With their win last Saturday, the Baltimore Ravens wrapped up their season series with the Pittsburgh Steelers and locked up the AFC North race with only two games remaining in the 2024 season. Jason Fitz and Frank Schwab discuss the paths the two 10-5 teams must take to win their division and earn a home playoff game. The Baltimore Ravens are playing at the highest level this season, Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry and Co. are at full speed. Meanwhile, the Steelers, who have had the better record all season, appear to be faltering after a few consecutive lackluster offensive performances.

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Video transcript

I don’t want to make every game a referendum on what they’re going to do with Russell Wilson, but I understand he hasn’t gotten much help in the last three games, but he hasn’t looked that good.

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

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

And now you start saying, “Okay, did he just have a hot streak in the beginning and now he’s getting used to it?”

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 one thing where the Steelers have to look around and think: We won ten games and we just couldn’t shake the Ravens.

You must be so frustrated.

They could have won the AFC North on Saturday.

Instead they lose, the Steelers could still win the division they were eliminated from, but they have some tough games coming up.

I don’t know if they could.

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

We may have some weaknesses, but we also have an MVP-caliber quarterback.

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

We had a good chance like everyone else and if they could win this league, I think it would be important to at least win the one home game.

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

I mean, the Ravens still have a tough game ahead of them against the Texans.

This is their last difficult game, but you’re right.

I don’t even know.

The Texans are whatever.

The Texans are very special to me this season.

For example, if you want to be a Super Bowl team, beat the Houston Texans, okay?

As if that were all.

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

Uh, well, and the Chiefs, uh, in contrast, 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 this, this, this Bengals offense is cooking, right?

So there are still a few tough games coming up for Pittsburgh, and I have to be honest, I think.

If the Steelers don’t win their division, it will feel like a disappointment considering how good this looked just a few weeks ago.

Uh, and this is coming from someone who said loudly at the beginning of the season that in my opinion the second best team in the AFC was the Ravens behind the Bills.

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

They’re built to be offensive, they’re built to challenge.

You in so many ways.

I really think there’s something special there, but their defense has been, what you’re saying, bad for most of this year, right?

So we all just anointed the Steelers a month ago like, oh my God, they look like they could get to the Super Bowl with this.

If they end up in the wildcard team and don’t win their division, to me that’s a disappointment in what we expected from them.

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