PITTSBURGH —
For the first time in their renowned rivalry, the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers will meet in a win-or-go-home regular season finale for the AFC North title.
Only four teams since 1970 that began the season 1-5 (or worse) have ever made the postseason. A win in Pittsburgh on Sunday Night Football would make the fifth team on that list.
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Both Baltimore (8-8) and Pittsburgh (9-7) are at least four games behind the AFC’s top seed, just like when these two teams met in Week 14. Yet, it began clicking the longer the season went on, that the only scenario for a team in the North to make the postseason was to win the division.
“We understand what’s at stake,” Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said. “The message is to play our best football game, play our most complete game, play our toughest game, play our most-detailed game, and go out there and let it rip.”
Although the Steelers currently have the upper hand and both teams would finish with a 9-8 record, Baltimore wins the division thanks to the NFL’s tiebreaking procedures. A win on Sunday night would see the Ravens finish with a 4-2 record in the AFC North, while a loss would drop Pittsburgh to 3-3.
Like many times before, the Ravens-Steelers’ clash will likely get down and dirty, be low scoring and the outcome decided over a critical detail.
Are fans familiar with the fight between Family Guy’s Peter Griffin and Ernie the Chicken? The duo escalates a situation over a minute detail, and their chaotic, rivaled history leads to destruction over and over again. Fans around the league should see that on full display on Sunday Night Football.
You can watch Sunday’s game on WBAL-TV with “Ravens Countdown” pregame coverage starting at 6:30 p.m., followed by “Football Night in America” at 7 p.m., and kickoff at 8:20 p.m.