Ravens Are Near Unanimous Pick to Eliminate Archrival
If having momentum getting into the playoffs means something, the Ravens ought to be ok with their possibilities in Saturday evening’s AFC Wild-Card spherical recreation towards the Pittsburgh Steelers at M&T Bank Stadium.
The surging Ravens have received 4 straight by a median of 23 factors, together with a 34-17 victory over Pittsburgh three weeks in the past. The struggling Steelers have misplaced 4 straight and averaged simply 14.3 factors throughout that span.
The overwhelming consensus is that the groups will proceed their respective trajectories.
All however two of the 58 pundits we sampled predicted a victory for the Ravens, who’re 9.5-point favorites. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Seth Wickersham had been the dissenters.
Here’s what pundits are saying concerning the recreation:
The Ravens will win convincingly.
Bleacher Report’s Ian Hanford: “The Steelers sometimes discover a strategy to muddy issues up sufficient to remain shut, however the vibe round this crew could not be extra off. Ravens win and ship a message that this yr’s crew could lastly put its greatest foot ahead in the postseason.”
The Steelers will preserve it shut, however the Ravens will prevail.
CBS Sports John Breech: “If there’s one recreation the place I might see an enormous upset occurring this weekend, it is this one. On one hand, that sounds completely ridiculous as a result of the Steelers have forgotten how one can play soccer over the previous 4 weeks. On the opposite hand, it would not sound ridiculous in any respect as a result of Lamar Jackson all the time appears to overlook how one can play soccer through the postseason. … If the Steelers had proven any indicators of life throughout their four-game shedding streak to finish the season, I may need picked them to drag off the upset, however as an alternative, I’m going to take the Ravens in a nail-biter.”
The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec: “I nonetheless suppose that is the Ravens’ recreation to win. However, I’m stunned by how many individuals suppose this might be a one-sided affair. To me, this recreation will likely be in doubt deep into the fourth quarter. Just about all the matchups between the 2 groups are. The Ravens are simply taking part in higher on either side of the ball, so I give them the sting in a 23-20 kind of recreation. I totally count on some anxious moments at M&T Bank Stadium Saturday evening for the house followers.”
The Baltimore Banner’s C.J. Doon: “All these groups do is play nail-biters. I’m not anticipating that to vary anytime quickly, particularly with the stress of the postseason ramped up. In a enjoyable reversal from Week 11, it is Justin Tucker who saves the day for the Ravens this time round.”
The Steelers protection can have a troublesome time slowing the Ravens offense, even with out WR Zay Flowers.
NFL.com’s Nick Shook: “These Ravens can beat opponents in all kinds of fashions, and Pittsburgh’s protection hasn’t lived as much as its fame in the second half of the season, particularly in their closing month’s value of video games, permitting 27.3 factors and 380.5 yards per contest. The Steelers completed the common season tied for the league lead in takeaways with 33, however are dealing with a Ravens offense that ranks third with simply 11 giveaways. Numbers smart, this is not a superb matchup. The Steelers have T.J. Watt, however he is been invisible in the final three weeks, failing to register a sack or QB hit in that span. Jackson, in the meantime, takes the sector as an every-down risk to finish the Steelers’ season, even with out the participation of Pro Bowl broad receiver Zay Flowers, who will miss the sport because of a knee harm. It will take fairly a turnaround to forestall the Steelers from watching their season slip away on Saturday.”
The Baltimore Sun’s Childs Walker: “Zay Flowers will not play, and that is an enormous deal, however not such an enormous deal that the Ravens will not survive with out their Pro Bowl broad receiver. They’ll nonetheless have the dominant playmakers on the sector in Jackson and Derrick Henry, and in Rashod Bateman and Isaiah Likely, they’ve go catchers gifted sufficient to switch a lot of Flowers’ manufacturing.”
Derrick Henry is a vital issue.
Pro Football Focus: “In their Week 16 conflict, Henry ran rampant towards the Steelers, recording seven explosive runs of 10 or extra yards — a season-high for the bruising again. Pittsburgh’s protection struggled to carry him down, permitting eight compelled missed tackles on his speeding makes an attempt, the second-most Henry has recorded in a recreation this yr. His 74 speeding yards after contact tied the best complete the Steelers have allowed to a single participant this season, underscoring the necessity for Pittsburgh to tighten up their tackling and comprise Henry in the backfield.”
Bold prediction: Ravens TE Mark Andrews will catch six or extra passes, matching or surpassing a season excessive.
ESPN’s Seth Walder: “After his gradual utilization to start out the season, Andrews has run a route on the next proportion of Ravens go performs. His superior metrics are additionally nonetheless robust. Andrews has an 80 open rating this season, narrowly beating out George Kittle for the best amongst tight ends (by way of ESPN’s receiver scores).”
