts against Pittsburgh, well below expectations for what has been one of the league’s top offenses with him under center. In Week 11, Jackson completed just 48.5% of his passes, threw an interception and finished with his second-worst QBR of the season (56.4) in an 18-16 loss in Pittsburgh. But he flipped the script in Week 16, throwing three touchdown passes in a 34-17 win in Baltimore. Has Jackson finally exorcised those demons? We’ll find out. The Ravens have a checkered playoff history vs. Pittsburgh The Steelers not only lead the overall series between the division rivals, 36-26, but have a 3-1 advantage in the postseason. However, Baltimore got the last laugh. The teams last met in the playoffs in January 2015, a 30-17 win by the Ravens in the wild-card round behind two touchdown passes from Joe Flacco and three field goals by Justin Tucker. An interception by Terrell Suggs, a pick and a fumble recovery by Darian Stewart and two sacks from Elvis Dumervil helped the defense stifle Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant. Pittsburgh rolled to comfortable wins over Baltimore in their first two playoff meetings: a 27-10 victory in the January 2002 AFC divisional round and a 23-14 win in the January 2009 AFC championship game that ended John Harbaugh’s first season as coach. That game turned on a 65-yard touchdown pass from Roethlisberger to Santonio Holmes, and though the Ravens clawed back to cut the lead to 16-14 with just under 10 minutes to go, safety Troy Polamalu returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown to seal the victory as Pittsburgh went on to win the Super Bowl over the Arizona Cardinals. Have a news tip? Contact sports editor C.J. Doon at cdoon@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/CJDoon. View the full article Quote
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