With their win this past Saturday, the Baltimore Ravens tied up their season series with the Pittsburgh Steelers and tied up the AFC North race with only two games left in the 2024 season. Jason Fitz & Frank Schwab discuss the pathways the two 10-5 teams have to win their division and get a home playoff game. The Baltimore Ravens are playing at their highest level this season, with Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry and company firing on all cylinders. Meanwhile, the Steelers, who have had the better record all season long, seem to be stalling out after a few lackluster offensive performances in a row.

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Video Transcript

I don’t want to make every game into a referendum on what are they going to do with Russell Wilson, but over these last 3 games, and I get that he’s not getting a lot of help, but he hasn’t looked that great.

Uh he had a big fumble in this game when they were, he was running down, he ran to about the 4 yard line and then fumbled and then that interception of Marlon.

Good for my fantasy team that has a defense, but not so good for Russell Wilson because that was just terrible.

Like, and now you start to say, OK, did he just catch a hot streak at the beginning and he’s are adjusting now?

I don’t know, but I think the Steelers have a lot more questions at quarterback than they did a few weeks ago.

But you know, and this was a thing where the Steelers have to look around and be like, we’ve won 10 games, and we just couldn’t shake the Ravens.

They have to be so frustrated.

They could have won the AFC North on Saturday.

Instead, they lose, the Steelers could still win the division that they went out, but some tough games coming up for them.

I don’t know that they could do that.

I think Baltimore is going to win this division, and I think Baltimore is gonna go into the playoffs saying, You know what, all these other AFC teams are flawed.

Like, maybe we have some flaws too, but we also have MVP level quarterback.

We have Derrick Henry, we have a really, really good coach.

We got a good shot as anybody, and I think that if they could win this division, I think that’s big to get the one home game at least.

I think the Ravens should feel, like you said, like, hey, we’re a Super Bowl contender too, why not?

I mean, the Ravens have a tough game left against the Texans.

That is their one tough game left, but you’re right.

I don’t even know.

The Texans are whatever.

The Texans are so whatever to me this season.

Like, if you, if you wanna get, if you want to be a Super Bowl team, you beat the Houston Texans, OK?

Like that’s it, like.

If you, if you want to be taken seriously as a contender, you don’t lose to that really, really mediocre Texans team.

Uh, well, and the Chiefs, uh, contrary to that, the Chiefs, or sorry, the, uh, the Steelers have the Chiefs, and then they have the Bengals.

Now the Bengals’ defense sucks.

We all know that.

But, uh, the Bengals and Thompson Robinson.

I mean, uh, but that, that, that Bengals offense cooks, right?

So, couple of tough games left for, for Pittsburgh in this, and I, I gotta be honest, I think.

If the Steelers don’t win their division, given how good this had looked a few weeks ago, it’s gonna feel like a disappointment.

Uh, and, and that’s coming from somebody that, uh, as we started the season, I was loudly saying that I thought the second best team in the AFC was the Ravens behind the Bills.

Uh, I, I, I think the Ravens are, are great.

They are built offensively, they are built in a way that challenges.

you so many ways.

I really think there’s something special there, but their defense, to your point, has been for the most part of this year, bad, right?

So, we just sort of all anointed the Steelers, uh, a month ago to be, oh my God, they, they look like they could be Super Bowl with it.

If they end up the wild card team and not winning their division, I, that feels like a disappointment for what we expected for them.