Steelers Victims Of Horrifying Prediction From NFL Analyst: "The Ravens Are Going To Whoop That A**"

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a shot to win a playoff game for the first time since the 2016 season against the Baltimore Ravens this Saturday. They were in control of their destiny at 10-3 before they entered that brutal stretch of games in December. Unfortunately, they lost four in a row to finish out the regular season and handed over the AFC North to the Ravens. While the Steelers have beaten the Ravens in eight out of their last 10 meetings, few are confident they can win in Charm City. Vegas even has them as 9.5-point underdogs.  

Vegas oddsmakers aren't the only doubters; Chris Simms and Mike Florio from NFL on NBC said they think Pittsburgh will lose. They noted that this is the biggest spread of the weekend. The two division rivals split the 2024 season, each winning at home. In the Week 11 game, the Steelers won by two points, but the Ravens won by 17 in Week 16. 

Simms pointed out that the second game's score, where the Ravens won, is a bit misleading. He noted that it wasn't so much that the Ravens made miracles happen, but the Steelers made mistakes. There was a fumble from Russell Wilson on the four-yard line as they went in to score and make it 14-7 in their favor. He also noted that they were without George Pickens, and he felt that took away many passing opportunities from Wilson. Regardless, Simms sees the Ravens as ascending while the once-hot Steelers are descending. 

"I'm going to go with the Ravens," predicts Simms. "I think the Ravens are going to whoop that a**. I do. The Steelers are done, four in a row, they got their a** whooped three weeks in a row. Then okay, put up a fight against the Bengals, who have one of the worst defenses in football, and they did make a few plays, right? I didn't like the look of how Pittsburgh's defense just got absolutely ran over by Derrick Henry the first time. Lamar made an uncharacteristic interception in the red zone because Rashod Bateman stopped. I think the Ravens are gonna come out on fire here, I think it's going to be the kind of game where it's like 35-7 and the Steelers are going to maybe score two late touchdowns to make it look respectable. I'm going 35-20."

In the Week 11 matchup, Ravens running back Derrick Henry was not exactly running over the Steelers' defense. Part of the reason they were able to win was because they mostly contained Henry and Lamar Jackson. Henry had 13 carries for 65 yards. Jackson rushed four times for 46 yards and completed 16 passes for 217 yards with one touchdown and one interception. However, in that Week 16 game, the defense struggled more to stop anyone in purple and black. Henry had 24 rushes for 162 yards. Jackson threw three touchdowns, and Zay Flowers had 100 receiving yards. 

The Steelers appear to be nearly fully healthy heading into the game. While they just got the news that Flowers will be out against them on Saturday, that removes one very effective weapon from Jackson's arsenal.

Steelers Are The Ravens' Boogeyman

While Simms may not have picked the Steelers to win, he and Florio believe they could pull one out. He said the Steelers are the one team the Ravens didn't want to see in the playoffs for various reasons. 

Simms cites the familiarity. The Steelers know them better than any other team. That means that Pittsburgh isn't in awe of Jackson or scared of him like other defenses are. They have had Jackson's number over the years, and that has gotten in his head. 

He added that the Steelers have defensive playmakers who can be game-wreckers. If they start to smell blood in the water, they become unstoppable. He expects Cameron Heyward to bat down a pass as he's done 11 times already this season, the most for a defensive lineman. 

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