The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens will play in the most consequential game on the NFL schedule in Week 18 — and they’re getting the prime spot for it.
The Steelers lost to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, which combined with Baltimore’s win on Saturday sets up a winner-take-all game in the season finale. The winner will take the AFC North and head into the playoffs as the No. 4 seed with a home game, while the loser will head home for the offseason.
After Sunday’s game between the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers, the league announced that the Ravens and Steelers will kick off in the final regular-season game of the 2025 season.
Steelers and Ravens in the Spotlight
The NFL usually reserves Sunday night of Week 18 for the game with the highest stakes, and there is nothing bigger than the showdown between the Steelers and Ravens. As Jack Markowski of SI.com reported, the AFC North winner will be determined in that final time slot.
“With the AFC North on the line, as the winner will earn the division title while the loser will be eliminated from the playoffs altogether, the two teams will play under the bright lights at Acrisure Stadium in the final game of the regular season,” Markowski wrote. “Kick-off is set for 8:20 p.m. EST on Jan. 4, and coverage will air on NBC.”
The Ravens dismantled the Green Bay Packers with backup quarterback Tyler Huntley, who was filling in for the injured Lamar Jackson.
Steelers Criticized for Approach to Browns
The Steelers had a chance to wrap up the division on Sunday but struggled to move the ball against the Browns in the 10-6 loss. After the game, star edge rusher Myles Garrett said the Steelers appeared to be more worried about preventing him from getting the single-season sack record than winning the game.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers appeared to track Garrett throughout the game, getting the ball out quickly to avoid the pass rush.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin denied that his team did anything special to counter Garrett.
“We didn’t do anything against Myles that we don’t normally do against Myles. The sack record’s irrelevant. We’ve got to minimize him if we want to engineer victory,” Tomlin said. “We didn’t take a different approach because of the gravity of the record. It’s just standard business when you play these guys and him.”
The Steelers will face a challenge in Week 18, missing several key players. Wide receiver DK Metcalf is serving his two-game suspension after an altercation with a fan in a win over the Detroit Lions, while star edge rusher T.J. Watt has missed the last month after undergoing surgery for a partially collapsed lung.
As Markowski noted, several other Steelers players are dealing with lingering injuries and are in danger of missing the winner-take-all division game against the Ravens.
“The likes of Calvin Austin III (hamstring), Isaac Seumalo (triceps), James Pierre (calf), Brandin Echols (groin) and Darnell Washington (broken arm) are all on the mend with their respective injuries,” Markowski wrote.
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