The Baltimore Ravens will face the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs this Saturday night, the third time the two franchises have met. It will also be the third time that John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin will meet in a tactical battle of head coaches.
The Ravens are in much better shape than their rivals next weekend. With a final sprint of four straight wins and an MVP-caliber Lamar Jackson, Baltimore snatched the AFC North lead from the Steelers, who enter the postseason on a four-game losing streak, including one to Harbaugh’s team in the regular season.
Tomlin has detailed that he may start Justin Fields over Russell Wilson as the starting quarterback, so he obviously has serious doubts heading into the wild-card round. On the other side of the field, Harbaugh looks confident and has even warned his opponents in the days leading up to an intense matchup.
Harbaugh’s warning to the Steelers
“I don’t think there’s any specific difficulty in facing the Steelers, the process is still the same. There’s a lot of things that have been ingrained in the knowledge of a team you’ve already played against twice, so the starting point is further down the road for sure,” Harbaugh said via the Ravens’ website, relaxedly warning the Steelers.
Head Coach Mike Tomlin during the Philadelphia Eagles vs Pittsburgh Steelers at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia PA.
Ravens’ long streak snapped against Steelers
Contrary to Harbaugh’s statement, Baltimore has struggled to beat the Steelers in recent years. The Ravens’ 34-17 win over Pittsburgh on December 21 snapped a streak of nine straight one-score games between the two teams, which speaks to the parity between the two franchises.
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Who will be the Steelers’ starting quarterback against the Ravens?
Harbaugh is likely awaiting Tomlin’s decision on who will be his starting quarterback when the Ravens host the Steelers. The Pittsburgh head coach has said that is “certainly open to utilizing Justin Fields” over Wilson. “In an effort to win this game I am open to any combination or combinations of the division of labor in an effort to do so, and so I’m certainly open to that as we develop plans this week,” Tomlin declared.
