College football Week 2 odds, schedule: Texas at Michigan, Colorado at Nebraska among the highlights - The Athletic

Ravens Clinch Third Straight Playoff Berth, Stop Steelers From Sewing Up Division

For the third season in a row and the sixth out of the last seven, the Baltimore Ravens are bound for the playoffs.

Baltimore earned a long overdue rivalry win against the Pittsburgh Steelers and clinched a postseason spot in the process on Saturday.

The Ravens' 34-17 victory was just their second in 10 meetings against the Steelers, with the added bonus of Baltimore (10-5) preventing Pittsburgh (10-5) from clinching the AFC North title.

"It means a lot, I feel like we've been busting our behind all season long, had ups and downs throughout this whole season, but to clinch the playoffs against a great team like that is great. It means we're moving in the right direction," quarterback Lamar Jackson told reporters after the game.

Baltimore is the fifth club to officially join the AFC playoff field.

It books the 12th playoff trip in Ravens head coach John Harbaugh's 17-season tenure.

Baltimore has two more games before it embarks on its latest postseason, with a quick turnaround -- just like the Steelers -- to return on Christmas Wednesday against the Houston Texans. Thereafter, the Ravens wrap up the regular season at home against the Cleveland Browns.

Now tied with the Steelers atop the AFC North, the Ravens have those two contests left to potentially earn a repeat as division champs.

"It's huge, I rejoice in the fact that we made the playoffs, because it's tough to do, it's really hard to do. Look around the league at how hard it is to do. I'm so proud of these guys," Harbaugh said. "And we have goals, the first goal is to win the next game, we say. So everything we do all year is to win the next game. The second goal is to make the playoffs. The third goal is to win the division, the AFC North. And then the final goal is to win the championship, the Super Bowl. We got two of them tonight, we won the next game and we made the playoffs."

A season after advancing to the AFC Championship Game, Baltimore is well positioned to chase its Super Bowl goal.

Lamar Jackson, Ravens Down Steelers To Reach Playoffs, Tie Atop AFC North: Key Takeaways

By Jeff Zrebiec, Mike DeFabo and Tobias Bass

The Baltimore Ravens have made the race for the AFC North crown a bit more interesting after a 34-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday night.

Baltimore, which dropped eight of its last nine games against Pittsburgh entering Saturday, clinched a playoff spot with the victory. The two teams are tied atop the division at 10-5 heading into the final two weeks of the regular season.

The Ravens' dynamic backfield was on full display starting with Lamar Jackson as he continued his MVP campaign, completing 15 of 23 passes for 207 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

Derrick Henry rushed for 162 yards and became the fifth player in NFL history with four-plus seasons of 1,500-plus rushing yards alongside Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, Eric Dickerson and Edgerrin James.

In the fourth quarter, Pittsburgh had a chance for a comeback but Ravens corner Marlon Humphrey picked off Russell Wilson to crush any momentum Pittsburgh tried to muster up.

Baltimore will face the Houston Texans on Christmas and host the Cleveland Browns to end the regular season. Pittsburgh will host the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas followed by the Cincinnati Bengals on Jan. 5.

Although Baltimore and Pittsburgh share the same overall record, the Steelers hold the tiebreaker in the AFC North via conference record (7-3 to 6-4), so if both teams win out, the Steelers still win the division.

Ravens finally force Steelers to make key mistakes

The Ravens' biggest issue in their recent struggles against the Steelers is they were making too many mistakes and not making the key play at the key time. That changed in a big way Saturday when it was the Steelers making the key mistakes.

One of the biggest plays of the game was arguably Ar'Darius Washington's forced fumble of Wilson in the second quarter as the Steelers quarterback had gotten inside the Baltimore 5 on a scramble. The Ravens scored on the ensuing possession. After Jackson's fourth-quarter interception deep in Pittsburgh territory squandered a scoring opportunity, Humphrey picked off Wilson and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown.

It had previously been the Ravens making the crushing mistakes in this matchup. On Saturday, it was the Ravens' defense forcing them. — Jeff Zrebiec, Ravens beat writer

GO DEEPER

AFC North Whiparound: How much has each team changed over the past month?

Ravens ride workhorse RB exactly as they should

Henry didn't score a touchdown for the third consecutive game, but he set the tone for the Ravens. There's been a ton of attention on why the Ravens haven't relied on Henry, the bruising back, even more on big games. On Saturday, they made their intentions clear.

He touched the ball on eight of their first 13 offensive plays. Henry finished with 162 rushing yards on 24 carries. He also caught two balls for 27 yards. Henry wore a banged-up Steelers defense down and was a big reason Baltimore took over in the fourth quarter. — Zrebiec

Steelers' short-handed defense struggles to contain Ravens

The Steelers entered Saturday's game missing three defensive starters (safety DeShon Elliott, cornerback Donte Jackson and defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi). Early in the game, they lost another when cornerback Joey Porter Jr. Went down with an ankle injury.

That's not a great formula to defend one of the NFL's most dynamic offenses. After limiting Henry to just 65 yards in the first meeting, the powerful running back eclipsed the 100-yard mark. The challenges defending the run illuminated how much value Elliott has brought to the defense.

Meanwhile, in the secondary, miscommunications were common. It appeared a miscommunication left Isaiah Likely wide open in the first half. It seemed the Steelers' secondary wasn't on the same page on Mark Andrews' touchdown, either. — Mike DeFabo, Steelers beat writer

GO DEEPER

Who is the most important non-QB for every division leader as NFL playoffs near?

Russell Wilson's turnovers loom large

The Steelers' depleted defense was going to have its hands full and needed Wilson to play one of his best games as a Steeler. While he completed 22 of 33 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns, his two turnovers proved costly.

With the score tied at 7 early in the second quarter, Wilson scrambled for a 19-yard gain that moved the ball inside the 5-yard line. However, Washington delivered a blow to dislodge the football and the Ravens recovered. They proceeded to drive 96 yards for a go-ahead score.

Later in the fourth quarter, the Steelers trailed 24-17 and it appeared the Ravens were poised to stretch their lead to two scores after Henry ripped off a long run. But with the ball on the 11-yard line, Jackson threw an interception to Minkah Fitzpatrick, his first since Jan. 1, 2023, that gave Pittsburgh new life.

Just two plays later, Wilson's pass intended for tight end MyCole Pruitt was well behind his target. Humphrey intercepted the pass and returned it 37 yards to give the Ravens a 31-17 lead. The pick-six undid any chance of a comeback. — DeFabo

Now what for Pittsburgh?

After losing back-to-back games against the Philadelphia Eagles and Ravens, the Steelers still have the chance to win the AFC North and host a playoff game. But the road gets much tougher after Saturday's letdown.

If the Ravens win out, Pittsburgh will need to beat the Chiefs and the Bengals to win the division. — DeFabo

Required reading

(Photo: Rob Carr / Getty Images)

Takeaways, Observations From Ravens 34-17 Win Over The Steelers

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – DECEMBER 21: Jaylen Warren #30 of the Pittsburgh Steelers is tackled by Nnamdi Madubuike #92 of the Baltimore Ravens during the fourth quarter at M&T Bank Stadium on December 21, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

The 2023 All-Pro had seven tackles, a sack, two tackles for loss and two QB hits.

---