There’s nothing better in sports than a good rivalry, and until the Bills beat the Chiefs in a postseason game, the best one in the NFL remains the Steelers vs. Ravens.
The AFC North runs through these two teams, and sports bettors across the country are biting their nails in anticipation. So check out the collection of valuable sportsbook welcome bonus offers currently available across the top Pennsylvania sportsbooks.
The NFL’s most competitive rivalry
Since 2001, either the Steelers or the Ravens have claimed the division’s top spot 18 of 24 times, and perhaps even more remarkably, the two teams have finished 1-2 in the North 11 times over that span. Now, just a month since their last showdown, here comes yet another “five-star game,” as Mike Tomlin would call it, with the stakes as high as ever.
Saturday’s playoff implications
If Pittsburgh wins, the 2024 AFC North title is theirs, which would mean they could shrug off the Christmas Day visit from Patrick Mahomes—whether he’s on one leg or two—in favor of preparing for the playoffs.
Conversely, a Ravens win on Saturday would raise the stakes for all four teams involved in the NFL’s Christmas doubleheader.
NFL Week 16 matchups
How these four games play out will heavily influence which teams will compete in the wildcard round and who they’ll face when they get there. However, based on experience, one thing feels like a safe bet: We’re likely to see Round Three of Steelers vs. Ravens sometime shortly after New Year’s Eve.
Steelers vs. Ravens
Tomlin’s defense vs. Lamar’s offense hasn’t quite reached Bill Russell vs. Wilt Chamberlain status, but the results are becoming increasingly peculiar. Coming off a bye and a confidence-building win against the Giants, it appears Baltimore will finally take care of the Steelers decisively.
Every NFL team is feeling the effects of attrition at this point in the season, but Pittsburgh is dealing with more injuries in key positions than Baltimore. All is not lost for the Steelers, though—if they can find a way to bounce back and win four days later at home against KC, and then again in Week 18 against Cincinnati, they can still be kings of the North.