The Pittsburgh Steelers need a little help, but they can secure a spot in the postseason on Sunday. If they manage to net their fourth consecutive win by beating the rival Baltimore Ravens and the New York Jets fall to the New England Patriots, then the Steelers will guarantee a spot in the playoffs.
Steelers vs. Ravens 2015 live stream: Game time, TV schedule and how to watch online
The Steelers and Ravens have a historic rivalry, but the former team is in the playoff race while Baltimore was eliminated weeks ago.
Pittsburgh can still take the AFC North as well, though they can only guarantee a wild card spot on Sunday. The Cincinnati Bengals are two games up on them with two games to play, and the Steelers managed to split the season series thanks to a 33-20 win in Week 14.
They need to win out, and they need the Bengals to lose out, but the Steelers could earn one of the top three seeds in that scenario. If Pittsburgh can't take the AFC North, they can grab a fifth or sixth seed as a wild card team. Currently, they are in a heated race for the wild card spots with the Kansas City Chiefs and New York Jets. All three teams are tied with a 9-5 record, though the Chiefs currently hold the tiebreak based on best win percentage in conference games.
Pittsburgh has the edge over New York thanks to a better win percentage in common games.
Meanwhile, the Ravens are well out of the playoff race after another disappointing season. Joe Flacco and Steve Smith were two of the best players on that team, but both were put in injured reserve weeks ago. The situation at quarterback is a huge question mark, for the Ravens and for the rest of the league. The Steelers likely won't know who will be starting against them until 90 minutes before game time when the gameday inactives list comes out.
Baltimore backup Matt Schaub was not playing well before he sustained chest and shoulder injuries, which forced him out of the past two games. Jimmy Clausen started both of those games, throwing two touchdowns and three interceptions. The Ravens also brought in Ryan Mallett, who will start for the first time for the Ravens and who certainly has more upside than Clausen.
Mallett is still learning the offense though, and he did not play well before the Houston Texans released him for violating team rules. Mallett completed just 53.1 percent of his passes for 770 yards with three touchdowns and four interceptions this season.
On the other sideline, the Steelers’ offense has been the best in the league in recent weeks.
Since putting up just 10 points against the Bengals in Week 8, the Steelers have averaged 35.0 points and 474.5 yards per game, scoring more than 30 points in six consecutive games. That’s the first time the Steelers have ever done that, which is significant given the team has been around for over 80 years.
Ben Roethlisberger threw three touchdowns and put up just under 400 yards against the Denver Broncos in Week 15. It was a huge win for the Steelers, and combined with the win over Cincinnati the week before, they made a statement that they can hang with the NFL's best.
How to watch
When: 1 p.m. ET
Where: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore
TV: CBS
Commentators: Greg Gumbel, Trent Green
Online: Verizon NFL Mobile
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