The Pittsburgh Steelers are hosting the Baltimore Ravens at Acrisure Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m. to renew yearly hostilities. The teams meet twice a year, and it is only the third time since 2006 the rivals will not have at least one primetime meeting. The teams have combined for some of the most bizarre and heated football in the 21st century. The two AFC North powers don’t like each other, and they don’t make it a secret.
Photo Credit: Andy Lyons/Getty Images
“It takes two to tango,” Mike Tomlin said about the Ravens. “And they are a great dance partner.”
The Ravens are 8-4 and the Steelers at 5-7 will be facing their long-time nemesis with the slimmest of playoff hopes for the black and gold on the line. Pittsburgh has put themselves in the position to have to sweep the Baltimore Ravens but caught a huge break when Lamar Jackson was hurt last week against the Denver Broncos. In 2019 without Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback, he beat the Steelers twice. Jackson never beat a Roethlisberger-led Steelers team.
Antonio Brown gifted his now-famous TD ball to someone in the Steelers' organization, but he didn't say to whom / Photo Credit: AP Photo/Fred Vuich
Aditi Kinkhabwala, who is very familiar with the rivalry and who currently works for CBS sports, joined The PM Team/w Poni & Mueller Wednesday afternoon on 93.7 The Fan to discuss the upcoming game. She related that her favorite moment in the rivalry was probably Antonio Brown’s immaculate extension and that players on both teams deep down respect each other. The coaches, however, are a different story.
“I don’t think I am at liberty to say,” Kinkhabwala responded to a question about the two coaches’ relationship. “I’ve had some tremendous conversations with John Harbaugh over the years about Mike Tomlin and yeah, I don’t feel comfortable sharing. Let’s just say if they were at the combine, I don’t see those two drinking beers together.”
Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh have been at odds for years. They have had awkward midfield handshakes and have traded veiled barbs before and after games. The first time Pittsburgh faced the Ravens in 2021 with Jackson at the helm, the two played an epic game that was decided on a two-point conversion play that T.J. Watt blew up to secure the victory for the black and gold. After the game, Tomlin didn’t exactly praise his opposite number for the gamble.
“They aggressively play analytics,” Tomlin said after the 20-19 victory. “From that standpoint they are predictable. They were coming from behind and all of that. Analytical equations help people come to decisions we’re familiar with. People are not going to run it down there; we start with that premise.”
Harbaugh was praised nationally for having the guts to go for two on the road to get the win, but Tomlin stole his thunder with the press conference after the game. He essentially called the Ravens' head coach a slave to his analytics department and the black and gold were prepared and practiced defending the pass before the play was even called. Harbaugh had to confess he ran the conversion because they didn’t think they could stop an allegedly broken-down old man Roethlisberger if they went for the tie.
Steelers' Kenny Pickett (#8) and offensive coordinator Matt Canada work on the game plan in preparation for the New Orleans Saints in Pittsburgh, PA. | Photo Credit: Abigail Dean/Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers fans would probably enjoy derailing the Ravens' plans to win the division in 2022 more than making the playoffs themselves. It will be Kenny Pickett’s first action against a Ravens team that his predecessor owned during his career. The Steelers lead the all-time series against the Ravens 31-24 including a 3-1 record in the postseason. It will be interesting to see if the Pitt Panther rookie can stake his claim on the rivalry even if it is against the capable Tyler Huntley.
What do you think Steeler Nation? Are you surprised the two long-time coaches don’t like each other? Comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
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