Kyle Brandt Has Strong Opinion on Who Will Win Sunday's Ravens-Steelers Showdown
The Pittsburgh Steelers come to Baltimore for a showdown for first place in the AFC North, having dropped five of their past seven games, including a resounding loss at home to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
During the game, Steelers fans even jeered when "Renegade" began playing. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who played with a cast on his left wrist and sustained a gash on his nose, criticized his wide receivers after the game.
In other words, "Good Morning Football's" Kyle Brandt believes the Steelers have the Ravens right where they want them.
"I think they're going to win next week at Baltimore. I do," Brandt said. "Because this is how the Steelers work. This is how Mike Tomlin works. You get to 6-6, all is lost, it's post-apocalyptic, fire this person, cut this person. And like that, they find a way to win and the gravity kicks in. This is right where the Mike Tomlin Steelers live. When it seems like all hope is lost, oh, what do you know, they win two out of three.
"I think that they're going to win at Baltimore next week because I've seen this before – maybe not this dismal. Rodgers will play, the defensive line out of nowhere is going to be all over Lamar [Jackson]. This is how it works."
Brandt's point about the Steelers' ability to bounce back is well taken, but the Ravens have also proven to be resilient under Head Coach John Harbaugh, including this season when they rallied from a 1-5 start and three-game deficit in the AFC North to put themselves in position to contend for the division title.
No one should be surprised if the Ravens respond to the disappointing loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Thanksgiving with an inspired effort on Sunday.
"After the first third of the season, our goal was to fight our way – play our way back into contention and position to compete for the AFC North [title], and we've done that," Harbaugh said on Monday. "So, here we are in the last third of the season with that objective and that challenge in front of us – to go win the AFC North, which starts on Sunday."
Assessing Panic Level for Ravens and Steelers
ESPN’s Ben Solak isn't as confident as Brandt in the Steelers, either in the short term or beyond.
Solak looked at the panic meter for five teams in the playoff hunt, including the Ravens and Steelers. He put the Steelers at DEFCON 1.
"The Steelers' short-term outlook is bleak," Solak wrote. "Their Week 14 game against the Ravens is winnable, but it's on the road against a physical and ascending defense. If Pittsburgh loses, it'll slip below .500 and lose control of the AFC North, which is its only path into the playoffs.
"The long-term outlook is bleaker. There is no quarterback of the future on the roster, and the rest of the cap sheet is loaded with bad contracts. [Wide receiver DK] Metcalf is due $31 million next year, [edge rusher T.J.] Watt is due $42 million, and [defensive back Jalen] Ramsey is due $17.9 million. The Steelers need to recover from their 2025 spending spree, and they'll likely have no hardware - not even a division championship -- to show for it."
As for the Ravens, Solak assessed their panic meter to be at "moderate to severe."
"The Ravens' offense has taken a step back across the board," Solak wrote. "With no development or meaningful additions at pass catcher, another year of attrition on [running back Derrick] Henry and poor play on the offensive line, the Ravens are hard to take seriously as 2025 contenders even as their defense continues to shine. A suddenly healthy Lamar Jackson would color in the lines some but not enough to beat a legit field of AFC defenses. Jackson will bounce back next season as he heals, but work is needed to bolster the offense in 2026 and beyond."
Jeff Zrebiec Says Criticism of Ravens Not Running Enough Against Bengals Is 'A Little Overblown'
The Bills may have provided a blueprint for the Ravens on how to attack the Steelers defense. Buffalo ran for 249 yards on 51 carries, the most rushing yards Pittsburgh has allowed at home since 1975.
The Ravens have the No. 5-ranked rushing offense, but it has not been as lethal as in previous years, nor as efficient on early downs.
"Baltimore is sixth in early-down run rate with a percentage very comparable to 2024. The problem is ranking only 24th in rushing success rate," Baltimore Positive’s Luke Jones wrote. "While waiting for a Henry run to pop, there are way too many rushes creating second- and third-and-long situations."
The Ravens have been criticized for not running enough against the Bengals, specifically Henry not having a carry in the second quarter after he rushed for 33 yards and a touchdown on five carries in the first quarter.
Harbaugh said on Monday that the Ravens are "a running team," but "the circumstances of the game took us in that direction."
The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec agreed with Harbaugh's assessment. Zrebiec said the Ravens should have mixed in more runs, but "the criticism was a little overblown."
"There were opportunities to run on their first full drive of the second quarter, but it's hard to gripe too much when that possession would have ended with a touchdown had Isaiah Likely not fumbled the ball as he was going in for the score," Zrebiec wrote. "The Ravens were then in their two-minute offense for the rest of the second quarter.
"To start the third, Henry got the ball twice, gained 5 total yards and the Ravens went three-and-out. Despite trailing by 12 points midway through the third quarter, Baltimore stuck with the run, and the result was a touchdown drive, culminating in an 18-yard scamper by Keaton Mitchell. Then, for much of the fourth quarter, the Ravens trailed by two scores and were in hurry-up offense. So you're talking about maybe one or two drives where you could question why they didn't mix in a few runs. Notable, yes. But hardly the reason the Ravens lost that game."
Ravens-Bills Is Most Likely Wild-Card Round Matchup
Are the Ravens and Bills destined to meet again in the playoffs?
Per ESPN’s Football Power Index, the Ravens have a 60.2% chance of winning the AFC North. The Bills, who trail the first-place New England Patriots by 2.5 games in the AFC East, have a 90% chance to make the playoffs but only a 15% chance to win the division, so they're likely going to be a Wild-Card team if they get in.
The Ravens and Bills have faced each other in the playoffs twice in the past six years. The matchups occurred in the divisional round, with the Bills winning both (17-3 in 2020 and 27-25 in 2024).
The Bills also beat the Ravens in this season's opener, rallying from a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win, 41-40.
Unlike those games, which were played in Buffalo, this one would almost certainly be in Baltimore if the matchup happens.
Quick Hits
Yesterday's Most Read: News & Notes: Nate Wiggins Is Day-to-Day After Foot Injury
- Defensive tackle Travis Jones made Pro Football Focus’ Team of the Week.
