After defeating the Cleveland Browns in Week 18, the Baltimore Ravens won the AFC North and will play at home on Wild Card Weekend. Despite going down 0-2 at the beginning of the season, the Ravens secured the No. 3 seed in the playoffs with a 12-5 record.
Lamar Jackson and Co. will now try to make a deep postseason run, and their eyes are set on Super Bowl LIX. Let’s take a look at the Ravens’ opponent in their first playoff matchup next week.
Who Will the Ravens Play In the Wild Card Round?
Baltimore will host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Wild Card Weekend. The Ravens are favored to win, having already beaten the Steelers at home in Week 16. Our metrics have the Ravens winning in more than 65% of our simulations.
It looked like the Ravens might play the Los Angeles Chargers, but then the Steelers lost on Saturday to the Cincinnati Bengals and the Chargers defeated the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. This secured the No. 5 seed for the Chargers, while the Steelers dropped to No. 6.
Baltimore has gone head-to-head against Pittsburgh twice this season. They lost to the Steelers 18-16 in Week 11 on the road at Acrisure Stadium.
In that game, Lamar Jackson completed just 16 of 33 passes for 207 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, and he only rushed for 46 yards. Also, Derrick Henry was limited to 65 yards on the ground and one score. The Steelers also forced and recovered two fumbles (one from Henry and one Isaiah Likely).
Chris Boswell was the MVP of that game for Pittsburgh, drilling all six of his field goal attempts (including a 57-yarder) while Justin Tucker missed two of his three attempts.
However, the Ravens got revenge in Week 16 when Jackson and Co. defeated Pittsburgh at home at M&T Bank Stadium. Baltimore won convincingly, 34-17.
In that Ravens win, Jackson completed 15 of 23 passes for 207 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception while rushing for 22 yards. Henry also dominated, rushing for 162 yards. In total, Baltimore rushed for 220 yards in the win.