Week 18 of the 2025 National Football League season commences on Saturday afternoon. The biggest game of the weekend will take place on Sunday night as the Pittsburgh Steelers host the Baltimore Ravens at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The stadium has historically been known as Heinz Field/The Ketchup Bottle, but Heinz did not renew the stadium’s naming rights in 2021.
Why is this game important?
The AFC North Division title is on the line. The Pittsburgh Steelers are the current division leaders at nine wins and seven losses and the Baltimore Ravens are in second place at eight wins and eight losses. The game is magnified even more because the loser of the game will not get a wildcard, and will be eliminated from the postseason.
Steelers failed to win the division last week
Pittsburgh had a chance to clinch a playoff spot a week ago, but ran into a tough Cleveland Browns defense and lost 13-6 in a tight low scoring, defensive battle. Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers could not seem to get things going, and looked like a 42-year-old quarterback on many occasions.
Derrick Henry red hot
The Ravens are coming off an impressive 41-24 win over the Green Bay Packers. The fact Baltimore won the game is not a huge surprise however, as the Packers had less to play for after clinching a playoff spot with Minnesota beating Detroit 23-10 on Christmas Day.
The story of the Ravens win was the offensive excellence of Ravens running back Derrick Henry of Yulee, Florida. Henry had 36 rushes for 216 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns. The four rushing touchdowns tied a career high as he also accomplished the feat for the Tennessee Titans in a 30-9 Titans win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on December 6, 2018.
Lamar Jackson to return
A major reason why the Ravens are 3.5 point favourites is because Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson will be playing after missing last week with a back injury. Jackson suffered the ailment in a 28-24 Ravens loss to the New England Patriots on December 21. We have seen a different Lamar Jackson this season than in the past. That is because he is running less. In 2025, he has a career low 340 rushing yards.
What happened in the first meeting?
On December 7, the Steelers defeated the Ravens 27-22. Rodgers had 284 yards passing and Steelers wide receiver D.K. Metcalf of Oxford, Mississippi had 148 yards receiving. Metcalf will not play Sunday. He was suspended two games for punching a spectator in Detroit two weeks ago. The loss of Metcalf is a huge blow to the Steelers.
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