Business as usual for intense rivalry between the Steelers and Ravens

If you tune into a Baltimore Ravens/Pittsburgh Steelers looking for a blowout victory by either team, you picked the wrong division rivalry. The numbers when it comes to the incredible competitive in this series is unmatched. All one has to do is trace this series back to 2008 and it may surprise some of just how many nailbiters have involved these two franchises.

Things really revved up between the Ravens and Steelers when head coaches John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin first squared off against each other. The former was hired by Baltimore in 2008, the latter taking over for Hall of Fame sideline leader Bill Cowher in ’07.

Just to be close to you

The Steelers’ 18-16 win on Sunday raised their record to 8-2. It marked the second time this season that the Black and Gold won a game with kicker Chris Boswell connecting for six field goals. The issue wasn’t decided until the final minutes. Down by eight points, Ravens’ quarterback Lamar Jackson drove his club 69 yards in nine plays, throwing a 16-yard touchdown pass to wideout Zay Flowers with 1:06 to go. Jackson and company failed miserably on the game-tying two-point conversion try, and Tomlin’s club was able to run out the clock and secure the victory.

Dating back to 2008, when Harbaugh and Tomlin first met as head coaches, there have now been a grand total of 36 encounters between these teams. Pittsburgh extended its advantage with the victory to 21-15 on those meetings, and have now prevailed in four straight battles, and eight of the last nine clashes these last four-plus seasons.

Here’s the real kicker. A total of 28 of the 36 contests have been decided by seven points or less. Of those 28 games, 19 have been decided by three points or less.

Pittsburgh’s victory extended their current winning streak to five consecutive games. This was the first of four consecutive games vs. their AFC North rivals. The Steelers didn’t play a divisional game until Sunday, and while Russell Wilson and the offense failed to reach the end zone, Tomlin’s club held serve at home.

There’s a rematch with the Ravens on a Saturday afternoon at Baltimore in Week 16. Think that one will be close as well? Don’t get against it.