Cheat Sheet: Steelers vs. Ravens

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN

• TV coverage: Broadcast nationally on CBS (KDKA-TV locally in Pittsburgh).
• Steelers Radio Network - Game coverage begins at 1:00 p.m. ET; Pregame programming begins at 9:00 a.m.; Postgame coverage starts immediately following the game.
• Don't miss a minute of the action... check out all of the ways that you can watch, listen and follow along on gameday. Click here >>>

INJURY UPDATE

The Steelers return home to face the Ravens at Acrisure Stadium.
Check out the most updated Injury Report: Click here >>>

SERIES HISTORY

This outstanding rivalry started in 1996 when the Browns moved from Cleveland and became the Baltimore Ravens. Since then, Pittsburgh leads the series 33-25, including four playoff matchups. In the playoffs, the Steelers have lost just once against Baltimore. Pittsburgh won six of the first seven meetings. The Steelers also have won five of the last six, including the most recent matchup, a 16-13 victory late last season. The Steelers have swept Baltimore in two of the past three seasons. Mike Tomlin is 19-16 against the Ravens. John Harbaugh is 15-18 against Pittsburgh.

MATCHUP OVERVIEW

• Baltimore sits atop the AFC North with a 3-1 record, which is also tied for the best record in the AFC. Two of their three wins have come against divisional foes - both on the road. They have the chance for the trifecta on the road to open the season. The Steelers are now 2-2 after suffering their first conference loss in Houston. 
• The Ravens have outscored their opponents by 41 points, while Pittsburgh is minus-38 in point differential. Baltimore has scored 27 more points than the Steelers and allowed 42 fewer points. 
• The Ravens have scored eight more touchdowns through four weeks than their collective opponents. 
• Baltimore produces 7.6 yards per passing attempt and allows just 4.9 yards per attempt through the air. 
• The Steelers 6.85 yards average depth of target is the sixth-lowest in the NFL. The Ravens are the seventh-lowest at 6.87. However, the Steelers defense is facing the highest average depth of target in the NFL.
• Pittsburgh's offense has the eighth-most yards after the catch this season. Baltimore's has the fifth-fewest. 
• The Ravens have outrushed their opponents by 235 yards. Only three offenses have more rushing yards this year than Baltimore. 
• Pittsburgh's opponents have produced 32 more first down than the Steelers. 
• The Steelers are plus-3 in turnover ratio, while Baltimore is even. 
• The Ravens generate .39 points per play compared to .27 by Pittsburgh. Baltimore's defense gives up .21 points per play compared to .35 by the Steelers. 
• Going into halftime this year, on average, Baltimore is winning their games by 4.7 points. For the Steelers, they are losing going into the half on average by 5.3 points. 
• Baltimore is scoring in the red zone 80% (1st in the league). The Ravens' opponents are scoring in the red zone 30% of the time compared to 64% for the Steelers defense. 
• The Steelers are being penalized 4.8 times per game. Only the Jaguars and Jets are better. Baltimore is being penalized seven times per game. Only six teams are being penalized more often. The Steelers opponents are being penalized 8.5 times per game. Only Washington's opponents are higher. 
• The Ravens projected starters from the beginning of the season have missed 26 games thus far due to injury. 
• The Steelers and Ravens have played four straight games that have been decided by a field goal or less. 
• Lamar Jackson has missed three-straight games against the Steelers and has only beaten Pittsburgh once in his career as a starter. His cumulative 66.7 passer rating is the lowest of any opponent of Jackson's career, as is his 4-6 TD/INT ratio. Jackson has been sacked 16 times in his three games against the Steelers.

WHEN PITTSBURGH HAS THE BALL

• Pittsburgh averages 4.6 yards per play. The Ravens allow just 3.8 yards per play, tied with San Francisco for best in the league. 
• The Ravens defense is third-best in points allowed per game as well as opponent's yards per game. 
• The Steelers use 11 Personnel (1 RB/1 TE) at the NFL's sixth-highest rate (75.1%). 95.7% of Pittsburgh's offensive snaps have been from 11 Personnel or 12 Personnel (1 RB/2 TE). Baltimore's defense is seeing 11 Personnel 83.3% of the time. That is the highest percentage any defense is seeing against any personnel grouping. Only one defense has been in its nickel package with five defensive backs on the field a higher percentage (89%) of the time than Baltimore. 
• Only five defenses are surrendering a better completion percentage (56.4%) than Baltimore. And only two defenses have allowed fewer passing touchdowns. 
• The Steelers are attempting passes of 20-plus yards 6.1% of the time.
• The Bengals are the only passing attack that has generated a higher percentage (58.8%) of their yardage after the catch than the Steelers.
• Just 22.5% of the Steelers' passing plays have resulted in a first down or touchdown. 
• Calvin Austin has an average depth of target of 11.9 yards. George Pickens is at 11.0 and Allen Robinson's is 6.4.
• Pickens has 75-plus receiving yards in two of his last three games. But he has not been targeted 20-plus yards downfield since Week 1. 
• On throws 10-plus yards downfield to wide recievers, the Ravens allow just 39.1% of those to be completed (2nd) with zero touchdowns allowed. 
• Baltimore's 4.1 yards allowed per pass is the best in the NFL. 
• The Ravens defense in the best in the league on a yards allowed per route run basis. 
• Rookie tight end Darnell Washington has been targeted just once this year on his 40 routes run. 
• Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren have each run a pass route on 42% of the Steelers' pass plays. Warren has been targeted on 17% of his routes and Harris at 6%. Only three offenses target their running backs a higher percentage of the time than Pittsburgh, but Warren has 18 receptions this year compared to four for Harris. And overall, Warren has out touched Harris 43 to 38. 
• Baltimore's defense has 15 sacks this season. Eight different Ravens defenders have sacked an opposing quarterback in 2023, but none have more than Kyle Hamilton's three. However, no defense in the league has generated more negative yards from sack than the Ravens. Only five defenses have a worse pressure rate than Baltimore. 
• The Steelers and Vikings are the only two offenses without a rushing touchdown yet this season. Baltimore is the only defense that is yet to allow a rushing touchdown. Pittsburgh has yet to attempt a run inside the five-yard line. 
• Of the Steelers rushing attempts, 8% have resulted in explosive runs (15+ yards). Miami and Arizona are the only offenses with a higher such percentage. 
• In terms of missed tackles forced per rushing attempt, there are only five offenses better than Pittsburgh's, as 72.1% of the Steelers' rushing yards have come after first contact. That is the fourth-highest percentage in the NFL. 
• The Ravens allow 2.6 yards per carry on man/gap concept runs vs. 4.1 against zone concepts. 
• Harris' career numbers: Yards per carry: 2021: 3.9, 2022: 3.8, 2023: 4.3. Yards after contact per carry: 2021: 3.0, 2022: 2.7, 2023: 3.5. Missed tackles forced per carry: 2021: .19, 2022 .2, 2023: .27. Explosive runs (15+ yards) per carry: 2021: 9.1%, 2022: 7.4%, 2023: 12.2%.

WHEN BALTIMORE HAS THE BALL

• Baltimore averages 5.3 yards per play. The Steelers defense is giving up 5.7 yards per play. 
• Baltimore's run pass ratio is the run-heaviest in the NFL right now. The Ravens are only passing the football on 45.5% of their snaps. Jackson attempted just 19 passes last week. 
• The Ravens use 11 Personnel (1 RB/1 TE) at the NFL's 26th highest rate (50.7%). Only the Bengals defense has seen a smaller percentage (10.9%) of 12 Personnel (1 RB/2 TE) than the Steelers and no defense has seen a higher percentage (24.9%) of their snaps against 21 Personnel (2 RB/1 TE) than Pittsburgh. The second-most used personnel grouping that Baltimore employs is 21 Personnel, using it 16.8% of their snaps. Only one defense has been in its nickel package with five defensive backs on the field a lower percentage (37.5%) than Pittsburgh. The Steelers are second in usage of base (40.6%) and sixth in their usage of dime (17.7%). 
• Jackson only had four incompletions in Week 4. Jackson is completing 74.3% of his passes - the best completion rate of his six-year career. Only Josh Allen is better. His previous best mark was 66.1% in 2019. Last week was Jackson's best completion percentage (78.9%) game of the season. Jackson also currently has the lowest interception rate of his career. 
• When the Steelers get pressure on opposing quarterbacks, they allow just a 40.4% completion percentage (7th) and five yards per attempt (8th), compared. When they don't get pressure, those numbers fall to 69.1% (10th) and 8.8 (31st) respectively. The Steelers defense does create pressure at the NFL's second-highest rate. 
• When Jackson has been deemed "pressured" he is completing 46% (24th) of his attempts for 6.3 yards per attempt (15th). When he has been clean, Jackson is completing 83% (2nd) for 8.0 yards per attempt (9th).
• Six defenses have surrendered more passing yards than Pittsburgh, but only four have allowed a lower completion percentage (55.1%). 
• The Steelers defense is seeing the second-highest average depth of target (9.6) this season behind only Cincinnati. 
• Of the Steelers passing yards allowed, 39% have come after the catch. Only four defenses have a lower percentage. 
• Only the Jets and Chiefs are targeting receivers that align outside the numbers a lower percentage of their pass attempts than Baltimore. However, the Steelers defense is seeing the highest percentage of such throws in the entire league.
• TJ Watt has an eight-game sack streak going vs. the Ravens. Watt has 13.5 sacks in his last nine AFC North games. 
• With Odell Beckham and Rashod Bateman out of the lineup last week, the Ravens wide receivers' snap counts were as follows out of a possible 58 offensive snaps: Zay Flowers 57, Nelson Agholor 43, Devin Duvernay 35 and Laquon Treadwell 15. 
• Flowers had a monster target share in Week 1 of nearly 48%. Since then, his target share per game has fallen to 23.6%. Still, Flowers has run a route on 95% of Baltimore's dropbacks this year. No other Baltimore wide receiver is even at 57%. But Flowers' average depth of target is just 6.1 yards past the line of scrimmage. Flowers is second among rookies in receptions and has 55-plus receiving yards in three of his four career games. 
• Mark Andrews now has eight career games with multiple touchdown receptions. But he has never scored a touchdown against the Steelers in eight games.  
• Thirteen different Ravens have been targeted in the passing game through four games. 
• Baltimore has six different ball carriers this year with five or more rushing attempts. 
• Baltimore is fourth in the league in rushing yards per game (151.3).
• Only the Dolphins and 49ers have more rushing touchdowns than Baltimore, while 5.8% of the Ravens rush attempts have resulted in a touchdown.
• Last week was Jackson's first career game with at least 2 passing and 2 rushing touchdowns. The NFL record for quarterback rushing touchdowns is 14. Jackson has four through four games, all of which occurred during the past two weeks. Jackson has never eclipsed seven rushing touchdowns in a single season. 
• Week 3 was Jackson's 15th career 100-yard rushing performance. He has more 100-yard rushing games than any quarterback in NFL history. Over the past three weeks, Jackson has carried the ball 35 times. He has 182 rushing yards and four touchdowns on those 35 carries. Jackson has 21% of Baltimore's designed rushing attempts as well as a 12% scramble rate. 
• Gus Edwards received 40 of a possible 58 offensive snaps last week. Melvin Gordon was on the field for 11 plays and Justice Hill for 7-all in the first half. Patrick Ricard also got 23 snaps. 
• Last week, Edwards was given 15 carries compared to three each for Gordon and Hill. Edwards also ran 15 routes on Jackson's 29 drop backs. Edwards caught two passes, which is a career high.
• Only the Eagles and Packers are scoring more points in the third quarter of games than Baltimore.

SPECIAL TEAMS

• Chris Boswell is seven for seven on field goals and has yet to miss an extra point. Justin Tucker has made four of his six field goal opportunities but is perfect on his 11 extra point attempts. 
• Collectively, the Ravens' opponents have yet to miss a field goal this season. 
• Only one field goal has been missed in a Steelers game this season.

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT

January 18th, 2009: AFC Championship: Steelers 23, Ravens 14, Heinz Field

This was possibly the most violent and physical game ever played between these two franchises - and that is saying something. This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams in what was Harbaugh's first year as the Ravens head coach. Pittsburgh got out to an early 13-0 lead at home, but then two great defenses took over. About midway through the second half, Baltimore clawed its way back to make this a 16-14 game. In the end, Troy Polamalu intercepted Joe Flacco and returned it for a touchdown to seal a Pittsburgh Super Bowl appearance. Pittsburgh forced five fumbles in this game including three in the final 3:13 of play. The Steelers then went on to win Super Bowl XLIII over Arizona.

KEY MATCHUPS

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson vs. Steelers linebackers

Jackson presents problems for every team he faces and every defensive position on the field. But the Steelers had a total offseason overhaul at the off the ball linebacker position, so the trio of Cole Holcomb, Elandon Roberts and Kwon Alexander has yet to face off against Jackson as a group - and the unique challenges he provides-as a unit. 

Steelers RB Najee Harris vs. Ravens LB Roquan Smith

In Week 1, Pittsburgh faced Fred Warner, the NFL's best off the ball linebacker. Smith is right behind Warner on that list. Since trading for Smith last season, Baltimore's defensive statistics have skyrocketed, and he has become the face of the Ravens defense. Smith is a violent player that flies all over the field and is a force against the run and pass. Smith has a sack in two of his three career games against the Steelers.