Paul Zeise: These are not your father's Steelers and Ravens, that's for sure

Paul Zeise, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Dec 4, 2025

Published in Football

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

PITTSBURGH — The Steelers-Ravens rivalry is the best in the NFL and has been for quite some time.

The games are always highly competitive, physical and have a high dose of good, old-fashioned, slobber-knockin' football. There is trash talking, there are bragging rights on the line and there are almost always playoff and AFC North implications, as well.

When the two teams meet Sunday, all those things will again be at stake, as the winner will take a one-game lead in the AFC North with four games to play. It is almost always the NFL game of the week and I would argue it is again this weekend given what is at stake.

There is just one difference, though, between this version of Steelers-Ravens and most of those previous games — both teams stink, especially on defense, and neither team looks like it is capable of winning the AFC.

The defensive ineptitude of both teams is truly alarming considering both franchises have been built on tough, hard-hitting, mean-spirited defenses that make it difficult for opposing offenses to gain every yard. That's one reason these games have been so much fun, as they have featured a lot of bone-crunching hits and great defensive stops.

But these versions of the Ravens and Steelers pale in comparison to the defenses of Terrell Suggs, Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Troy Polamalu, James Harrison, James Farrior and company.

It used to be teams would struggle to score against the Steelers and Ravens, and those two defenses wouldn't even give up many first downs and yards.

A quick glance at the team defensive stats would suggest that these are two of the worst defenses in the NFL.

The Steelers have the 28th-ranked defense in the NFL in yards allowed per game (365.1) and the Ravens are the 26th-ranked defense (350.4). The Steelers also have the 28th-ranked pass defense (247.4) and the Ravens are 26th against the pass (232.1).

The Steelers and Ravens also have the 12th- and 13th-worst scoring defenses in the NFL, as they give up 24.1 points and 24.4 points per game, respectively. That seems hard to grasp considering there were some years that it seemed like it took three or four games combined for opposing offenses to score 24 points against these two teams.

In 12 games, the Steelers and Ravens have combined to give up 30 or more points 10 times — which, again, seems like it is almost impossible to believe given the history of these two teams.

In general, I have always been like most people and have enjoyed high-scoring games and high-flying offenses, as those games are usually more exciting than defensive slogs.

The one exception was always the Steelers-Ravens games because the defenses were so good, so dominant, so physical that they were just as exciting as any offense out there. And the fact that both teams fed on their defenses and scored with their defenses made it that much more fun to watch.

Now, I have no idea what to expect Sunday, as both teams are bad defensively. But by the same token, they are equally as bad on offense. Inept offenses are not the same as dominant defenses, so it is entirely possible that we could watch a low-scoring game that is boring.

One would think that Ravens have an edge with Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry, but neither have looked like themselves of late, especially Jackson. This past Sunday, the Steelers played Josh Allen, and his ability to make plays with his legs contributed to the Bills setting rushing records on the way to their blowout win.

Jackson doesn't look like he is the same player he was last year or earlier in his career, though, so I don't anticipate him running wild against the Steelers. Henry might have a big day because the Steelers are without run stopper Derrick Harmon, but the Ravens' offensive line has been suspect, too.

On the flip side, the Steelers have a gimpy 42-year-old quarterback throwing to the most uninspiring set of receivers in the NFL and will be without their most important offensive lineman, Broderick Jones. None of that is ideal for the Steelers, but again, they will be aided because the Ravens' defense is bad.

I suspect this will be a close game because they always are when these two teams meet. I suspect it could be a low-scoring game because it always is when these two teams meet. I suspect the winner will celebrate like they just won the AFC North because a lot is on the line.

All of that will likely be true, but it won't be for the same reasons as it has been historically, as these two defenses don't dictate a thing but these two offenses can stop themselves even if their opponent is air.

This is definitely a Steelers-Ravens game coming up, but it certainly isn't likely to be a classic or even particularly memorable given how bad both teams have been for most of this year.

____