Tag: afc north division title race

How the Ravens can beat the Steelers to the AFC North title

In spite of the result today, things are still looking better for the Pittsburgh Steelers than they are for the Baltimore Ravens. 

Saturday was, in some ways, the de facto AFC North division title game. The Pittsburgh Steelers could have clinched the division had they won, but the Baltimore Ravens prevailed, 34-17, leaving the race wide open for these final two weeks of the regular season.

Both teams are 10-5, but the Steelers are in first place via tie-breakers. Therefore, neither team can clinch in Week 17.

Either team can claim the AFC North by going 2-0, provided the other team goes 1-1 or 0-2 during the run-in.

That’s self-explanatory, but what happens if the Ravens and Steelers split their final two and thus finish 11-6?

Well, one permutation of outcomes would hand the division title to Baltimore instead of Pittsburgh.

In the early 2000s, Canadian rocker Avril Lavigne asked, “Why’d you have to go and make things so complicated?”

Because we have to; that’s our job here.

It all comes down to the divisional record tie-breaker. If both teams finish 11-6, the Steelers would have to lose at home to the Cincinnati Bengals on January 5, and Baltimore would have to win at home against the Cleveland Browns on the same Sunday.

In other words, this is coming down to the final day, but despite this weekend’s result, the Steelers still look better than the Ravens.

Mapping out the path to a Ravens AFC North division title

While it’s going to be challenge, the division title is still there for Baltimore to take

At 8-5, the Baltimore Ravens are two behind the AFC North division, leading 9-3 Pittsburgh Steelers in the loss column. However, they’re only one behind their arch-rivals in the win column.

While it will be challenging, the division title is still there for the taking. Let’s first look at what remains on the schedule for both teams.

It almost goes without saying, but that Sat. December 21st home date with the Steelers is a must-win. You can pretty much label that meeting the AFC North division title game.

You can also just go ahead and state it bluntly—Baltimore needs to win out. They simply need to run the table and get some help. Obviously, there are numerous permutations of results that would see the Ravens end up on top, but the most logical, natural path would require the Steelers to lose two more games in addition to their visit to The Bank.

The divisional tie-breakers work like this: first, head-to-head meetings, then divisional record, then record vs. common opponents. Pittsburgh currently has a 2-1 record against the AFC North, while Baltimore is 2-2.

When it comes to common opponents (the other two teams in the division, plus Dallas, Denver, L.A. Chargers, Washington, and Las Vegas), the Ravens have an advantage on the Steel Curtain. Baltimore is 6-2 against common opponents, while Pittsburgh is 5-2.

You can see how much the home-opening loss to the Raiders truly hurts right now. The most likely path would see the Steelers losing at the 10-2 Philadelphia Eagles and at home to the defending Super Bowl champion and 11-1 Kansas City Chiefs.