2025 NFL Wildcard Predictions: Steelers vs Ravens
The postseason has finally arrived and so have our 2025 NFL Wildcard Predictions. We will be predicting the outcome of every NFL play-off game and in today's edition we will break down the Steelers vs Ravens. Let's dive in....
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Baltimore Ravens
Game two of the NFL play-offs brings us a Saturday night showdown between two division rivals in the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. These two teams couldn’t be coming into the postseason with a more different outlook – Baltimore has won four straight coming out of their late-season bye week while the Steelers have lost four straight. Recent form has resulted in the Ravens being huge 9.5 point favorites. The public is buying into that angle, as well, with around 55% of the tickets coming in on the home team to cover that big number.
When I break down this game, I don’t see how you can pick the Steelers to win but I also don’t love the idea of laying this many points in a rivalry game. We have some conflicting betting trends in this one as well. Per ActionLabs, the underdog in games between John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin has covered at a 73% clip. That being said, Mike Tomlin has struggled in games where he is a big underdog. He’s covered just one time in his Steelers career as an underdog of 8+ points and the Steelers have also gotten buried in the play-offs for the last decade.
As I noted above, the outlook for these teams couldn’t be more different. Baltimore has been the best, most complete team in the NFL over the last five to six weeks while the Steelers are quite literally limping into this game. Last year, the Ravens were favored over the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game before losing 17-10. There were some fluky things that happened in that game, but more importantly the Ravens caught a ton of flack from fans and media for not running the ball. Lamar Jackson led the team with 8 carries in that game, while Gus Edwards saw just three. Baltimore responded by bringing in Derrick Henry this off-season, and the rest has been history. I’m expecting Henry to be a big point of emphasis for them as they embark on this play-off run, especially with Zay Flowers likely out for this game. Baltimore doesn’t need Flowers to win this game, but without him I wouldn’t be shocked to see a more run-heavy approach from them on Saturday evening.
Russell Wilson has been absolutely terrible down the stretch for the Steelers – and I think it’s a combination of multiple things. I’ve never been a fan of Arthur Smith’s offense, while Wilson is working with severely limited weaponry aside from George Pickens. Baltimore has been one of the best pass defenses in football over the last month and a half, combining that with an already dominant run-defense. I don’t expect much offensive success from the Steelers, and would consider their team total under (16.5 points) as my preferred bet for this game.
Score Prediction: Baltimore 28, Pittsburgh 12
Touchdown Prediction: Isaiah Likely
Derrick Henry is the most likely TD scorer in this game, but if you’re reading this article you don’t need me to inform you of that. I’m going with Isaiah Likely as my pick for this game, expecting him to see a role increase with Zay Flowers down. Lamar Jackson is having his best career as a pro, which is insane to write considering he has multiple MVP awards at home on the shelf. I trust him to get the ball to his playmakers, and the Ravens will need Likely to step up in the absence of Flowers. Likely has found the end zone 6 times already this season, and he leads the team in targets inside the 10 yard line with 8. We could see him involved early in the red zone on Saturday, and he’s scored in half of his career games against the Steelers. To top it off, Pittsburgh has faced the most TE targets in the NFL this season and allowed the fourth-most catches to the position.
Written by Ben Hossler