Steelers and Ravens will decide the AFC North title in a high-stakes Week 18 showdown

By Canadian Press on January 2, 2026.

Baltimore (8-8) at Pittsburgh (9-7)

Sunday, 8:20 p.m. EST, NBC.

BetMGM NFL odds: Ravens by 3 1/2.

Against the spread: Ravens 6-10; Steelers 8-7-1.

Series record: Steelers lead 38-26

Last meeting: Steelers won 27-22 on Dec. 7 in Baltimore

Last week: Ravens beat Packers 41-24; Steelers lost to Browns 13-6

Ravens offense: overall (16), rush (1), pass (28), scoring (11).

Ravens defense: overall (25), rush (11), pass (29), scoring (18).

Steelers offense: overall (26), rush (26), pass (22), scoring (15)

Steelers defense: overall (27), rush (12), pass (29), scoring (15)

Turnover differential: Ravens minus-2; Steelers plus-11;

Ravens player to watch

QB Lamar Jackson. No sense overcomplicating this. Jackson has missed four games this season, including last weekend against Green Bay. It’s been easily his least effective season in terms of being a running threat, and amid all of his injuries recently, some criticism has popped up about his professionalism and reliability. Jackson still has plenty of people in his corner, however, and this is a chance for him to quiet down some of the negative chatter.

Steelers player to watch

QB Aaron Rodgers. The four-time MVP could be playing the final game of his stellar career on Sunday night. The 42-year-old has been steady if not spectacular at times, though he did throw for a season-high 284 yards in Pittsburgh’s first meeting with Baltimore. That performance, however, comes with a caveat: it happened with wide receiver DK Metcalf in the lineup. Metcalf will be unavailable as he serves a two-game suspension after making physical contact with a fan in Detroit.

Key matchup

Steelers inside linebackers Patrick Queen, Malik Harrison and Payton Wilson against Ravens running back Derrick Henry. Henry has averaged a staggering 147.3 yards rushing in his past three games against Pittsburgh and is coming off a 216-yard, four-touchdown masterpiece last week in Green Bay. The Steelers’ best chance at winning depends on stopping Henry and forcing Jackson to throw it in wintry conditions.

Key injuries

Ravens: Jackson (back) returned to practice on Wednesday and is expected to play Sunday. WR Rashod Bateman (illness) and LB Kyle Van Noy (quadriceps) missed practice time this week. LB Roquan Smith (hamstring) was limited.

Steelers: LB TJ Watt (lung surgery) could return after sitting out each of the past three games. … TE Darnell Washington (broken arm) was placed on injured reserve, ending his season. … LG Isaac Seumalo (triceps) was a full participant on Thursday and could be back after missing two games. … WR Calvin Austin III (hamstring) and CB Brandon Echols (groin) may also return after sitting out last week.

Series notes

The Steelers have won 9 of 12 against their longtime rivals in a series that remains tight regardless of the venue. All nine of Pittsburgh’s victories during that span have been decided by seven points or fewer. … Pittsburgh is 21-12 all time at home against the Ravens (playoffs included) and holds a 6-2 advantage overall in January games versus Baltimore. … A full 40 of the team’s 64 games against each other have been decided by one score. The Steelers hold a 25-15 edge in those games. … Pittsburgh is 6-5 all time against Baltimore on Sunday night prime-time games.

Stats and stuff

The winner earns the AFC North title and a home playoff game next week against the top-seeded AFC wild-card team. … The meeting is the 10th “winner take all” final week matchup to decide a division winner since 2002. The Steelers had one such game during that stretch, a 27-17 win over Cincinnati in 2014. … Baltimore went 3-6 on its home schedule this season — the worst mark in franchise history — but the Ravens have also won five straight road games. … Baltimore RB Derrick Henry has 122 rushing touchdowns, one behind Marcus Allen for third on the NFL’s career list. Henry has 41 games with at least 100 yards rushing and a rushing touchdown, tied for fifth all time with Jim Brown. … Baltimore is 9-2 in prime-time road games since 2022. … The Ravens are trying to become the first team to win the AFC North three straight seasons. Since the division began in 2002, Baltimore has won back-to-back titles three times — in 2011 and 2012, 2018 and 2019, and in 2023 and 2024. … Pittsburgh is 6-3 all time under coach Mike Tomlin in games in which it could clinch the division with a victory. … The game marks the 40th meeting between Tomlin and Baltimore coach John Harbaugh, the second most between two head coaches in NFL history behind Chicago’s George Halas and Green Bay’s Curly Lambeau (49). … Tomlin is one win shy of tying Hall of Famer Chuck Noll for ninth on the league’s all-time victory list. Noll had 193 victories in 23 seasons in Pittsburgh. Tomlin, the longest-tenured coach in major North American professional sports, has reached 192 wins in 19 seasons with the Steelers. … Pittsburgh 46-42 in regular-season finales, including a 14-4 mark under Tomlin. … The Steelers have spread the wealth this season, with 11 different players catching touchdown passes from Rodgers or backup Mason Rudolph, tied with Tampa Bay for the most in the NFL. … Rodgers is seeking his 11th season with at least 10 victories, which would move him into third all time on the NFL’s list for 10-win seasons by a quarterback. … Rodgers has thrown 185 consecutive passes without an interception, the longest active streak in the NFL. … Pittsburgh RB Kenny Gainwell is one of six backs in the league with 500 or more yards rushing and at least 65 receptions.

Fantasy tip

If you’re in one of those leagues that play through Week 18 and you have Henry on your roster, you might be in luck. Expect the Ravens to run him repeatedly against a defense that has been hit-or-miss at times this season against the run in what figures to be a tight, low-scoring game.

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The Associated Press