OTL: Who Will End Their Rival’s Season on Saturday?

We’re finally here, Flock. We’ve reached the NFL postseason, and the Ravens are staring down a familiar foe as we get closer to Saturday.

STAGE IS SET

: Prime pic.twitter.com/rOTbR93Yk3

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) January 6, 2025

It hasn’t been the prettiest road to get here. There were a few games earlier in the season that saw the Ravens getting in their own way and beating themselves, and I’m sure they’d like to have those back. Beyond that, the early O-line issues and the persistent defensive lapses were huge topics of conversation, but these days, a lot of that talk seems like a distant memory. Why? Because winning cures a lot of ills.

The combination of a Week 14 BYE and being able to maintain the health of a majority of their key players means that Baltimore is hitting the playoffs at close to full strength in the midst of a four-game winning streak. It’s no small consideration, either, that one of those wins came against this very Steelers team just a few weeks ago. There’s certainly some concern about the availability of Zay Flowers, who it sounds like may have to sit this weekend out, but there was some optimism about a possible return for Justice Hill, as well as a clean bill of health for Pat Mekari.

Harbaugh said that it’s not season-ending injury for WR Zay Flowers. Basically said he’s day-to-day and Flowers is going to work as hard as he can to get back as fast as he can. Didn’t have update on availability for Sat.
“It’s his knee.” He wouldn’t confirm if it was a sprain.

— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) January 6, 2025

Harbaugh said that RB Justice Hill and LG Patrick Mekari, who have both been battling illnesses, are “trending well” for Saturday.

— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) January 6, 2025

It’s not perfect, because it very seldom is at this time of the year, but they look really good, and they look ready to go against a team that usually sticks in our collective craw. The Ravens have to be prepared to get past them, but they’re playing with focus and good health, which leaves room for optimism.

On the other side of this matchup, boy, do things look pessimistic in Yinzerland.

YINZ MOOD #Steelers pic.twitter.com/Vgv4ihq7W1

— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) January 5, 2025

The Steelers are in the midst of their own streak, having lost four straight as they come into Saturday’s game. Sure, they were playing a motivated Bengals team that still had something to play for, so you know there was the chance they could get beaten, but something familiar to us all seemed to be happening with the Steelers: they just couldn’t get out of their own way.

George Pickens tonight:

5 targets
1 catch
0 yards
3 drops
1 attempt to get fans to come fight him pic.twitter.com/74eZIw8r83

— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) January 5, 2025

The Steelers 2-minute drill against the Bengals was as bad as it gets. Seven plays, six of which were disaster.

Here’s every snap from the sequence and a breakdown below. #Steelers https://t.co/6xEa7E24SA pic.twitter.com/NoUkZYZFmL

— Alex Kozora (@Alex_Kozora) January 6, 2025

How bad was the Steelers offense on Saturday?

• It was the first time in 10 years that the Bengals held an opponent under 200 yards
• First time SINCE 1988 that the Bengals held the Steelers under 200 yardspic.twitter.com/plJu4SXWMs

— John Breech (@johnbreech) January 5, 2025

If it’s the first week of the playoffs and your fanbase is still debating whether or not the team is fielding the right QB, it’s probably indicative of a major issue. Now, I’ve seen enough games against the Steelers to know that I’ll never feel truly secure when the Ravens are playing them, but that mentality is one that I think may actually benefit the Ravens going into this one. This version of the Steelers is down from what we’ve seen in years past, with some pundits rating them as the worst playoff team in this field and with Vegas odds putting Baltimore as the heaviest favorite of the weekend, but the Ravens players and coaches hate that team. Baltimore is never going to overlook these guys, especially not with the mindset they’ve got for this postseason.

Derrick Henry had John Harbaugh ready to run through a brick wall pic.twitter.com/AdPHrokLWy

— The Ravens Realm (@RealmRavens) January 6, 2025

These guys are locked in, and here’s hoping they can cherish the sweet feeling of ending the season for their most hated rival.

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