Steelers go for a season sweep of Baltimore amid injury concerns for Pittsburgh LB T.J. Watt

Saturday, 4:30 p.m., EST, FOX.

BetMGM NFL Odds: Ravens by 6 1/2.

Against the spread: Steelers 10-4; Ravens 7-6-1.

Series record: Steelers lead 36-25.

Last meeting: Steelers beat Ravens 18-16 on Nov. 17, 2024, in Pittsburgh.

Last week: Steelers lost to Eagles 27-13; Ravens beat Giants 35-14.

Steelers offense: overall (18), rush (10), pass (24), scoring (10).

Steelers defense: overall (9), rush (4), pass (22), scoring (6).

Ravens offense: overall (1), rush (2), pass (3), scoring (3).

Ravens defense: overall (17), rush (1), pass (31), scoring (22).

Turnover differential: Steelers plus-18; Ravens plus-2.

Steelers player to watch

LB Patrick Queen. The former Raven is making his first appearance in Baltimore since signing a three-year contract with the Steelers in March. The 25-year-old Queen was excellent in the teams’ first meeting last month, finishing with 10 tackles and forcing a fumble as part of a defense that held the Ravens to a season-low 329 yards.

Ravens player to watch

QB Lamar Jackson. He’s putting up numbers worthy of another MVP award, but Baltimore’s inability to take control of the division race is working against him. Jackson has endured plenty of frustration against the Steelers in his career, but he’s only faced them at home once, in front of a limited crowd in 2020.

Key matchup

Pittsburgh’s linebackers against Baltimore’s balanced offense. Jackson and Ravens RB Derrick Henry never totally imposed their will in the first meeting this season, in part because the Ravens turned the ball over three times. Queen and Nick Herbig forced fumbles, and fellow linebacker Payton Wilson had an interception.

Key injuries

Steelers: LB T.J. Watt (ankle), WR George Pickens (hamstring), S DeShon Elliott (hamstring) and DT Larry Ogunjobi (groin) were limited in practice during the week.

Ravens: WR Nelson Agholor (concussion) and CB Jalyn Armour-Davis (hamstring) missed practice time.

Series notes

The Steelers have dominated one of the NFL’s most heated rivalries of late, winning eight of their past nine matchups with the Ravens, including each of the past four meetings in Baltimore. Jackson, now in his seventh season in the NFL, has only started five games against Pittsburgh but he’s 1-4 in those. … The past nine matchups in the series — and 27 of the past 33 — have been one-score games. … Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and Ravens coach John Harbaugh are meeting for the 37th time. Only George Halas and Curly Lambeau (49) faced off more often.

Stats and stuff

Pittsburgh earned a playoff berth last week and can clinch its first AFC North title since 2020 with a victory over Baltimore. The Steelers are 6-1 under Tomlin in games where a win would wrap up the division title. … The Steelers are 38-29 all time in games played on Saturday, including a win on the road at Baltimore in the 2023 season finale that helped them earn a playoff berth. Pittsburgh is also 63-55-1 when playing on five days’ rest. … The Steelers’ offense has hit a rough spot without Pickens, who will likely miss his third straight game with a hamstring injury. Russell Wilson has averaged just 143 yards through the air with Pickens watching from the sideline. Wilson averaged 271 yards passing in his first six starts with Pickens in the lineup. … The one bright spot of late for the Steelers has been TE Pat Freiermuth, who has a touchdown reception in three straight games, tied for the third-longest scoring streak by a tight end in team history. … How vital is Watt to the Steelers? Pittsburgh is 79-37-2 when he plays, 1-10 when he doesn’t since he was drafted in 2017. … The Steelers lead the league with 30 takeaways and are tied with Buffalo for first in turnover margin. … Jackson has thrown five TDs against eight interceptions in seven appearances against Pittsburgh. … Pittsburgh DT Cam Heyward is thriving in his 14th season. Heyward leads all NFL defensive tackles in tackles (60) and his eight sacks are second among interior defensive linemen behind Dexter Lawrence of the New York Giants. … Jackson leads the league in passer rating (120.7), yards per pass attempt (8.9), touchdown-to-interception differential (31) and yards passing plus rushing (4,323). … Baltimore’s defense has had its issues this season, but in the past four games the Ravens have allowed the NFL’s fewest net yards per game (269). … Jackson needs 109 yards rushing to pass Michael Vick atop the NFL’s career list for quarterbacks. … Henry has 15 touchdowns, tied with Ray Rice and Mark Ingram II for the Ravens’ single-season record. … Baltimore has 70 plays of at least 20 yards on offense, the most in the NFL. The Ravens have also scored touchdowns on a league-best 74.1% of their red zone trips.

Fantasy tip

In what could be another tight, low-scoring game, Steelers kicker Chris Boswell probably deserves a start. He accounted for all of Pittsburgh’s 18 points in the first meeting and leads the NFL in scoring (144 points).

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Source