The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens will clash for the AFC North lead on Sunday. An ESPN expert painted a rather grim picture of the division battle.
Every other division has at least two teams with a winning record, but Pittsburgh and Baltimore each dropped to 6-6 after a Week 13 loss. When dissecting the AFC North competition on Monday morning, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell claimed the Steelers and Ravens both have the same backhanded reason for optimism.
“Right now, it feels as though Pittsburgh’s best argument for winning the division is looking at Baltimore and saying that the Ravens are not very good,” Barnwell wrote. “Then again, Baltimore’s best argument for winning the division is doing the same thing with the Steelers.”
The Steelers and Ravens each carry a negative point differential into Sunday’s monumental matchup while ranking 20th or worse in total offense and defense. While Pittsburgh has lost five of its last seven games, Baltimore’s momentum suddenly stalled with Thursday night’s decisive 32-14 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
ESPN’s Football Power Index gives the Steelers a 31.4 percent chance to win the division. Yet Mike Tomlin’s team controls its own path with two games against the Ravens.
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Barnwell noted that those head-to-head matchups bookend some winnable games against the Miami Dolphins, Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns. He also opined that Pittsburgh’s defense is too reliant on takeaways for stops, pointing out that only the Bengals and Washington Commanders have allowed more points on drives that don’t end in a turnover.
Barring a tie, either the Steelers or Ravens will climb back over .500 and gain control of the AFC North this Sunday. The rivalry game starts at 1 p.m. ET on CBS.
More NFL: NFL Analyst Predicts Huge Steelers Win Over Ravens For AFC North Lead
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Featured image via Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images