Welcome to Super Wild Card Weekend! The NFL regular season has come to an end and we’re down to the 14 remaining teams. All have hopes and dreams of raising the Lombardi Trophy in New Orleans in just a few weeks. For 12 of those teams, that road starts this weekend. Saturday night should be a thriller on Amazon Prime as AFC North rivals Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens meet for an 8:00 p.m. ET kickoff. Let’s jump in and take a look at this Steelers-Ravens preview and predictions.
The Pittsburgh Steelers went 10-7 this season shattering the expectations most had for them. They ended the season on a four game skid losing to Philadelphia, this Baltimore team, Kansas City and Cincinnati in Week 18. The loss to the Ravens in week 16 came at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore by a score of 34-17. The Steelers won the first match earlier this season in Pittsburgh 18-16.
The Baltimore Ravens went 12-5, winning their final four matches to steal the AFC North title away from the Steelers. The Ravens led the league in 2024 with 3,189 rushing yards and were also first in yards per carry at 5.8. Last season the Ravens were eliminated in this round against a different AFC North opponent, the Cincinnati Bengals. They look a lot different this season and come into this game as the biggest favorites of the weekend.
Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens Preview and Predictions Video
Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens Preview and Predictions Video
Isaiah Likely Over 28.5 Receiving Yards (-115)
It is very likely (sorry I can’t help myself) that Zay Flowers does not play on Saturday for the Baltimore Ravens. The Steelers are going to get their fair share of pressure on Lamar Jackson throughout the evening, and without the quick passes to Flowers, that’s where Likely well, likely steps in.
NFL Wednesday Injury Round Up 🤠
Wild Card Weekend Edition 🏈#RavensFlock
RB Justice Hill (concussion/illness) – Full practice; should be good to go for Sat
S Kyle Hamilton (knee) – Full practice; g2g
WR Zay Flowers (LCL) – No practice; DOUBTFUL for Saturday & no…
— Sebastian Fearon DPT, CSCS, OCS (@TheDegenDoc) January 9, 2025
In their first game against the Steelers back in Week 11, Likely went off on his four catches with 75 yards through the air. He’s hit this total in three of the Ravens’ last five games and six times on the season. He’s also hit it in three straight games against the Steelers. Likely, likely needs to have a good day on Saturday with Flowers out.
Pittsburgh Steelers +10 (-115)
This is the biggest spread of the weekend and I can see why. The Ravens are a loaded team that’s been there before and performed well this season especially lately. The Steelers have struggled down the stretch, and beaten most projections by a lot to get to this point.
Baltimore should be able to win this game and move on to the divisional round, but Pittsburgh isn’t going to make it easy. Over their last 10 games against each other, the Steelers are 7-3 against the spread. Now all they have to do is keep it within 10 points? Mike Tomlin can certainly do that.
