The Pittsburgh Steelers 13-6 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday wound up giving the Baltimore Ravens a Christmas miracle – with the Steelers and Ravens now set to face-off during Week 18 to see who will make the playoffs, and win the AFC North title.
On Saturday, the Ravens had kept their playoff chances alive on Saturday night after beating the Green Bay Packers 41–24 at Lambeau Field. Baltimore desperately needed their AFC North rival Steelers to lose on Sunday to the Browns in order to avoid elimination from the postseason, and the Browns win against Pittsburgh did just that. The Ravens even tweeted a message on Sunday morning to their fans and the Browns that read: “Good morning to the Ravens Flock and the Cleveland Browns only!!”
In their game against the Packers, the Ravens were led by five-time Pro Bowl running back Derrick Henry’s historic performance on Saturday, in which he became the first RB to score four rushing touchdowns in a single game with two different teams. Henry had a career-high 36 carries for 216 yards and four touchdowns for his seventh 200-yard rushing game, setting the NFL record that he had shared with Adrian Peterson and O.J. Simpson. He also moved up the all-time rushing yards list to 10th with 12,892 yards, surpassing Tony Dorsett Head coach John Harbaugh said postgame of Henry: “It’s one of the greatest performances I’ve ever seen. It was hard downhill running, but also a lot of make [defenders] miss.”
The Ravens and Steelers will meet next in Week 18 next Sunday for a winner-takes-all matchup to clinch the AFC North title in Pittsburgh.
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