The final week of the NFL’s regular season kicks off on Saturday afternoon with the Pittsburgh Steelers needing a win in Baltimore and some help to earn a wild card spot, while the Ravens have no reason to play their starters and they are home underdogs because of it.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Baltimore Ravens Game Information

Catch us at the Bank pic.twitter.com/iGRvRwnZPh

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) January 2, 2024

• When: Saturday, January 6th, 2024. 8:20pm EST.
• Where: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, MD
• TV: ESPN, ABC
• Radio: WDVE-FM 102.5 (Steelers) // WIYY 97.9 FM (Ravens)
• Live Stream: NFL+
• NFL Odds: Steelers (-3.5) // Ravens (+3.5)

Why Bet on the Pittsburgh Steelers?

Baltimore (13-3) clinched the AFC’s top seed and won its sixth straight game on Sunday, 56-19 over Miami. The Ravens also are AFC North champions for the first time since 2019, which was the last time they were the AFC’s No. 1 seed.

QB Lamar Jackson wrapped up his second MVP Award in the win over Miami in completing 18 of 21 attempts (85.7 percent) for 321 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions for a 158.3 rating, the highest attainable mark. Jackson has three career games with a 158.3 passer rating (minimum 15 attempts in each game), tied with Peyton Manning and Kurt Warner as well as Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger for the most such games in NFL history.

Jackson became the second quarterback in NFL history with two career games of at least five touchdown passes and a 158.3 passer rating, joining Roethlisberger. Jackson also had five touchdown passes and a 158.3 rating in Week 1 of the 2019 season. Jackson now has four career games with at least five touchdown passes, the third-most such games by a player in his first six seasons in NFL history. Only Patrick Mahomes (six games) and Dan Marino (five) have more.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh hasn’t said yet whether Jackson will play Saturday but why risk injury to him and the other key guys?

“We’ve got to kind of work through the injury part of it first,” Harbaugh said. “That’ll take us probably 24 to 48 hours to get a real handle on that and then we’ll make those decisions. We’re not going to keep it a secret. We’ll let you know what we’re going to do once we start practicing [on Wednesday].”

The only reason Harbaugh might let his guys play some is so they don’t have so much time in between games ahead of the Divisional Round. If Jackson doesn’t play, for example, he would have at least a 19-day break in between games. Baltimore would play host to a divisional round game on Jan. 20 or 21. In 2019, the Ravens rested their starters in the regular-season finale with the top seed wrapped up and won that game with backups but were embarrassed in the Divisional Round by Tennessee.

There are nine players remaining on Baltimore’s current 53-man roster who played in that 2019 playoff loss, which was the last time the Ravens hosted a playoff game.

Why Bet on the Baltimore Ravens?

Pittsburgh (9-7) kept its wild card hopes alive by beating Seattle, 30-23, for its ninth win of the season and secured a 20th-consecutive season with a .500-or-better record, surpassing the New England Patriots (2001-19) for the second-longest streak in NFL history. Only the Dallas Cowboys (21 consecutive seasons from 1965-85) have a longer streak.

The Steelers’ Mike Tomlin has led Pittsburgh to a .500-or-better record in each of his 17 seasons as the team’s head coach and surpassed George Halas (16 consecutive seasons from 1933-42 and 1946-51) for the third-longest streak of consecutive .500-or-better seasons by a head coach in NFL history. Only Tom Landry (21 consecutive seasons from 1965-85) and Bill Belichick (19 consecutive seasons from 2001-19) have a longer streak.

Former third-string QB Mason Rudolph has started the past two weeks under center for the Steelers and played so well that he will start again even though No. 1 Kenny Pickett has been cleared from injury. Since Rudolph, who replaced Mitch Trubisky in the final minutes of the Week 15 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, took over the starting job against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Steelers offense has erupted to average 32 points and 432.5 yards of offense per game. In the win against the Seahawks, Rudolph completed 18 of 24 attempts for 274 yards with no interceptions.

“He’s done a nice job,” Tomlin said of Rudolph. “He’s got a great deal of confidence in himself, and it is real. I think it’s contagious. He’s aggressive in style of play, and I think that’s helpful, particularly when you’re up against it. The calculated risk taking associated with the pursuit of victory is important, and he’s displayed those things. But it’s more than obviously what he has done, is what we have done or that collective has done.”

Pittsburgh goes for the season sweep, as it won in Baltimore 17-10 earlier this season in an upset. The Ravens turned it over three times, allowed a blocked punt for a safety that sparked Pittsburgh’s late surge, and squandered a handful of other opportunities. Pickett hit George Pickens on the go-ahead 41-yard TD pass with 1:17 left. Baltimore’s Jackson finished 22 of 38 for 236 yards and the late interception and 45 yards rushing while falling to 2-4 in his career against Pittsburgh.

Steelers vs. Ravens Betting Trends

• Pittsburgh is 13-7 ATS in their last 20 games.
• The Steelers are 13-7 SU in their last 20 games.
• The totals went over in 4 of Pittsburgh’s last 5 games.
• Baltimore is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games.
• The Ravens are 6-0 SU in their last 6 games.
• The totals went over in 5 of Baltimore’s last 7 games.

Steelers vs. Ravens Expert Betting Predictions

Steelers take the win on Saturday.

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