SERIES HISTORY
This fantastic rivalry started in 1996 when the Ravens joined the NFL. Since then, Pittsburgh leads the series 36-27, including the five playoff matchups. The most recent meeting was last year in the Wild Card round. Baltimore has won two in a row in the postseason. Pittsburgh won six of the first seven meetings. They've also won eight of the last 11 games. Mike Tomlin is now 22-18 against the Ravens. John Harbaugh is 17-21 against Pittsburgh. Tomlin and Harbaugh's 38 meetings are the second most between head coaches all time. In Baltimore, the Steelers are 15-15 (including playoffs), but have won four of the last six and six of the last nine in the Ravens building.
MATCHUP OVERVIEW
• Pittsburgh is on a two-game losing streak and have lost five of their last seven. The Steelers are 2-3 on the road. Both teams are currently 2-1 within the AFC North. Baltimore was on a five-game winning streak before losing on Thanksgiving night to the Bengals. This will be the second straight week that the Steelers have a rest disadvantage compared to their opponent.
• Pittsburgh is 6-11 in their last 17 games (including playoffs). The Steelers have a yardage differential of -1,672 over those past 17 games.
• Pittsburgh had led in all six of their losses this season.
• Baltimore has a -4-point differential. Pittsburgh is at -8. The Steelers are producing 23.4 points per game. Baltimore is allowing 24.4. Baltimore is producing 24.1 points per game. Pittsburgh allows 24.1.
• Since 1990, teams that start 7-6 go to the post season 37.5% of the time compared to teams that start 6-7 (15.8%). That only tells part of the story here, as the winner of this game does take sole possession of the AFC North.
• Lamar Jackson has a career regular season record of 22-4 as a starter in December or later in the season. Jackson is 20-5 in his career after a loss, best of any quarterback since 1970.
• The Steelers and Ravens have played 40 one possession games since Baltimore entered the NFL in 1996. That is most of any two teams during that time and three more than the next closest rivals (Bears and Vikings).
• Baltimore has a -4-turnover differential compared to +8 for the Steelers. Only the Bears (26) have more takeaways than the Steelers (22). Pittsburgh leads the league with 12 takeaways via fumble. Only the Vikings, Seahawks, and Saints have turned the ball over more than Baltimore (18). The Ravens have lost 10 fumbles, more than every team other than Seattle. The Ravens turned the ball over five times last week. Baltimore also has a takeaway in seven straight games, the second longest current streak in the league.
• Since 2007, the Steelers rank fifth in turnover differential (+50). In that time span, they have been in the top 10 in turnover differential eight of 19 seasons and in the top five in five of 19 seasons.
• Since 2019, the Steelers are 3-30-1 (.103) when they lose the turnover battle.
• Baltimore holds the ball for 28:57 per game, but just 21:14 last week. Pittsburgh possessed the ball for 18:01 last week. For the season, the Steelers now sit at 27:01.
• The Ravens have a -15-sack differential compared to +12 for Pittsburgh.
• Baltimore and Pittsburgh each produce a touchdown on .26 of their drives.
• The Ravens opponents punt on .29 of their drives and Pittsburgh's opponents punt on .30.
• The Ravens average 5.65 plays per drive and Pittsburgh averages 5.80. That ranks 28th and 26th respectively.
• The Ravens average starting drive starts on the 32.3-yard line and Pittsburgh's starts on the 31.7-yard line. That is fourth and sixth best respectively.
• Pittsburgh's opponents have produced 39 more explosive plays than the Steelers and 26 more explosive passes.
• The Ravens opponents have thrown for 619 more yards than Baltimore.
• Pittsburgh's opponents have produced 64 more first downs, run 153 more plays, and average 88.9 more yards per game than the Steelers.
• Baltimore offense (56.8) is 29th in plays per game. Their defense (64.9) is 27th.
• The Steelers opponents have gone for it on fourth down 16 more times than Pittsburgh. The Steelers are converting on fourth downs at a 41.7% clip.
• The Steelers have produced 2396 passing yards compared to 2398 by Baltimore.
• The Steelers defense has a 59.9% middle of the field closed rate. Baltimore's defense is at 59.5%. That is fourth and fifth highest respectively.
• Baltimore's red zone defense (53.1%) is sixth best in the league. Pittsburgh's (54.8%) is 10th best. The Steelers offense (65.7%) is fifth best while Baltimore's offense (46.5%) is 30th.
• Baltimore has been penalized 70 times compared to 73 for the Steelers. That is sixth and ninth best respectively.
• The Steelers are giving up 10.4 points on average in the fourth quarter, only better than the Giants. Pittsburgh does score 7.9 points on average in the fourth quarter, ninth most.
• Pittsburgh has a -49-point differential in the second half/overtime of games this season.
WHEN PITTSBURGH HAS THE BALL
• The Steelers average 5.1 yards per play. Pittsburgh averaged 3.9 yards per play against Buffalo. Baltimore gives up 5.4 yards per play, but just 4.5 over their past three games.
• The Steelers use 11 Personnel 32.5% of their snaps, 12 Personnel 31.5%, and 13 Personnel 17.1%. Pittsburgh has a sixth offensive lineman on the field for 15.3% of their snaps.
• Baltimore's defense plays with five or more defensive backs for 88% of their snaps. Only Seattle is higher. Only three defenses employ dime defense more than the Ravens.
• Pittsburgh is throwing the ball this year at a 57.6% rate.
• Last week was the first time Baltimore allowed 20+ points since Week 5. Since Week 7, Baltimore is allowing 16.5 points per game, best in the league during that stretch. Before Week 7, the Ravens allowed 32.3 points per game, worst in the league.
• Baltimore's defense creates a three and out (.15) at the league's lowest rate.
• The Ravens are allowing a 61.9% completion percentage, seventh best.
• The Steelers have 21 passing touchdowns this year, eighth most.
• Pittsburgh is 0 of 10 on passes of 20+ air yards since Week 9.
• Rodgers average time to throw is 2.7 seconds, second fastest, and his average depth of target of 5.7 yards downfield is only higher than Dillon Gabriel.
• Jaylen Warren ran 13 routes compared to 11 by Kenneth Gainwell last week. That was the first time since Week 8 that Warren has run more routes than Gainwell.
• Baltimore gives up the seventh most receiving yards per game (39.1) to the running back position.
• The Ravens have 15 different defenders with at least half a sack, Mike Green is their sack leader with just two and a half. They got to Joe Burrow just once on Thursday. Baltimore's 19 sacks are only better than three defenses and their 3.9% sack percentage is only better than San Francisco.
• Baltimore gave up 128 yards on the ground to the Bengals last week.
• Baltimore gives up 2.22 yards after first contact per attempt, sixth most.
• Warren and Gainwell have a combined 995 rushing yards. That makes up 88% of the team's rushing yards.
WHEN BALTIMORE HAS THE BALL
• The Ravens average 5.6 yards per play. Pittsburgh allows 5.3.
• Baltimore employs 11 Personnel just 35.0% of the time. They are in 12 Personnel at a 38.0% clip, 21 Personnel 11.0%, 13 Personnel 7.5%, and 22 Personnel 6.9% of their offensive snaps. Only the Steelers use 11 Personnel less than Baltimore. Baltimore is second in 12 Personnel and seventh in 13 Personnel usage. They are second in 21 Personnel and sixth in 22 Personnel.
• In the three games that Cooper Rush or Tyler Huntley started, Baltimore averaged just 14.3 points per game compared to 27.3 with Jackson starting.
• Baltimore throws the ball on 51.5% of their snaps. Only the Seahawks and Bills throw it at a lower rate.
• The Ravens turn a set of downs into a new set of downs or a touchdown 71% of the time, league average. The Steelers defense is at 73%.
• The Steelers defense gives up 35.0 yards per drive.
• Over Jackson's past three games, he is completing just 55% of his passes, averaging 197.3 passing yards per game and has thrown zero touchdowns compared to three interceptions. This is the first time in Jackson's career that he has gone three straight starts without a passing touchdown. He has five giveaways since Week 11, most in the league during that time. Also, since Week 11, Jackson is completing just 39.4% of his passes of 10+ air yards.
• Zay Flowers' 767 receiving yards leads the team and is 435 more than the Ravens second leading receiver (Mark Andrews). Flowers has reached 64+ scrimmage yards in nine out of 11 games this year but haven't scored a touchdown since Week 1. He only has one end zone target this season. Flowers averages 2.16 yards per route run, 19th best amongst wide receivers.
• Rashod Bateman is averaging just .8 yards per route run. Bateman has caught more than two passes in just one game this season.
• Last week, Isaiah Likely and Andrews combined to catch nine passes. No other Ravens player had more than two catches. Andrews is averaging 6.4 yards per target and 9.0 yards per reception. His previous career lows were 7.5 and 11.6 respectively.
• The Steelers defense has not allowed 7.0 yards per pass attempt in a game since Week 8.
• The Steelers and Rams are the only two defenses with 30+ sacks and 20+ takeaways.
• Pittsburgh has four defenders with four and a half sacks or more. The Steelers have 34 sacks. Only the Broncos (101) and Seahawks (83) have more quarterback hits than Pittsburgh (79).
• The Steelers 32.1% blitz rate is fourth highest.
• Baltimore's quarterbacks have been sacked on 9.0% of their dropbacks, the fifth highest percentage.
• The Steelers defense has 19 batted passes, most in the league. No other defense has more than 15.
• Pittsburgh's defense faces an average depth of target of 7.1 yards downfield, sixth lowest. They also face the lowest percentage (6.6%) of deep passes as well as the lowest time to throw (2.44 seconds).
• Baltimore averages 5.0 yards per carry, only behind the Colts. They are fifth highest (136.8) in rushing yards per game. Their 6.1% explosive run rate is fourth best.
• Derrick Henry now has scored 10+ rushing touchdowns in eight straight seasons. He is second behind only LaDainian Tomlinson for such seasons. In his three games in a Ravens uniform vs. Pittsburgh, Henry rushed for 413 yards and three touchdowns. He averages 108.4 rushing yards per game as a starter in December/January, best since 1970.
• Over his last five games, since returning from injury, Jackson is averaging just 6.2 rushing yards per game on designed run plays and just 19.6 rushing yards per game. He has gone three straight games failing to reach 30 yards on the ground for the first time in his career and is averaging a career low 2.2 designed rush attempts per game in 2025.
• Pittsburgh's third down defense (43.6%) is only better than four defenses.
• Last year, Baltimore converted a league-high 74.2% of their red zone trips into touchdowns. This year, they are at 46.5%, which is 30th. They are at a 47.4% conversion rate over their past five games since Jackson's return.
SPECIAL TEAMS
• Tyler Loop is perfect on field goals inside of 50 yards, but just one of three from 50 yards or longer.
MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT
Battle for the North in Baltimore
This was quite possibly the most physical game ever played between these two franchises, and that is saying something. This was the second ever playoff meeting between these two teams, and was in John 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 their 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
Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers vs. Ravens SAF Kyle Hamilton - Hamilton is an exceptional player that Baltimore employs in a very wide variety of ways. Last season, he stabilized the Ravens defense by predominantly playing in the deep middle. This year, Hamilton is being used near the line of scrimmage in a very disruptive manner.
Steelers Linebackers vs. Ravens RB Derrick Henry - Buffalo's running game caused the Steelers all kinds of problems last week. Over the past several years, Baltimore has been one of the NFL's best rushing teams. Generally, that is a nasty combination of Henry and Lamar Jackson, but Jackson has been running far less since his return from injury.
