The top two teams in the AFC North go head to head on Christmas day as the Pittsburgh Steelers host the Baltimore Ravens at Heinz Field. Both teams helped their playoff hopes last week with big wins. The Ravens managed to edge Philadelphia 27-26 at home while the Steelers downed Cincinnati with a come-from-behind 24-20 victory on the road. Pittsburgh enters this important showdown in first place in the division at 9-5 while the Ravens are right behind them at 8-6. Baltimore and Pittsburgh met back on November 6th with the Ravens winning 21-14 at home.
Ravens vs Steelers – Bovada NFL Betting Line:
- Bovada lists the Steelers at -5 points at -110 with the Ravens +5 points at -110, the over/under is 44 points with both at -110
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Ravens vs Steelers Betting Trends:
Baltimore Ravens:
- Season record: 8-6 straight up, 6-8 against the spread
- Baltimore has gone 4-8 against the spread in their past 12 contests
- Baltimore is 5-2 in their past seven outings
- Baltimore has gone 1-4 on their past five road trips
- Baltimore has gone 0-5 against the spread on their past five road outings
- Baltimore has gone 4-1-1 against the spread in their past six games against Pittsburgh
- The total has been under in four of Baltimore’s past six meetings with Pittsburgh
- Baltimore is 6-1 in their past seven contests with Pittsburgh
- Baltimore has gone 4-2 in their past six visits to Pittsburgh
- Baltimore is 1-2-2 against the spread in their past five games in Pittsburgh
- Baltimore has gone 6-12 on their past 18 trips to Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Steelers:
- Season record: 9-5 straight up and 9-5 against the spread
- The total has been under in four of Pittsburgh’s past five games
- Pittsburgh has gone 5-0 in their past five games
- The total has been under in four of Pittsburgh’s past six home games
- Pittsburgh has gone 8-2 in their past 10 home games
- Pittsburgh has gone 1-6 in their past seven games with Baltimore
- Pittsburgh has gone 1-4-1 against the spread in their past six games against Baltimore
- The total has been under in four of Pittsburgh’s past six encounters with Baltimore
- Pittsburgh is 2-4 in their past six home games with Baltimore
- Pittsburgh is 12-6 in their past 18 home games with Baltimore
- Pittsburgh has gone 2-2-2 against the spread in their past six home games against Baltimore
Baltimore Ravens – A Closer Look:
The Ravens can still make the playoffs and even win the AFC North if they can down Pittsburgh on the weekend. They kept their hopes alive by edging the Philadelphia Eagles 27-26 last Sunday. They’re 8-5 on the season and a game behind in the last AFC wild-card position. A win over Pittsburgh on Christmas day will vault them into first place in their division due to their head-to-head superiority. The Baltimore run defense will need to be better though as it conceded 169 yards against the Eagles at 4.4 yards each play along with a pair of rushing touchdowns. Luckily, the pass defense was better as Philly rookie quarterback was picked off once and held to 170 yards by going only 22 for 42.
Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco struggled slightly by completing 16 of 30 pass attempts for his lowest percentage of the season. He gained 206 yards in the air and tossed a pair of touchdown passes though. Flacco and the rest of the offense will be facing a tough Steelers’ defense, but have fared well against Pittsburgh lately with four wins in their past six trips to Heinz Field and six wins in their past seven games overall with the Steelers. They also held the Pittsburgh offense to 277 yards in their week nine triumph. Baltimore is looking for its third straight win in Pittsburgh since 1999 to 2001.
Pittsburgh Steelers – A Closer Look:
The 24-20 win in Cincinnati last Sunday was their fifth in a row. They fought back from a 14-point deficit and are still in the driver’s seat in the AFC North. A win over Baltimore will clinch the division next Sunday, while a loss will see them fall to second place because of the head-to-head tiebreaker. In fact, a loss next week could be devastating since 9-5 Miami also beat them this season if it came down to the wild-card race. The Pittsburgh offense has stalled somewhat and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has managed to throw only touchdown pass over the past two contests. In addition, tight-end Ladarius Green may miss the game with a possible concussion.
The Steelers haven’t fared well against Baltimore lately both home and away. They’ve been close games though as seven of their past 11 encounters have been decided by a maximum of three points. The Steelers’ defense may have some momentum after shutting Cincinnati out over the second half of their contest last week and limiting their opponents to only 222 yards on the day. In addition, Pittsburgh hasn’t allowed anybody to score more than 20 points against them during their five-game winning streak and nobody has gained 300 yards against them.
Next up for both teams:
- Baltimore visits Cincinnati on Sunday, January 1st
- Pittsburgh is at home to Cleveland on Sunday, January 1st
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