BOLD PREDICTIONS: It’s Do or Die Time!

It’s a winner-take-all battle from Acrisure Stadium when the Baltimore Ravens (8-8) face the Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7) in the NFL’s last regular season game of the 2025 campaign. Baltimore aims for its third-consecutive AFC North title – a feat that has never been achieved by any team in the division since 2002 realignment – and a fourth-straight playoff berth.

Sunday marks the first time in the storied Baltimore-Pittsburgh rivalry that these two clubs will clash for a division championship in the final week of regular season play.

In the all-time regular season series, Baltimore is 25-34 vs. Pittsburgh, including a 15-20 mark under head coach John Harbaugh. Playing in the Steel City, Baltimore is 11-18, sporting a 7-10 record with Harbaugh at the helm. (The Ravens last won at Pittsburgh in 2022.) In Week 14 earlier this season, the Steelers prevailed, 27-22, in a tight contest at M&T Bank Stadium.

Television: NBC / WBAL Ch. 11 (Baltimore)

On The Call: Mike Tirico (PBP) Cris Collinsworth (analyst) Melissa Stark (sideline)

Forecast at Kickoff: 22 degrees with 55% cloud cover; winds W at 6 MPH with gusts to 8 MPH; real feel at 17 degrees; 0% chance of precipitation

Betting Line:

• DraftKings: Ravens – 3 1/2, over/under at 40 ½
• FanDuel: Ravens – 3 1/2, over/under at 41 ½
• Bet365: Ravens – 3 1/2, over/under 40 ½

Officiating Crew Chief: Have the Pepcid AC ready. Shawn Smith’s crew represent a scary proposition for such an important game. The crew’s incompetencies will be on full display for the world to see and for you to have your intestines pushed to the limits. Check this out…all of it…

#BALvsPIT officiating crew cheat sheet

Divisional HOME teams are just 16-25-2 ATS (37%) in referee Shawn Smith’s career, although they are 3-1-1 ATS in 2025

The @steelers are 5-3-1 SU w’ Smith, including 0-1 SU/ATS as a Divisional HOME team

As the numbers indicate, this isnt… pic.twitter.com/Qnwb4CyuHR

— nflrefstats (@nflrefstats1) December 30, 2025

Noteworthy: Of the past 35 Ravens-Steelers regular season games, 28 were decided by 7 or fewer points, with 19 of those coming by 3 or fewer.

If you’re not with us, then you’re ð—¶ð—» ð—¼ð˜‚ð—¿ ð˜„ð—®ð˜† pic.twitter.com/7TMPX9PmjU

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) January 2, 2026

Tony Lombardi

The quest for the AFC North title boils down to the final game of the league’s regular season between the league’s most bitter rivals. It’s NFL theater at its best.

We can point towards the fact that these teams are aligned statistically. We can discuss how intimately familiar the two sides are with each other. We can revisit the multitude of one-score games and how many boil down to the final possession. They all point towards the same old story. One team will either make a critical play or a critical mistake that decides the game. I don’t see any reason why this one should be any different.

Sure, the Steelers are down some key players. But that has happened before during this illustrious rivalry, on both sides, yet the games still came down to the wire. Part of me wants to say that Lamar Jackson has something to prove and he’s ready for this challenge. The other part of me thinks that we’ve heard that before only to watch him make unconscionable mistakes at the wrong time, driven by overtly frenetic determination that only produces unforced errors. An unforced error will determine the result in this game, but it won’t be authored by Lamar.

When the Ravens drafted Tyler Loop, I felt for him. He had some big shoes to fill, but he’s done an admirable job during his rookie campaign. I once said on these pages that we’ll know he’s arrived when he makes a big kick late in the season against the Steelers in Acrisure Stadium. He’ll get that opportunity in overtime on Sunday night. And then he’ll have to stew on the consequences for the next 9 months. A gut-grinding season for Ravens fans finally ends in utter despair.

Thirty-eight days until pitchers and catchers report.

Steelers 23, Ravens 20 in OT

[Related article: It’s About Time!]

Kevin McNelis

With everything on the line, you can throw out the records. In what is essentially an extra playoff game for both of these squads, the Ravens are about 4-point favorites in a lot of the books, but they were also favored at home the last time they played the Steelers and look what happened there. Pittsburgh is shorthanded without the services of DK Metcalf and Darnell Washington, and while . .Watt is practicing, his status is still unknown. Watt’s presence has the capacity to swing the game’s razor-thin margin, but I wouldn’t count on that being the deciding factor.

— Derrick Henry gets off to a slow start after his explosive game last week. As the Steelers try to stack the box and clamp down on Henry getting anything going, several deep shots materialize to move the chains for Baltimore. Pittsburgh adjusts by moving players back, and Keaton Mitchell responds with a long TD run.

— Because it’s a Ravens-Steelers game with high stakes, players get chippy, and it leads to antics after the whistles. Baltimore gets the worse end of things (with the game in Pittsburgh) and Nate Wiggins‘ frustration boils over with an Unsportsmanlike Conduct leading to an ejection.

— The game will play out the way the season has for both teams: ugly. Both teams commit costly turnovers in their own territory, resulting in points either direction. With a tie game late, Mike Green‘s upward trajectory continues with a strip sack. Baltimore sinks a field goal to give them the lead and they never give it back.

As I’ve talked with friends and family about the stakes of this game, I’ve jokingly said that the winner of the AFC North between these two is going to be a team that fell on its face, but just fell forward the farthest. If it’s our guys, we may not end up seeing some of the changes we’d all think are good and necessary, but it’s just so hard to not want to see the Ravens in the hunt.

Ravens 20 Steelers 17

Rob Shields

Lamar Jackson practiced for the second straight day, which is great news and a sign that he should be ready to go on Sunday night.

I wrote in my Stock Report column this week that Jackson missing last week could be a blessing in disguise. Yes, it was a painful week for him and we will see if the injury hinders him at all, but he also got an extra week to rest his leg/foot injuries., so that’s a big positive.

Many fans are acting like the Ravens have a better chance with Tyler Huntley. With all due respect to Huntley and the job he has done this year, I don’t think he would be all that successful against Pittsburgh’s defense. People kept saying, ‘just give the ball to Henry 30+ times,” as if it’s a guarantee the game plays out that way and as if you do that, he’s going to go up and down the field like he did at Lambeau.  The problem is that just isn’t realistic. No matter how good Henry is, defenses don’t have to worry about Huntley throwing beyond the sticks. They will just crowd the line and make things hard on the Ravens. This is a division game, not Green Bay. Things are different.

Lamar has had his struggles against the Steelers, but some of that is overblown too. He had the game a few years ago where the receivers had seven drops, for example.  This isn’t to say he has been good against them, just that context is needed at times, and Lamar played well against them the last two games last year. He didn’t play well in the first game this year although the numbers certainly look different if some breaks had gone their way.

I think Pittsburgh is too beat up. If what Tomlin said last week is true, Watt isn’t playing. He said he needed three full practices to play. He was listed as limited both days this week.

Sounds like Calvis Austin will be back but obviously Darnell Washington is out and the big blow is that Metcalf is out.

The Ravens are pretty healthy – assuming Lamar isn’t greatly limited by his back.

I expect the Ravens to win this game but they have to take care of the ball. The only way they lose is if they have multiple back-breaking turnovers.  I felt this way last time, but Rodgers surprised me with how well he played. But that was with DK and Washington and a fully healthy Austin.

Ravens 24 Steelers 16

Chad Racine

It’s been hard to have faith in the Ravens this season with the drastic ups and downs. It’s not like good teams don’t lose or bad teams don’t win, but this season’s really been a roller coaster, and mostly filled with disappointment thanks to early expectations. After the Patriots loss it felt like the season was over. Much like the 2012 season when Joe Flacco fell face first after throwing an interception at home against Denver.  I’m not implying the same thing will happen, but I do believe there’s real optimism now for two reasons. The teams that are in the playoffs are not that imposing. Lamar may be the healthiest he’s been since Week 1. He was looking more like himself until he got taken out of that game.

If the Steelers were to win Sunday night via the Ravens blowing another fourth quarter lead I wouldn’t be surprised. If Watt forces a fumble in the fourth quarter, I also wouldn’t be surprised. If Aaron Rodgers hits Calvin Austin deep while Marlon Humphrey is trailing behind him for a fourth quarter game winning touchdown, again I wouldn’t be surprised. I would be surprised if the Ravens refuse to run Henry to a victory because I hope they have learned their lesson. The Steelers will be all-in on stopping Henry and they’ll probably be successful for a while. Lamar will find success passing until Henry starts breaking off bigger runs to seal the game.

Ravens 27 Steelers 17

Chris Schisler

I think the Ravens got the memo and they know what they need to do. They may have just found themselves by letting Derrick Henry be Derrick Henry. The Steelers offense looked rough without D.K. Metcalf. The trajectory needle is pointing towards the Ravens.

The Ravens needed help to be put in this position. It feels like the Steelers are messing around and they are about to find out. Sometimes, even in this frustrating season, things just line up.

The Ravens got robbed the last time they played the Steelers. We know it will be a tight and competitive game.

Give me the Ravens to stifle the Steelers without Metcalf.

Ravens 28 Steelers 17

Vermont Raven

The Ravens have been given new life!  Nobody knows in what way they could blow this opportunity to a depleted Steelers team, but here’s to that not happening. The Steelers offense won’t be able to do squat against the Ravens defense without Metcalf and Washington.  Derrick Henry is ticked off for greatness.

— Henry rushes for 150+ yards and 3 TDs.

— Old man Rodgers is sacked 3 times and throws 2 INTs.

— Ravens head to playoffs after dismantling rival in their house on Sunday night football!

Ravens 31 Steelers 6

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